KASHMIRI ALOO GOSHT
KASHMIRI ALOO GOSHT IS A CROWDPLEASING INDIAN CURRY RECIPE.
Kashmiri aloo gosht is a family friendly Indian curry recipe that takes its cues from our Kashmiri Hindu family recipes. Aloo means potato, so this lamb curry with potato is generally a crowdpleaser for kids and for adults alike. The spicing is delicious but not challenging or confronting for younger or more naive palates.
Learn more about cooking Indian lamb curries >
RECIPE DETAILS
Serves: 4 as part of an Indian meal.
Cooking time: 60 minutes (including prep time).
Dietary Style: Gluten Free | Dairy Free
INGREDIENTS
TOMATO PREP
- 3 tomatoes
FOR THE PRESSURE COOKER
- 5 tbsp mustard oil
- two pinches hing powder
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.2 kg lamb shoulder, chopped in to two-inch pieces
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
THE NEXT STEPS
- 1/3 cup of cold water
- 2.5 tsp fine pink salt
PREPPING THE MASALA
- .5 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp cumin seed
- .5 tsp cumin powder
- 3 tsp coriander powder
- .5 tsp cinnamon powder
THE FINAL PRODUCE
- 300 gm diced raw potatoes
OPTIONAL FINISH
- flaked salt to taste
METHOD
How to make our Kashmiri aloo gosht lamb curry .
STEP 1
Pop the tomatoes in a pressure cooker and top with cold water until the tomatoes are half covered. Pressure cook until the steam releases once. Turn off the heat and let decompress. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, totally cover the tomatoes in boiling water and leave until the skin starts to soften and wrinkle away from the flesh. Strain. Skin and core the softened tomatoes and then blitz with a stick blender until smooth and then set aside. I don’t often do this—most of the time I’m happy to rough chop tomatoes and throw them in—but I want this end result to be simple and soft and a smoothly blended, de-skinned tomato will give masala a gentler, finer expression.
STEP 2
Add the mustard oil to a pressure cooker and heat on high heat until smoking. Cool off. Then re-heat on a high heat, adding the hing powder and the bay leaves. Stir through briefly before adding in the large-ish chunks of diced lamb. Normally I’m a browning fiend and will often brown meats in a kadai with a half cup of mustard oil and yoghurt, topping up with a mix of whey, yoghurt, fenugreek, salt and chilli to keep the browning going for up to 90 minutes. But simple aloo gosht showcasing fine pink salt is about delicacy, and delicacy with masala requires some elegant scaffolding of spice, and restraint.
STEP 3
Brown the lamb in the pressure cooker for around 15 minutes. With Kashmiri meat dishes, we use this technique a lot. You want it to look like the protein is a little tensioned, but that the meat itself isn’t too caramelised. It should have a soft colour.
STEP 4
Add the Kashmiri chilli powder to the cold water and stir through. Tip the chilli water into the pressure cooker. This will both deglaze the pot and prevent the chilli powder from burning. Chilli in water also disperses evenly. Taste now—there will be heat, and you’ll get the sense that the meatiness and richness of the lamb is a little out of reach.
Straight away add the fine pink salt. Adding the salt at the beginning of the browning process draws out moisture and increases caramelisation. It’s what I would typically do. Keeping it soft means changing the “when” of the salt addition—adding after the initial browning doesn’t just minimise the draw of moisture from protein but also “hides” the browning process a little: because salt isn’t in there to tell that story, it’s recessed in the dish a little. Try the rich stock in the pressure cooker to get a feel for what the salt adds—it brings the lamb back forward and creates a sweet, meaty weight of a mouthful.
STEP 5
While the meat in the pressure cooker continues to brown, compile a small bowl with the rest of the spices—turmeric powder, cumin seed, cumin powder, coriander powder, ginger powder, and cinnamon powder. Set by the stovetop.
STEP 6
In a small frying pan, heat the pureed tomatoes until bubbling. Add the masala by the stovetop and stir through until aromatic. You can try the tomato-masala mix. The ginger powder will work with the sweetness of the tomato and the recessed dry heat of cinnamon powder to make the whole thing feel pretty fiery. The first time I tried it, I had to double check that I hadn’t accidentally added a second hit of chilli. Don’t worry if you don’t like it hot—the heat mellows through the cooking process.
Add the tomato and masala mix to the pressure cooker, using two or there tablespoons of water to swirl the last of the tomato-masala out of the frying pan and also add a little more liquid to the dish itself—when pressure cooking, there needs to be liquid and not just oil in the base to prevent the whole thing sticking.
STEP 7
The final addition is the potatoes. Again, while I’d normally pre-fry or pre-roast the potatoes for added depth and intensity, I add these ones raw. The naked potatoes create additional subtlety in the masala—raw potato is broader and flatter and translates masala more like a river delta. Soft. Spread.
STEP 8
At this point all that’s left to do is add the lid, put on high heat and wait until the pressure cooker emits three or four jets of steam before turning it down to medium and letting it putter along for anywhere between 25 and 45 minutes depending on the strength and size of your pressure cooker. Let the pressure cooker de-pressurise on its own . This can take up to 25 minutes. Serve with simple yellow dal and basmati rice.
LEARN MORE ABOUT
INDIAN LAMB CURRIES
Are lamb and mutton different?
Yes. Mutton is goat meat and it is generally mutton and not lamb that is used in Hindu red meat curries, as Hindu’s traditionally don’t eat beef. Mutton is a little sweeter with a more delicate fat. It requires less cooking time than lamb to become tender.
What is aloo gosht?
Aloo means potato in Hindu. Gosht means meat. Aloo gosht is a traditional meat curry normally made from mutton that has slightly different variations across the regions of India. In general aloo gosht is like the idea of an English lamb casserole in that it is widely loved, enjoyed by families, and hugely popular.
What is a Kashmiri lamb or mutton curry?
A Kashmiri lamb or mutton curry is a recipe that originates in Kashmir. My family are Kashmiri Hindus, and so our recipe origins and spice choices are made against that backdrop. Indian food is very regional. Kashmiri Hindu cuisine typically showcases beautifully constructed and elegant spicing.
What is the best lamb curry to make for families?
Though that depends on your family, a recipe like aloo gosht is great for families because it is made with potatoes (who doesn’t love potatoes?) and the spicing is delicious but not too over the top. If you do love a hotter curry, then adding fresh chilli and a hotter chilli powder will get you to where you want to go.
KITCHEN HACKS
