Beef Curry & Brown rice made simultaneously in the Instant Pot using Pot-in-Pot method…
One of the amazing features in Instant Pot is Pot in Pot cooking method. In one go, we can make 2 or more dishes. The key factor we should keep in mind in PIP is that the dishes should have the same cooking time.
My attempt at cooking beef curry and brown rice using the pot-in-pot method was a success. For the beef curry, I’ve used stewing beef and it will take 25 minutes to cook fork-tender beef. Brown rice will also require 25 minutes of cooking. This was a perfect pair for PIP.
What is PIP (Pot-in-Pot) cooking: In PIP cooking, another stainless or heat resistant glass bowl is placed inside the stainless steel liner Pot and food is cooked in that. So, we keep a pot inside the pot. Pretty cool, right?
Why do we need to do PIP cooking:
- To reheat food by pressure steaming or simply steaming.
- To cook foods that don’t require direct heat acts as a water bath: steaming veggies/cook rice, casseroles, certain desserts like cheesecake, pies etc.
- To cook desserts like cake, custard, cheesecakes, pies etc.
- My most favorite: To cook multiple dishes simultaneously that have a similar or at least close cooking time. For instance: for cooking chicken and rice, shrimp and rice, rice and veggies/eggs.
Types of equipment required for PIP Cooking
- IP Stainless Steel Pot
- Trivet- that came with the IP or you can use different kinds of trivet- click here.
- Heat resistant glass bowl or stainless bowl or stackable stainless steel insert pans: click here.
- Aluminum foil.
- Cake pans for making desserts.
- Springform pans for making cheesecake
Shrimp curry and basmati rice made in PIP method, here is the recipe
For other delicious and easy Instant Pot recipes, click here
Cooking Video
- Beef, stewing beef cubed- 1 lb or ½ Kg
- Chili powder- 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder- ⅛ tsp
- Coriander powder- 2 tsp
- Cumin Powder- ½ tsp
- Garam Masala- ¾ tsp
- Salt- 1 tsp
- Oil- 1 tbsp
- Dried bay leaves- 2
- Onions, chopped- 2 (Red or Yellow)
- Ginger, grated- 1 inch slice
- Garlic, grated- 1 large clove
- Curry leaves- 1 sprig (optional)
- Tomato, chopped- 2
- Cilantro, chopped- ¼ cup
- Salt- ½ tsp
- Brown Rice- 1½ cups
- Water- 1¾ cups
- Salt- ¼ tsp
- First Step: In a large bowl, combine beef along with all the spices mentioned 'for marinating beef'. Keep aside for 10 minutes.
- Second Step: Rinse brown rice taken in a strainer under running water, place the brown rice in a heat resistant bowl that will fit well into the stainless steel pot. Add water and salt. Keep aside.
- Turn on the Instant Pot.
- Turn on Saute Mode- Medium Temp.
- Let Hot sign display.
- Add oil and dried bay leaves.
- Add chopped onions. Season onions with ¼ tsp salt.
- Add grated ginger, grated garlic, and curry leaves.
- Let saute for 3 to 4 minutes till onions turn translucent.
- Add tomatoes, cook for a minute.
- Add marinated beef. Combine well.
- Place the trivet over the beef curry ingredients, let it touch the bottom of the stainless steel pan.
- Place the bowl with brown rice and water on the trivet.
- Close the pot with the lid.
- Cancel Saute mode, turn on Pressure cook mode.
- Set time to 25 MINUTES, HIGH PRESSURE.
- After 25 minutes of pressure cooking, do a quick pressure release.
- Wear a mitten it's super hot, take the rice bowl and trivet out of the pot.
- To the cooked beef curry, add chopped cilantro. Combine well.
- Take the stainless steel pot out of the main instant pot and keep the beef curry covered for a few minutes before serving.
- Serve beef curry into a bowl and enjoy along with the perfectly cooked brown rice.
1:1 rice-water ratio will make crisp rice.
