What is goat curry?
Goat curry is basically small cuts of goat slow-cooked or pressure-cooked in a gravy made with onions, tomatoes, garlic, and aromatic spices. There are as many varieties of goat curries in India as there are dialects and more. That is to say that there is no one way of making it. The goat curry recipe I am sharing today combines a Punjabi goat curry, a Bengali goat curry, and a Kerala goat curry to make this delicious fusion of a dish. The meat becomes fall off the bone tender and juicy and it’s so flavorful that the whole house starts smelling like a fancy Indian restaurant.
I add potatoes whenever I make a goat curry or chicken curry for that matter. The potatoes are cooked in the gravy rendering them juicy and so flavorful! Plus it stretches the dish making it a reducetarian recipe. You can also add raw papaya, which makes the goat soft, green beans, carrots, or other fibrous vegetables.
Where to buy goat meat?
If you live outside of India, most big supermarkets carry goat meat. They are typically labeled as “chevon” — the French word for mature goat meat — or as cabrito in Mexican stores. Most Indian grocery stores also carry it.
Is goat healthy?
Goat meat is very lean, even compared to lean cuts of beef and chicken, but like any other animal, layers of fat protect many of its muscle groups. Sometimes goats have an unpleasant musky-smell, which can be attributed to the fat. Try to trim away as much of the surface fat and seam fat as possible before cooking it.
How to get the goat odor out?
Removing the fat will tone down the unpleasant flavor to a good extent. You can also soak the meat in cold brine water. The salt helps draw out the odor from the meat. Soaking the meat in milk or buttermilk for a few hours has a similar effect, and buttermilk also helps tenderize tougher cuts. Using an acid-based marinade, which this recipe does, also extracts the unpleasant taste and odor.
How to make goat curry?
Wash and clean goat meat. Sprinkle some salt, lime juice, and tenderizer if you desire. Let sit for 30 minutes.
Make whole masala powder: dry roast cumin seeds, coriander seeds, red chilies, cloves, peppercorn, and cardamoms. Grind into a coarse powder.
Chop onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, potatoes and whatever vegetables you are using.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add your preferred dry whole spices. I typically use a bay leaf, cardamoms, dry red chilies, cloves, cinnamon, and peppercorns.
Add onions and 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar to the heated oil. Browning the onions will add a darker color to the gravy, which you want when making a goat curry.
Add ginger and garlic and saute until the raw smell has disappeared around 1-2 minutes.
Add cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, chili powder, and the ground spice and saute for 5-6 more minutes on medium heat.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, salt.
Add goat meat. Give everything a good stir.
Now add the vegetables, stir, and add just enough water to immerse everything.
Prepare fried onion masala: Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chilies, and a lot of sliced onions. The more the better. Saute over medium to high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.
Once the goat has cooked, let steam escape from the pressure cooker and add this to the goat curry. Cook over low heat until oil separates and gravy thickens. You may need to take out the potatoes and other vegetables so they don’t melt into the gravy.
Finish with coriander leaves/cilantro.
Check below for the recipe with detailed instructions and ingredients list.
Goat Curry
Equipment
- pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 500 grams goat meat
- 1 lime
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp meat tenderizer (optional)
- 1 tbsp mustard oil canola or vegetable oil works too
For dry masala
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 dry red chilies
- 4-6 cloves
- 8-10 peppercorns
- 4-5 green cardamoms
For the gravy
- 2 tbsp mustard oil canola or vegetable oil also works
- 1 bay leaf
- 4-5 cardamoms
- 4 cloves
- 1 dry red chili
- 6-8 peppercorns
- 1/2 inch cinnamon
- 4 large onions (preferably red) finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 8-10 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 2 inch ginger finely chopped
- 2 green chilies slit
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 potatoes peeled and halved
- 1 cup water
- salt to taste
- 1 spring cilantro/coriander leaves
For fried onion masala
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 dry red chili
- 1 spring curry leaves
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 large red onion sliced
Instructions
- Wash and clean goat meat. Trim all the excess surface fat if desired. Sprinkle some salt, lime juice, and tenderizer (optional). Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Make whole masala powder: dry roast cumin seeds, coriander seeds, red chilies, cloves, peppercorn, and cardamoms. Grind into a coarse powder. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add the whole dry spices listed under "for the gravy".
- Add onions and 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar to the heated oil. Browning the onions will add a darker color to the gravy, which you want when making a goat curry.
- Add ginger and garlic and saute until the raw smell has disappeared around 1-2 minutes.
- Add cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, chili powder, and the ground spice and saute for 5-6 more minutes of medium heat. I like to dissolve the powdered spices in a few tablespoons of water before adding to the pan. This makes sure that the spices don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Add tomatoes and tomato paste and cook until the raw onion smell disappears, 2-3 more minutes.
- Add goat meat. Give everything a good stir.
- Now add the vegetables, stir, and add just enough water to immerse everything. Add salt to taste. You will be able to adjust salt later when you taste the curry. Close the pressure cooker lid and cook until 2 whistles are given out. The cooking time will depend on the pressure cooker. Some trial and error may be needed. Let the steam escape entirely before releasing the pressure cooker lid. If the meat feels tough, you will need to cook it some more. You may need to take out the potatoes and other vegetables so they don't melt into the gravy.
- Prepare fried onion masala. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chilies, and a lot of sliced onions. The more the better. Saute over medium to high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.
- Once the goat has cooked, let steam escape from the pressure cooker and add this to the goat curry. Continue to cook over low heat until oil separates and gravy thickens.
- Finish with coriander leaves/cilantro.
- Serve with roti, parantha, steamed rice, or pulao. Pickled onions and green chutney go great with this goat curry.
Notes
Nutrition
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Dhrubaa Mukherjee--An academic by profession, a contributor to Huffington Post, a dancer by passion, a compulsive foodie, a former flight attendant, and a constant traveler, I am, what they call, a transnational gourmand (gourmet?). I am not only fascinated by the tastes, colors, textures and aromas of food, I am equally intrigued by the histories, traditions and cultural inter-junctions that drive/influence recipes.
Lovely Mutton Curry just like a splendid Laal Maas. It will also bring your kitchen essentials to perfect use.
Hi 👋
I tried this recipe tonight… I followed the directions of grinding the dry masala coarsely but when do I add that in..? Is that the same as the whole spices in the ‘For Gravy’ part?
It’s where I say you have to add the ground spice, before adding tomatoes. Hope this helps.