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This Instant Pot Pakistani Beef Curry, or stew, is an easy Pakistani beef recipe in which boneless beef stew meat is cooked alongside onions and whole spices. Also called Isto or Ishtu, this is a deeply flavorful and healthy Instant Pot beef recipe. The best part? It’s a dump-and-go recipe with only 10 minutes of prep work before it starts cooking!
What Is Pakistani Beef Stew?
For the life of me, I could not figure out what to call this recipe. It’s not anything I grew up with, or had ever heard of, until I had the mind-blowing experience of tasting it. My cousin’s mom-in-law, who introduced us to it, calls it Isto, which I believe is ‘stew’ lost in transliteration.
Still, I found the name ‘stew’ unsettling. The meat is not wading in gravy like it would in a stew. I see no vegetables. Sleepless nights, I tell you.
Beef Korma, Bhunna Gosht (Sautéed meat), Beef Masala…It has elements of all these dishes, but it’s not any of them.
Luckily, my Instagram community came to the rescue and told me, yes, indeed, Ishtu (pronounced “Ishtew”) is a recipe in which beef is cooked in lots of onion and whole spices (or khara masala). It’s more like a curry, but I’ll pay homage to the history of South Asian cuisine and also refer to it as a stew.
Ingredients for Pakistani Beef Curry
While this recipe calls for several whole spices, they’re actually the most commonly used spices in Indian and Pakistani cooking and most are readily available at major grocery stores.
Other than the whole spices, this recipe requires simple ingredients like onions, yogurt, garlic and ginger. Almonds are a must to enhance the texture and give it a luxurious, Mughal-inspired finish.
How To Make Pakistani Beef Curry In The Instant Pot
This is the easiest of my Instant Pot recipes. Here’s how to make it:
- Marinate the beef in vinegar & water, then prep and add all of the ingredients listed under Instant Pot (order doesn’t matter). Drain the beef and mix it in.
- Secure the lid, seal, and set the timer to 45 minutes – High or select the Meat/Stew setting. Allow to naturally release for 10-15 minutes, then manually release any remaining pressure.
- Meanwhile, prepare the almonds by microwaving them in water, then peeling.
- Sauté until most of the water has evaporated. This part takes a bit of patience but it’s very much worth it. Toward the end, add the crushed ginger and peeled almonds. And you’re done!
In case you’re wondering, here’s the Instant Pot I use. Be sure to check out these 10+ Pakistani Instant Pot Recipes for more recipe ideas.
What Cut of Beef to Use for Stew
I use pre-cut beef stew meat, the same as the meat for nihari or haleem. Stew meat is essentially boneless beef that comes from the front shoulder (chuck) or rear muscle (round). If the type of stew meat is specified, I look for shoulder, as I’ve found it to be more tender.
For this recipe, you want the stew pieces to be 1-2 inches. If they’re longer, you may need to cut them in half.
How Long Does It Take to Make Pakistani Beef Curry (or Stew) in the Instant Pot?
My Instant Pot sets a timer of 45 minutes on high pressure when I select the Meat/Stew setting. I like to allow it to naturally release for 10-15 minutes to allow the water to stop boiling and the meat to get even more tender.
The longest part of this recipe is sautéing at the end. Apart from that, there’s very little work to be done. An hour and 30 minutes is around the time it’ll take (mostly hands off) to make this. To speed things up, you can also sauté out the excess water over the stovetop.
Tea For Turmeric Tips to make Pakistani Beef Curry in the Instant Pot:
- If you want the onions to be more prominent, thinly slice them. I finely chop them.
- Feel free to adjust the quantities to your taste. The basic rule is:
- more yogurt + onion = more sauté time but also more masala in the end product
- less yogurt + onion = less sauté time but also less masala in the end product
- Because we’re pressure cooking on high, the yogurt will curdle. That’ll resolve itself as you sauté it down.
How to make this Beef Curry on the Stovetop
Though I haven’t tried it myself, this recipe can easily be made over the stovetop. Just add all the ingredients for Instant Pot along with enough water to cover the meat. Then bring to a boil, cover, and lower the heat to a simmer for 2 1/2 -3 hours or until tender. Sauté out any extra moisture and add the finishing ingredients.
