Weeknight beef curry? No problem! Meet the Instant Pot; ready in an hour (including natural pressure release time). I will warn you that your house will smell like Brunei while the beef curry is cooking. I used the ingredients that I have got on hand. So, I didn’t have any fresh lemongrass or galangal or fresh turmeric. If you cannot find lemongrass powder, you can use fresh or frozen lemongrass. If you have galangal on hand or are about to pick up some from an ethnic supermarket, add about 2 cm worth of galangal. This curry could have used galangal. It is inspired by a beef rendang recipe that I have been reluctant to share. This is, however, not an authentic beef rendang recipe as apple juice is involved. (Oh, what a delicious horror.) I am forever tweaking what I think is a good beef rendang recipe, so I am not ready to share that until I decide it is THE perfect version. (I keep changing the portions of spices to suit my mood of the moment.) If you are using fresh turmeric, peel the skin using a teaspoon and add about 2 cm worth. Do cut the fresh galangal and turmeric into smaller pieces before putting it in a food processor. You can use a food processor if you are using fresh ingredients. This is the laziest curry I have made whereby no food processor or no mortar & pestle is needed. Did I mention Weeknight Beef Curry?! Oh, and tip: if you buy fresh galangal, cut it into 2 cm pieces and freeze them for later use. They won’t last long. You can use galangal to make delicious soups or broths too.
Can you cook the beef curry using frozen meat?
Short answer: yes. I have actually cooked from frozen for this recipe, just to see if I could. Manual mode: 25 minutes instead of 20 minutes. 
When your Instant Pot is ticking down to 15, you can make this simple (or lazy; let’s call it lazy) yellow rice in the rice cooker.
YELLOW RICE
1 tbsp turmeric 2 cups of white rice of your choice, rinsed (You can adjust for 1/4 cup rice per serving) 1/4 cup raisins 2 1/4 cup water (tiny bit of extra water for fluffiness) Turn the rice cooker on and wait for your rice dish to finish. Once the rice cooker clicks from cooking to “keep warm”, unplug the rice cooker.
For full disclosure, I had an over 20 lbs almost eight month old on my back pulling my hair while making supper. Hurry up, Mom, I’m hungry. The beef is so soft and easy to shred with your hands to feed little ones. My carb-loving toddler enjoyed the rice (ahem, the raisins). Not craving yellow rice? How about Coconut Pandan Rice? If you have store-bought curry paste, you can still follow this Instant Pot recipe. Just skip measuring the spices and coat your beef stew with the curry paste. Don’t worry, I won’t be offended. It’s okay to cheat though I will boldly tell you that the best curries are the ones you mix the spices yourself.
- 1 tsp lemongrass powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 2 whole Star of Anise
- 1 tsp Fennel seed
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1.5 lbs raw beef stew
- 2 potatoes Canadian Yukon yellow
- 160 ml coconut milk
- 1/3 cup apple juice
- 1 shallot medium sized
- 1 clove garlic You can add up to 3 cloves if desired
- 1/2 tsp Salt to taste; add more if desired
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 bay leaf
- Peel and cube potatoes.
- Prepare shallot and garlic by peeling and slicing them. Fry for 1 minute on saute in the Instant Pot (IP). Turn off the Instant Pot immediately.
- Add apple juice and coconut milk to pot.
- Add the raw beef stew to the pot and mix in all the dried spices and add the bay leaf. Use a spoon to stir to incorporate the spices evenly.
- Add potatoes on top of the beef curry.
- Close the Instant Pot lid to lock and make sure the vent is closed.
- Select Manual pressure: 20 minutes if the beef stew is fresh; 25 minutes if the beef stew is frozen.
- Let the Instant Pot to release pressure naturally. (NPR: Natural pressure release) This will take approximately 20 minutes.
Oooh this looks great, I just need to find lemongrass powder.
I’ve been loving using my Instant Pot! Haven’t made a beef curry yet with it, but this recipe has got me craving it. Adding it to the menu soon!
Now I’m wanting an instapot – looks delicious!
The Instant Pot 8 Quart is on sale on Amazon right now for $99! Best price I have ever seen.