This recipe of rack of lamb is one that you will devour and remember for years! It is delicately flavored with Indian spices and cooked in an Instant pot until tender and then finished in the oven (or a pan). This delicious, melt-in-mouth lamb recipe will make you wanting for more! I use Australian lamb for this recipe and it’s an absolute favorite in our house. Since Australian lamb can be pricey, we limit this to occasional indulgences and I absolutely encourage you to try this one!
If you cannot tolerate nightshades, then you can skip the chilli powder completely and replace only with black pepper. This recipe is not AIP elimination compliant because of all the seed spices however in my practice, I recommend adding in all the seed based spices after doing 1 month of AIP elimination as most of these seed based spices like coriander, cumin, etc are good for digestion and are also anti-inflammatory.
What are the ingredients you need to make Curried Rack of Lamb?
Good quality Rack of Lamb: I prefer Australian lamb as it is more similar in taste to goat meat which I grew up eating. Australian lamb is available in wholesale grocers like BJs, Sam’s club and Costco’s in the US at reasonable prices albeit slightly on the higher side.
- Yogurt: I only use non dairy yogurt like homemade coconut yogurt or cashew yogurt
- Lime Juice: Freshly squeezed lime juice
- Ginger Garlic paste: I use homemade ginger garlic paste as store bought usually contains preservatives. I have included my recipe for homemade ginger garlic paste in the recipe for curried rack of lamb. Here is a video that shows how to make ginger garlic paste: https://youtu.be/qdTrOCD8Idw
- Blend of spices: Turmeric, Kashmiri Chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, mustard powder and garam masala blend (homemade or store-bought)
- Coconut Sugar: I use a small amount of coconut sugar as sweetener to round out all the flavors. You can use any other natural sweetener too like jaggery or palm sugar
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
What are the steps to make Instant Pot Curried Lamb?
The Instant Pot cuts down the cooking time and also gives you delicious falling off the bone tender meat. The following are the steps to make this recipe:
- Wash the meat and dab with paper towels. Then make slight superficial cuts on the rack.
- Next make the marinade using the marinade ingredients.
- Apply the marinade all over the lamb and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature or for longer (keep in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours in advance)
- Place the lamb in the insert pot of the Instant Pot and pressure cook for 30 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally after which open the lid and transfer the lamb and the sauce onto a baking tray lined with Aluminum foil. Or alternatively, you can transfer the lamb and the sauce to a wide skillet or frying pan.
- Preheat oven to 400 F and transfer the tray into the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes basting the lamb with its own sauce midway through.
- If using skillet, cook on low heat until most of the sauce is evaporated (about 5 minutes)
Step by Step Tutorial to make Instant Pot Curried Rack of Lamb:
- One Rack of Lamb (I use Australian rack of lamb for a more goat meat like flavor)
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste (store bought or homemade - see recipe for homemade below)
- 1 tbsp plain coconut yogurt (or plain cashew yogurt)
- 1 tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp mustard powder (or crushed mustard seeds)
- 1 tsp coconut sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 15 large cloves of garlic, peeled
- Two 2"' by 1"' piece of fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Add all the ingredients to a small food processor and blend until you get a smooth paste. Transfer to a container and keep in the refrigerator. Use as needed.
- Make small superficial cuts over the lamb. Add all the marinade ingredients to a small mixing bowl and mix well using a spoon. Apply this marinade over the rack of lamb and let marinate for about 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature or for longer in the refrigerator.
- Transfer the marinated rack of lamb ayongwith the marinating sauce into insert of the Instant Pot. Close the lid. Make sure valve is in sealing position. Manually change pressure cook time to 30 minutes. After the pressure cooking time is done, let the pressure come down naturally. Then open the lid and transfer the lamb and the sauce on to a baking tray lined with Aluminum foil. You can also transfer this to a wide skillet and finish cooking in the skillet.
- For finishing in the oven, pre heat oven to 400 F. Place tray in the oven and let bake for about 8-10 minutes. Mid-way through open the oven and spoon the sauce all over the meat.
- For finishing in the pan, cook skillet on low heat for about 5-7 minutes until most of the sauce is evaporated. Be careful not to overcook or dry the sauce completely.
- Serve warm with white rice or cauliflower rice.
