Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Curry Goat

We were so blessed to have met one of our talented chef & restaurateur clients from Chennai, South India.

He makes such amazing South Indian food. He totally blew me away with the most simple yet delicious Dosa.

Because of him, I fell in love with Mango Lassi, super tender and moist Nepalese Chicken 65 paired with house-made tamarind sauce & chutney. Oh, of course Masala Dosa and Vindaloo Dosa…I need one now!!

Before working with him, Indian food to me was just butter chicken, samosas, tandoori, naan, or curries. We didn’t know how much we were missing out!

Indian food is full of exciting spices, aromatic herbs, and chilies. It has a lot of complexity and depths of flavors and fragrances. There’s still so much more Indian food for us to explore!!

We love eating lamb, so when we saw a bag of “bone-in goat meat (shoulder) for stewing” sitting right next to where we usually buy our lamb. We immediately jumped on it.

Time for some Pressure Cooker Goat Curry!

Step-by-Step Guide: Indian Pressure Cooker Curry Goat

Ingredients for Pressure Cooker Curry Goat:

• 1.1 lbs (500g) frozen goat shoulder, cubed
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 small onions, sliced or diced
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 medium potato, quartered
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons curry powder *see DIY Curry Powder
• ¼ teaspoon Indian chili powder
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) Tomato paste
• 1 ¼ cup (313ml) water or unsalted chicken stock
• Kosher salt and black pepper

Why Eat Goat?

Goat meat is somewhat a healthier and more flavorful version of lamb as it contains less cholesterol, fat, and protein than lamb (and beef too).

In fact, it actually has similar amount of protein as chicken breast! 🙂

Tools for Pressure Cooker Curry Goat Recipe

• Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
• Bamboo Wooden Spoons

Heat Up Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Heat up your pressure cooker.

• Instant Pot Users: press Sauté button and click the adjust button to go to Sauté More function.

Make sure your pot is as hot as it can be when you place the goat shoulder in the pot (Instant Pot: wait until the indicator says HOT).

*Pro Tip: If you are using frozen goat shoulder meat, be careful.

Brown Goat Shoulder

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pot. Ensure to coat the oil over whole bottom of the pot.

Add the goat shoulder in the pot.

Add in 2 pinches of kosher salt and black pepper.

Then, brown the goat shoulder on all sides (total: roughly 5 minutes).

Remove and set aside.

Sauté Shallot, Onion, Ginger, Garlic

Reduce the heat to medium (Instant pot: press cancel button, then press sauté button).

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pot, then add in sliced onion, minced ginger and shallot, then stir for roughly a minute.

Add the minced garlic and stir for roughly 30 seconds until fragrant.

Mix Curry and Deglaze

Add in 3 tablespoons of curry powder and ¼ teaspoon of Indian chili pepper, then stir for roughly 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant.

Add ¼ cup (63ml) of water or chicken stock and fully deglaze the pot with a wooden spoon.

Add in remaining 1 cup (250ml) of water or chicken stock.

Pressure Cook Goat Curry

Place all the goat shoulder with all the meat juice into the pot.

Add 1/2 cup (125 ml) of tomato paste on top of the goat shoulder. Do NOT stir.

Add in the quartered potatoes.

Close lid and pressure cook at

• Pressure Cooking Method: High Pressure for 35 to 40 minutes (see tips section below), then Full Natural Release (roughly 15 minutes)

Garnish and Serve Instant Pot Goat Curry 

Open the lid carefully, break up the potatoes to thicken the curry sauce.

Stir in one tablespoon of chopped cilantro.

Taste the seasoning and add in more salt to greatly enhance the flavors.

*Pro Tip: we added 3 pinches of sea salt, please adjust accordingly!

Serve immediately with our Instant Pot Basmati Rice or naan! 🙂

Tips for Indian Pressure Cooker Curry Goat Recipe

1. Pressure Cooker Goat Curry Cooking Time

Here are the super brief conclusions from our testings. Choose the cooking time depending on how much chew you like the goat meat to have.

• High Pressure for 35 minutes, then Natural Release: the goat meat is moist, flavorful, and have some chew.
• High Pressure for 40 minutes, then Natural Release: the goat meat is moist, flavorful, and very tender.

The cooking time and release method makes a huge difference on the goat meat’s result. If it’s done incorrectly, the goat meat will be very tough and dry.

*Pro Tip: You don’t need to change the cooking time if you’re using thawed goat shoulder.

2. High Quality Curry Powder

Please use a high quality blend of curry powder as it’s the heart and soul of this dish. We bought ours in our local “Indian town”. But if you couldn’t find any curry powder, you can make your own from scratch.

Ingredients for a very basic curry powder made from scratch

• 1 – 2 tablespoons Cumin seed, ground
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• ¼ – ½ teaspoon Indian chili powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric, ground

3. Adjust Your Preferred Spiciness

Our pressure cooker curry goat recipe is only mildly spicy. So, if you like your curries hot or very hot, adjust the spiciness by using ½ teaspoon (or more) Indian chili powder. Be cautious and don’t burn your throat as Indian chili powder is very hot.

4. Make More Rice or Naan!

We ran out of rice soooo quickly as we were scooping the goat curry one spoonful after another.

So remember to make more rice than usual! 😉