Thai-Style Watermelon Rind Curry | Vegan Instant Pot Thai Curry
An easy Thai-style watermelon rind curry recipe made in Instant Pot with readily available ingredients! A sustainable vegan curry that's oh-so-delicious.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time4 minutesmins
Pressure Building + Pressure Releasing Time20 minutesmins
Total Time39 minutesmins
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Thai
Keyword: instant pot thai vegan curry, Thai-style watermelon rind curry
1cupjasmine/ sticky ricerinsed and soaked for 10 minutes
1.5cupsof water
Instructions
Prepare the curry paste-
In a blender or mixer jar, add the lemongrass, 8 to 10 basil leaves, curry powder, turmeric powder, and red chili powder. Grind it into a smooth paste by adding ¼ cup of water.
Prepare the curry-
Set the Instant Pot in dauté mode and add 2 tbsp sesame oil(can use any oil)
When the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and saute for 2 minutes.
Then add the chopped watermelon rind, followed by potatoes and carrots. (I had 120 grams of potatoes and carrots together)
Now add the salt and ground curry paste. Add ½ cup of water to the blender or mixer jar and rinse it and add it to the curry.
Mix well and turn off the Instant Pot
Cook the rice-
In a bowl that fits inside the Instant Pot, add the rinsed rice and 1.5 cups of water.
Place the egg rack or tall trivet in the Instant Pot, as shown in the video.
Place the rice bowl on the trivet. And close the Instant Pot.
Make sure the sealing ring is on, and the vent is in the sealing position. Pressure cook for 4 minutes at high-pressure mode and release the pressure quickly after 10 minutes.
Add coconut milk and simmer the curry-
Once the cooking is complete, carefully open the Instant Pot lid. Take out the rice and egg rack/trivet carefully.
Set the Instant Pot in saute mode. Add 1 cup of coconut milk, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Mix well.
Add the remaining basil leaves and let the curry simmer for 5 minutes. At this stage, you can check for salt and spice and adjust accordingly.
After 5 minutes, turn off the Instant Pot and serve the curry with rice.
Video
Notes
I served it with Teriyaki tofu, which added sufficient protein. But after cooking the curry, you can add pressed tofu cubes and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes and make it into a veggie and tofu curry.
You can use oil of your choice instead of sesame oil.
A little bit of red skin in the watermelon rind is ok, which adds sweetness to the curry. But you can always adjust the sugar amount as per your choice.
I recommend thick or full-fat coconut milk for this curry instead of the light one.
You can use Thai-basil instead of Italian sweet basil. In that case, reduce the basil leaves amount. 12 to 15 leaves are sufficient for this curry. But if you like the strong flavor of basil leaves, you can add more.
I used frozen and thawed lemongrass, and it wasn't strong enough, so I went with 12 grams. One stalk of fresh lemongrass or 1 to 1.5 tbsp of store-bought lemongrass paste would be sufficient for this measure.
If you can't source lemongrass, then 1.5 tsp of lime zest and 1 tbsp of lime juice instead.
Instead of this curry paste, you can use store-bought red curry paste or green curry paste and use it.
I did not include any cilantro. But you can use cilantro stems while making the curry paste and also some leaves to garnish.