Sri Lankan Beef Curry

Prep Time - 20 minutes                          Cooking Time - 90 minutes

Easiest method to make tender beef curry in Instant-pot

making Sri Lankan Beef curry in Instant Pot. i’s so convenient and no need to check time to time to see if the beef is cooked enough or if it has enough liquid left.

Recipe Overview:

First marinate meat and set it aside until you cut your onions and prep other ingredients. You can marinate longer up to 12 hours in the fridge for best results but this short marinating works just fine.

Then  saute all ingredients in coconut oil including spices. And then mix meat in, getting some searing on the meat. Searing helps to intensify the flavor.

Then  add some water and pressure cook on high for exactly 30 mins. (You can directly use soup function for this)

And when the beef is pressure cooked and tender, Add coconut milk, turn on the saute function and simmer the curry for nearly an hour.

Serving Suggestions:

This Instant pot Sri Lankan beef curry is a go-to curry to have with Sri Lankan Kottu. Best with yellow rice, bread or coconut roti, Paratha too. Also with white rice, red lentil curry, and coconut sambol. 

Ingredients

Servings 6 

To Marinate Beef

600 grams Beef chuck

1 tablespoon Sri Lankan roasted curry powder

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

Other ingredients

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds (optional)

1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (optional)

5 green cardamom

5 cloves

4 pieces of cinnamon sticks

2 sprigs of curry leaves

1 pandan leaf, broken into pieces

6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 inch piece of ginger, minced

1 cup onion, chopped

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons unroasted curry powder

1 cup water (adjust as you need)

2/3 cups coconut milk (I use canned)

salt as needed

Instructions

Cut beef into 1-inch cubes. Marinate beef pieces with roasted curry powder, black pepper, turmeric powder, vinegar, and salt. Leave it for 20 mins on the counter or you can marinate overnight in the fridge.

Turn on the saute function of your Instant Pot/ Multicooker and adjust it to medium heat. Add coconut oil. When coconut oil is heated add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. When mustard starts to splatter, add cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon sticks. Saute for about 30 seconds.

Then add chili powder and curry powder. (turn off the Instant pot if the pot is overheated). Saute until chili powder turns dark red.

 

Then add fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, pandan leaves and saute for about 30 seconds.

 

Add garlic, ginger, chopped onions and saute until onions turn translucent. 

Now add your marinated beef, mix well with all the spices and aromatics. Keep mixing for about a minute until beef pieces get some sear on the outside. 

Add water. Mix. Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 30 mins. (Select pressure cook function, select high pressure and adjust the time to 30 mins.)

When the pressure cooking is done, do a quick release and open the lid. Meat should be tender by now but probably taste bland. If there's too much oil on top you can remove some at this step.

 

 

Add coconut milk*, mix well.  Taste the gravy for salt and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Turn on the saute mode again. Set the temp to low and simmer the curry for 45min to 1hour or until you get the desired amount of gravy.

Turn on the saute mode again. Set the temp to low and simmer the curry for 45min to 1hour or until you get the desired amount of gravy.