Pakistani Beef Curry Serving Suggestions
Since this is a relatively dry curry, it goes best with roti or naan, or any bread of choice. That’s the best way to experience it’s nuance and texture. As usual, discard the whole spices as you eat.
More Instant Pot Recipes
Easy Instant Pot Keema (Ground Beef Curry)
Instant Pot Pakistani Chicken Curry
Instant Pot Chicken Pulao (Instant Pot and Stovetop)
Easy Shaami Kebob (Instant Pot and Stovetop)
Instant Pot Nihari (See Slow Cooker version here)
Easy Instant Pot Pakistani Beef Curry (Stew)
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1 lb beef stew meat cut into 1 to 2 inch cubes
- 2 tbsp vinegar
To Pressure Cook:
- 1 large or 2 small onions (~220 g) chopped or sliced
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- 6 garlic cloves (leave whole)
- 8-10 dried button red chili peppers if using regular dried chilies, use less
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp whole cloves
- 1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1- inch cinnamon stick
- 2 whole green cardamom pods
- 1-2 whole black cardamom pods
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 – 1 cup plain whole milk yogurt*
After Pressure Cooking:
- 2 tbsp ~15-16 whole raw almonds
- 1- inch ginger crushed
- 1 tbsp cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- To marinate: In a medium bowl, combine the beef and vinegar and add enough water to cover the meat. Set aside and allow the beef to tenderize.
- Meanwhile, add all ingredients listed under ‘To Pressure Cook’ to the Instant Pot. Drain the beef, then rinse and add to the Instant Pot. Stir to mix. (No need to add water to the Instant Pot.)
- Close and seal the lid, then select the Meat/Stew Pressure Cook setting, with a timer set for 45 minutes on High Pressure. When the timer is up, allow pressure to naturally release for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the almonds: Place the almonds in a small microwave-safe bowl and add enough water to submerge. Microwave the almonds for 1 minute, then drain the water and rinse in cold water. Peel the skin off the almond and discard.
- Remove lid and Select High Sauté setting. Sauté until most of the moisture has dried up and the curry starts to thicken (~15 minutes). Gradually increase stirring as time goes on to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
- Add the crushed ginger and peeled almonds and sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the oil starts to separate from the curry. Taste and adjust salt. Cancel Sauté setting. Garnish with cilantro and serve with naan, roti, or other bread. Discard whole spices as you eat.
Hey Izzah
I made it a couple of times it turns out amazing! Having guests come over tomorrow and I am thinking to triple the meat. I’m not good with quantities so like one pack has 10 or so pieces of meat with bone.. will three days packs be enough for the 2x recipe or will it be 3x?
And also I have meat with bone will it require same time ? Waiting for your reply
Hi Fyza, apologies for the late response. I think 3x would be good as it sounds like your pack has 1 lb of meat (depending on size). And yes, bone-in would require same amount of meat.
Asalamolaikum sis!
Looking forward to trying this tonight! If doubling the amount of beef cubes, should I double everything else?
Thanks so much!
W.S. Yes! Go ahead and double! You’ll just have to saute at the end a little longer.
After trying Beef Karhai from a different website, I decided to try out this one. Here in a foreign country, where I am craving for Desi foods (I don’t get them except in a restaurant), I simply had to.
It turned out so fantastic that is beyond my words. Exactly like I’ve tasted during Eid days. Though it took me a long time, more than three hours on my stove. But results were the same. Also, the beef broke, turned scrambled – while sauteing.
But the taste was unbeaten. Just as I wanted. As close as it could get, to the Pakistani restaurants.
Thank you for posting this!
So nice to hear that, Asif! I’ll try to test it on the stovetop to get a better idea for those without an Instant Pot. Thank you for sharing your review!!
Do you really not need any water or liquid for this recipe except the yogurt? Can anyone confirm?
That’s correct. The beef will cook in its own moisture + yogurt. In fact, it’ll have plenty of leftover moisture after pressure cooking.
Hi. Thanks for this delicious and easy recipe. The only thing for me is that after the sautéing at the end the beef was breaking apart. It basically had a pulled beef look. Would I minimize pressure time or natural release time to avoid that next time?
My pleasure, Shaba! You’re right – that shouldn’t happen. Yes, try minimizing time to 35 minutes and that should do the trick! It occured to me that you may have it on the MORE instead of Normal setting. That could be what’s causing it.
Hi Izzah, will this recipe work with chicken instead of beef? I’ll adjust the pressure time to what I normally use for chicken.
Hi Zoya! Yes, that sounds delicious! Only thing I can think of is I’d skip the vinegar. Would love to hear back if you try it!
Assalam aĺaykum, fìrst time using my instañþ pot, i wanted to aďd potatoes òr peas, when do I add them in? Jzk
W.S! To add potatoes, you’d have to either boil them separately or cancel pressure 40 minutes into cooking, add potatoes, and pressure cook again. For peas, you can add them in after cooking and simply sauteing them in the residual liquid will cook them.
Oh wow!!! I am sooooooooooo excited to see this recipe, I can tell it is a wonderful recipe and the very next meal I make, I want it to be your recipe.. I will be reporting back. Thank you! Take care…
Thank you, Laura! I’m so glad you found it. One of my favs..Hope you get a chance to try!
Excellent recipe. I’d like to state an observation. Pakistani friends I have say iskool or sakool for school, and iscrew or sucroo for screw. What are the chances that ishtew (or ishtu) would by that convention, a variant of stew?
I agree with that observation! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and review!
I am new to Pakistani cooking (I’ve always left it up to my mom), so I was very nervous trying this out but everyone loved it!!! And this is a hard crowd to please so thank you for such an easy and delicious recipe!
You’re welcome, Ritz! Happy to help! Thanks for sharing your review!!
This recipe is nothing short of amazing!!! There are literally indescribable flavors in every bite. Plus, the recipe layout is straightforward and simple to follow. Do yourself a favor and double the recipe the first time you make it so you have leftovers, because you’ll definitely be going back for seconds, if not thirds!
What a nice review, Chris – made my day! Thanks so much for sharing and I’m so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Made this and your chana dal tonight and I’m obsessed with both! My toddler loved both as well!! Next week I’ll be trying the haleem!
So glad to hear that, Ashleigh! Thank you so much for taking the time to review! Hope you get to try Haleem!
Are we making on pressure cooker. What is the timer
I’m not sure of the exact timing in a pressure cooker but it would definitely take less time to cook. And be sure to cook on low pressure if you’re not using water.
Hi, I love your site and have enjoyed making your delicious recipes! The food turns out fantastic, almost as good as ammi’s home cooking (which is high praise!). I had a question about this one — I don’t have any dried chili peppers so can I sub chili powder instead? or fresh green serranos? We like to keep the spicy level fairly low so the kids can eat as well. Thanks again!
Thank you, Zehra! Yes, chili powder or red chili flakes would be great substitutes! A small serrano would also work!
Hi sister
There doesn’t seem to be any water mentioned in the ingredients list or directions but you mention it elsewhere. How much water if any should be added?
Hi Theo, no water added to the Instant Pot as the yogurt itself has enough liquid to cook the meat. The water I’ve mentioned is to dilute the vinegar.
I’ve made this at least 4 times now. Comes out amazing every time and with minimal effort. It really helped while I was fasting and didn’t feel like spending too much time in the kitchen. Just dump everything and go..my kind of recipe lol. And as usual, the instructions and notes are very thorough.
That’s awesome. Thank you so much, Aiysha! What a nice comment and I’m so glad you like it.
As the cousin whose mom in law introduced this recipe, I can vow that this recipe is just as good if not even better than the original. Thank you for blessing my taste buds with this simple, yet extremely flavorful dish. My husband and I both nearly cried happy tears, it was THAT good! :’)
Hahaha awww Love it!!! 🙂 🙂
I made this while I was fasting and followed the recipe exactly, it came out absolutely perfect. Your recipes are consistently a hit, I swear by them.
Amazing comment. So nice to hear that, Sana! Thank you so much!
Absolutely loved this recipe!! Just like all the others 😀 Ridiculously easy to make and yet so delicious and comforting.
Aw thanks so much, Kiran!
Thnx so much fr sharing all your delicious recipes..I’ve tried the vet.curry..and will also try the other ones.and congrats on your beautiful new baby boy!!!!!!!
Thank you very much!