Aloo gosht (mutton curry with potatoes) is a Pakistani meat curry made with meat (mutton or goat meat in this recipe) and potatoes in a curry base made of onion and tomatoes. Recipe includes stovetop method and pressure cooker method.
What is Aloo Gosht (Mutton curry with Potatoes)?
Literally named for the main two ingredients in this salan, which are aloo (potatoes) and gosht (meat), aloo gosht is a curry that is probably made in every Pakistani household once a week or maybe more.
In fact, it is probably the most frequent answer to the most difficult question of all - ‘aaj kia pakayein?’
Can’t figure out what to make for dinner. Let’s make aloo gosht.
Impromptu guests turning up for dinner. Let’s make aloo gosht.
Some people call it aloo gosht while others call it aloo gosht ka salan; salan being the Urdu equivalent of gravy. The meat used is usually mutton (goat meat) but can also be beef, lamb or chicken. It is a simple dish to make using ingredients that will always be found in a Pakistani pantry, and loved by everyone. Even me, who rarely eat mutton (goat meat) . What I would do is ignore the meat and just eat the potatoes which become so flavourful after absorbing all those meat juices.
About 10 years or so ago we had drastically reduced the amount of red meat consumption in our household due to health concerns resulting in my mother replacing beef / mutton with chicken in our regular Pakistani curries. That of course resulted in aloo gosht turning into aloo chicken. Though it tastes good and I happily eat the chicken, the potatoes just don’t have that rich meaty flavour that comes from using meat.
How to make Aloo Gosht (Mutton curry with Potatoes)?
There are many versions for this traditional recipe; some people prefer a gharha salan (thick salan) and some prefer a thin salan, similar to shorba (whatsoup). Some use yoghurt, others use garam masala but either ways the result is always comforting.
The recipe I follow is my mother’s because that’s what I grew up eating. Start off with frying off the onions, then blending them with water to make a chunky paste. Fry off the onion paste, add the ginger garlic paste, meat and spices. Start bhonofying - caramelise the meat, and let the spices work their magic. Add the tomatoes and cook till they soften.
Then just add potatoes, and water. Put the meat on simmer, and forget it about it for an hour till the meat is tender. Or you could use a pressure cooker, and have aloo gosht ready in 30 minutes. Whatever method you use, the end result is going to be scrumptious!
Looking for more Pakistani & Indian recipes for your weekly dinner inspiration.
- Ginger Chicken, Pakistani style
- Murghi ka Salan (Chicken curry with Onions and Tomatoes)
- Karahi Chicken
- Lobia ka Salan (Black eyed peas in curry)
- Zeera Chicken Handi (Creamy chicken curry with cumin)
📖 Recipe
Aloo Gosht or Mutton curry with Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 2 medium onions sliced
- ½ kg mutton cut into pieces (bone-in) goat meat
- 2 medium potatoes cut into large quarters
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 2 green chilies sliced
- ¼ cup fresh coriander
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot. Add onions, and fry till golden brown. Take out the onions, and place in a blender. Blend with ¼ cup water into a chunky paste.
- In the same pot, heat the oil again and add onion paste. Fry for a few seconds and then add ginger garlic paste followed by mutton pieces.
- Fry for 2 – 3 minutes till the colour of mutton changes, and then add coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric and salt.
- Fry for a minute or so, then add tomatoes. Fry for about 15 – 20 minutes till tomatoes soften.
- Add about 2 cups of water. Adjust water based on the amount of gravy that is preferred.
- Bring the salan to a boil, and then turn heat to low. Cover with the lid ¾th of the way, and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and keep cooking, till the mutton and potatoes both are tender. This will take about an hour.
- Once the mutton is tender, garnish with green chilies and coriander. Serve hot with naan or rice.
Pressure cooker method
- Follow steps 1 – 4 in the saute / sear / cook mode in your pressure cooker. Once the tomatoes are softened, add potatoes and 2 cups of water. Pressure cook for 22 minutes (see notes), and quick release. Open the pressure cooker, and use the saute / sear mode to reduce the gravy to your desired consistency.
Notes
- Make sure the onions are a dark golden brown (but not burnt) as that will contribute to the rich colour of the final salan / shorba.
- Mutton takes about 1 hour – 1 ½ hours to cook in total, which is why the potatoes are added later in the stove top, otherwise they will turn mushy.
- Chicken or lamb can be used instead of mutton, but time will have to be adjusted accordingly. If using chicken make sure to use bone-in chicken pieces, and the total cook time would be about 45 minutes.
- I use the Philips Viva electric pressure cooker. You may need to adjust time and method based on the pressure cooker you personally have.
Rukhsana says
I made it numerous times! Super delicious! But i am agreeing with you.. We cannot eat red meat often..sighs... Can't be helped... Very tempting taste! Thumbs up!
Madiha says
Aloo gosht is comfort food.
Melina Nancy says
Delicious mutton curry ,i try this recipe..