Middle Eastern Instant Pot Lamb Stew

Ingredients

Stew Base

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, butter or ghee
• 1 ½ –1 ¾ pounds lamb stew meat (shoulder, leg or shank) cut onto 1 ½ inch cubes
• 1 onion, diced
• 4–6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Spices

• 2 teaspoon ground cumin (or use 1 teaspoon ground, and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds)
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon chili flakes (Aleppo Chili flakes are nice) and more for garnish

Liquid & Add-ins

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• 1–2 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1 x 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• ¼ cup raisins or dried apricots (chopped), or even dried currants

For Serving

• cooked quinoa, couscous or basmati rice
• fresh Italian parsley or cilantro leaves

Instructions

Instant Pot Method

1. Turn the Instant Pot on and set it to the Sauté function. Heat the butter or oil and sauté the onions for 3-4 minutes until fragrant.
2. Add the lamb, garlic, salt, and all the spices and sauté for 5 more minutes until fragrant.
3. Add the vinegar, tomato paste, honey, stock, chickpeas and raisins and stir until combined, scraping up any browned bits.
4. Cover and set the Instant Pot (or pressure cooker) to pressure cook setting for 50 minutes on normal/high.
5. Allow the pressure to naturally release.
6. Let the pressure release and give a stir. The lamb will be tender and break apart easily.
7. Adjust seasonings to taste.
8. Serve over quinoa, rice or couscous with some fresh cilantro or parsley and extra chili flakes for garnish.

Tips

• The leftovers taste even better the next day as the flavors have more time to meld.
• If the stew is too sweet after cooking, add a few drops more vinegar to balance the flavor.
• If you prefer the stew less juicy, return to the Sauté function after the pressure release and cook off some of the liquid. (Note that it will thicken a bit as it sits).

Modifications

• Stovetop/Oven Method: Alternatively, you can cook this on the stovetop in an oven-proof Dutch oven.
  • Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  • Brown the onions in the ghee or butter over medium-high heat, then add the garlic, lamb, salt and spices, cooking for 5-6 minutes.
  • Add the remaining ingredients – all except the raisins – and bring to a simmer.
  • Cover and place in the oven and bake for 2 hours, adding the raisins about an hour or 1 ½ hours into the baking time.
  • After two hours the lamb will be very tender. If you like a little more browning, give a quick broil to the pot uncovered.
• Lamb Substitution: You can substitute lamb stew meat with beef stew meat or goat.
• Liquid Substitution: You can use beef broth instead of chicken stock/broth.
• Sweetener Substitution: You can use brown sugar instead of honey.
• Fruit Substitution: You can use dried apricots (chopped) or dried currants instead of raisins.
• Vinegar Substitution: You can use red wine vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar.