Like aloo keema, homestyle aloo gosht is a classic Pakistani comfort meal that keeps you coming back. Succulent mutton and fork-tender potatoes simmer in a rich, aromatic curry. It’s one of those easy one-pot meals that’s easy to make but packed with flavor.
What is Aloo Gosht?
Aloo gosht is a traditional Indian recipe consisting of aloo (potatoes) cooked with gosht (meat), usually mutton, lamb, or beef. Depending on how you prepare the dish, you may categorize it as a curry, stew, or shorba. Eat it with aromatic, long-grained basmati rice or bread such as roti, paratha, or naan.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ghee: Develop a deep, nutty flavor for the dish by sautéing the whole spices, onion, and garlic in ghee.
- Whole Spices: Warm whole black cardamom, green cardamom, black peppercorns, and half of a cinnamon stick to draw out their flavor.
- Onion: Thinly slice the onions and use a lot of them.
- Garlic: I suggest using four cloves, but don’t let my recipe tell you how much garlic to use – measure with your heart.
- Ginger Paste: Infuse the dish with even more flavor using ginger paste. You can also use one teaspoon of freshly grated ginger if you prefer.
- Ground Spices: I use a combination of salt, Kashmiri chili powder, red pepper flakes, ground cumin, turmeric, and coriander powder to season our aloo gosht recipe.
- Mutton: Gosht means meat in Urdu and Hindi. More often than not, it refers to goat or lamb; traditional aloo gosht typically features bone-in goat. However, you can also prepare aloo gosht with goat, lamb, or beef.
- Tomatoes: Ripe, fresh tomatoes are the base for the flavorful shorba. Roma tomatoes work best because they have less moisture than other varieties. I use a food processor to puree the tomatoes beforehand because it shortens the cooking time. You can dice the tomatoes and reduce them, but this will increase the cooking time.
- Yogurt: Tenderize the goat and thicken the curry with full-fat yogurt.
- Potatoes: I like creamy Yukon gold potatoes for this recipe, but you can use red, fingerling, or russet potatoes as long as you cut them uniformly so they cook evenly.
- Garnish: Garnish the stew with a pinch of garam masala, thinly sliced green chilies, and chopped cilantro.
How to Make Aloo Gosht
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Warm the ghee in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add black cardamom, green cardamom, black peppercorn, and a cinnamon stick to the pan and cook until the ingredients sputter, for about 30 seconds.
Step 2: Add the onions and saute for 10 minutes until they become translucent and soften. Then, stir in garlic and ginger paste and cook for another 30 seconds.
Step 3: Season with salt, Kashmiri chili powder, red pepper flakes, ground cumin, turmeric, and coriander powder.
Step 4: Increase the heat and add the goat meat to the pan. Keep stirring on high heat to seal in the juices.
Step 5: Then, deglaze the pan with the pureed tomatoes and stir to combine.
Step 6: Reduce the heat to medium, and add just enough water to cover the goat, about 1 cup. Cook until the meat is almost tender, for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Step 7: Remove the lid and continue cooking. Simmer while gradually adding the yogurt until the gravy is smooth and the ghee separates to the edges, about 10-15 minutes.
Step 8: Add the potatoes and nestle them into the pot. Add ½-1 cup of water, if necessary, to cover the potatoes. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Step 9: Garnish with a sprinkle of garam masala, fresh green chilies, and chopped cilantro.
Expert Tips
- If you prefer aloo gosht with more shorba (or curry), increase the amount of onions, tomatoes, and water. Similarly, if you prefer a thicker stew, reduce the onion and tomato quantity.
- Like bhuna and palak gosht, preparing aloo gosht involves a cooking technique called ‘bhunning.’ During the cooking process, the goat tenderizes in a Dutch oven. Then, the meat fries in the pan with the onions and tomatoes until it reduces and the ghee escapes to the sides, resulting in a highly concentrated and flavorful masala.
If you love this recipe, try one of these Pakistani favorites!
