Name: Instant Pot Lamb Haleem
Cook time: 50 minutes
Total time: 5½ to 20 hours
Yield: 4–6 Servings
Ingredients: ¾ cup assorted dals (such as chana dal, moong dal, masoor dal, and/or urad dal); ¼ cup white jasmine rice or other long-grain rice; ¼ cup pearl barley; 1½ lb. bone-in lamb stew meat; 3 tsp. kosher salt, divided, plus more; 1 6" piece fresh ginger; 3 medium shallots, thinly sliced; ⅓ cup ghee or vegetable oil; 4 garlic cloves, finely grated; 2 Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. garam masala; 1 tsp. (or more) cayenne pepper; 1 tsp. ground turmeric; 3 green Thai chiles, stems removed (optional); ½ cup (lightly packed) chopped cilantro, plus more for serving; ½ white onion, finely chopped; 2 limes, cut into wedges

Photo of Lamb Haleem in a bowl with shallots cilantro and ginger.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton

Haleem isn’t about eating a lot of meat. Instead, it’s a Pakistani dal, rice, and barley stew flavored with meat. And that bit of meat needs to be bone-in: As the bones simmer, all the collagen, marrow, and connective tissue create a savory, lip-smacking, umami-packed stew. That’s why haleem takes hours to gently simmer until the meat has completely fallen off the bone and the dal and grains nearly disappear into the stew. Use a pressure cooker (such as the Instant Pot) if you have one, which will slash the cook time and turn the whole thing into an easy, mostly hands-off affair.

Leftovers keep perfectly in the freezer, so if you’re cooking this on the stovetop, make the most of your time and double or triple the quantity to store it in the freezer as a gift to your future self.