Pressure Cooker Persian Lamb Shanks with Eggplant and Tomatoes (Khoresht Bademjan)

What did you do on summer vacation? I ate my way down the Northwest coast, traveling from Portland, Oregon to Yosemite National Park, California.

One of the best meals was at Maykadeh Persian Restaraunt in San Francisco. The kids and I had great kebabs, and the eggplant dips and fresh-baked flatbread were a revelation. But the best thing at the table was my wife's order, Khoresht Badjeman. Lamb Shanks braised with eggplant and tomatoes, full of sweet spices, and served with a side of basmati rice.

Here's my take on this Persian classic. As usual, I used pressure to speed up the cooking time. No pressure cooker? No worries. See the Notes section for standard cooking instructions.

Recipe: Pressure Cooker Persian Lamb Shanks with Eggplant and Tomatoes (Khoresht Bademjan)

Cooking time: 60 minutes (30 under pressure)

Equipment:

• 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I used my Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 (1 pound) lamb shanks
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large leek, cleaned and white part minced (or substitute a large onion)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 cup chicken stock (preferably homemade) or water
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• Juice of 1 lime

Directions

1. Brown the lamb shanks
Season the lamb shanks with 2 teaspoons salt. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat in the pressure cooker pot until shimmering. Add half the shanks and sear for 6 minutes, giving the shanks a quarter turn every two minutes to brown them on all sides. Remove the browned shanks to a bowl. Add the second batch of shanks to the pot, and sear for 6 minutes. Move the second batch into to the bowl.
*If you have a large enough pressure cooker, you can sear in one batch

2. Brown the eggplant
Salt the eggplant and add it to the pressure cooker pot. Sauté, stirring often, until the eggplant is lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon to same bowl as lamb shanks. *The eggplant will soak up all the oil in the pot

3. Saute the aromatics
Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pot, and heat until it is shimmering, about 1 minute. Add the leek, tomato paste, salt, turmeric, cinnamon, and black pepper to pot. Saute, stirring often, until the tomato paste browns and the leek softens, about 3 minutes.

4. Build the stew
Stir 1 cup of chicken stock into the leek and tomato paste mixture, then carefully scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any stuck tomato paste. Stir in the eggplant, lamb shanks, and any juices in the bowl. Pour the crushed tomatoes over the top of the lamb shanks, but don't stir. (Tomatoes on the bottom of the pot may scorch.)

5. Pressure Cook the Stew
Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and bring it up to high pressure. Cook at high pressure for 30 minutes (40 in electric PC), then let the pressure come down naturally, about another 15 minutes.

6. Serve
Remove the shanks from the pressure cooker to a serving platter. Stir the lime juice into the eggplant-tomato mix in the pot, taste, and add salt and pepper if needed. To serve, ladle the eggplant-tomato mix onto a plate and top with a lamb shank.

Notes:

• Serve with basmati rice or couscous.
• If you're in a hurry, you can skip the browning steps for the lamb and eggplant, and start with sauteing the aromatics. This cuts about 15 minutes from the total cooking time. I like the extra layers of flavor that are built up by browning the lamb and eggplant, but I also know what it's like to be in a hurry on a weeknight.
• No pressure cooker? No worries. Use a heavy bottomed dutch oven with a lid, and increase the amount of chicken stock to 2 cups. Follow the instructions right up until "lock the lid". Then, instead of pressure cooking, bring the pot to a boil, and cover with the lid. Move the pot to a preheated 350*F oven and bake for 2 hours, until the lamb shanks are tender.

What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Related Posts:

Pressure Cooker Massaman Beef Curry
Pressure Cooker Cochinita Pibil (Yucatecan pit cooked bork)
Pressure Cooker Lamb Stew with Guinness and Barley

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