Serving Suggestions
- Bread: Naan, Roti, Paratha, Chapati
- Rice: Jeera Rice, Basmati Rice, Mutton Yakhni Pulao
- Salad: Avocado Cucumber Tomato Salad, Chickpea Salad, Kachumber Salad
- Sauce: Raita, Chutney, Serrano Crema
What to do with the Leftovers
- Refrigerate – Store the leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freeze – Let the dish cool completely, and transfer it to a freezer-safe container. Aloo gosht freezes for up to 2-3 months.
- Thaw – Defrost the meat and potatoes in the refrigerator overnight.
- Reheat – Warm the leftovers on the stovetop, and prepare your rice and naan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the meaning of aloo gosht in English?
Aloo is “potatoes” and gosht is “mutton or lamb”, which means goat and potatoes, and both of them cook together in a rich and flavorful curry to make aloo gosht.
How to cut the potatoes for aloo gosht?
When preparing the potatoes for the curry, I prefer to slice them in half since I use only a few smaller potatoes. You can also cut them into rounds, quarters, or cubes. However you decide to cut them, I recommend slicing them the same size to ensure they cook at the same rate.
Can I make this recipe in an Instant Pot?
1. Warm the green in an Instant Pot on saute mode. Add black cardamom, green cardamom, black peppercorn, and a cinnamon stick to the pan and cook until the ingredients sputter, for about 30 seconds.
2. Add the onions and saute for 10 minutes until they become translucent and soften. Then, stir in garlic and ginger paste and cook for another 30 seconds.
3. Season with salt, Kashmiri chili powder, red pepper flakes, ground cumin, turmeric, and coriander powder.
4. Stir in the goat meat and cook to seal in the juices. Then, deglaze the pot with the chopped tomatoes and stir to combine.
5. Add just enough water to cover the goat, about 1 cup. Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes until the meat is almost tender. Then, let the pot naturally release for 10 minutes.
6. Remove the lid and continue cooking on saute. Simmer while gradually adding the yogurt until the gravy is smooth and the oil separates to the edges, about 10-15 minutes.
7. Add the potatoes and nestle them into the pot. Add ½-1 cup of water, if necessary, to cover the potatoes. Cover with the lid, but do not seal it, and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender.
More Curry Recipes:
Aloo Gosht
- ⅓ cup ghee
- 1 black cardamom
- 3-4 green cardamom
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- 1½ pounds goat meat, bone-in and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 medium tomatoes, pureed
- ¼ cup yogurt, full-fat
- 3-4 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, and cut into ¼ – inch rounds
- 1 pinch garam masala, to garnish
- 1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced, to garnish
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped, to garnish
- Warm the ghee in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add black cardamom, green cardamom, black peppercorn, and a cinnamon stick to the pan and cook until the ingredients sputter, for about 30 seconds.
- Add the onions and saute for 10 minutes until they become translucent and soften. Then, stir in garlic and ginger paste and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Season with salt, Kashmiri chili powder, red pepper flakes, ground cumin, turmeric, and coriander powder.
- Increase the heat and add the goat meat to the pan. Keep stirring on high heat to seal in the juices. Then, deglaze the pan with the chopped tomatoes and stir to combine.
- Reduce the heat to medium, and add just enough water to cover the goat, about 1 cup. Cook until the meat is almost tender, for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking. Simmer while gradually adding the yogurt until the gravy is smooth and the oil separates to the edges, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and nestle them into the pot. Add ½-1 cup of water, if necessary, to cover the potatoes. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Garnish with a sprinkle of garam masala, fresh green chilies, and chopped cilantro.
- If you prefer aloo gosht with more shorba (or curry), increase the amount of onions, tomatoes, and water. Similarly, if you prefer a thicker stew, reduce the onion and tomato quantity.
- Like bhuna and palak gosht, preparing aloo gosht involves a cooking technique called ‘bhunning.’ During the cooking process, the goat tenderizes in a Dutch oven. Then, the meat fries in the pan with the onions and tomatoes until it reduces and the ghee escapes to the sides, resulting in a highly concentrated and flavorful masala.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.