Gobi Gosht
Roots are woven into our identity. It’s pointless to deny them. You’ll find them if you look: in your food preferences, in your clockwork cravings for chai, in your familiarity with something as innocuous as Gobi Gosht. Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, get recipes & tips every week! I find it’s better to honor our roots, to look at what they teach us, and what we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Honoring them is not to be tied down by them, but to own them while moving forward. In this case, it’s Gobi Gosht settled into modern crockery on retro yellow and terracotta. The cauliflower cooked well past what any Michelin-starred chef would approve, because that’s just how we like it. It’s a tested-and-perfected, working recipe for Gobi Gosht – a dish that’s all but gone from the Pakistani diaspora food scene, but still a part of many of us. More Goat/Lamb Recipes: Mutton Pulao, Mutton Karahi, Aloo Gosht, IP Goat Curry with Bell Peppers
What You’ll Love About this Recipe
It’s a Dump-and-Go recipe. No browning onions – just a good bhunai (sauté) once you’ve cooked the meat. Though it takes time to cook the meat, it’s largely hands-off. You can use goat meat (what I use), lamb meat (more popular in the West), or even beef (see Variations). It includes Instant Pot instructions for cooking the meat, then transferring to stovetop. It’s immensely tasty. In the words of my recipe tester, “it’s close to (I’d say better than) my mother’s/grandmother’s”.
Ingredients
Cauliflower
I like a good amount of cauliflower in my Gobi Gosht, but you can vary the ratio of meat to cauliflower as you’d like. I usually chop the cauliflower while my meat is cooking, toward the end. Here’s how to cut the florets: For more visual guidance, here’s a video showing how to cut cauliflower similar to how I’ve just described.
Notes on Other Key Ingredients
Bone-in Goat or Lamb: Traditionally, Gobi Gosht is made with bone-in goat or lamb cut up into around 1.5-2″ pieces. Goat is especially hard to find at most supermarkets, but you can easily find it at Halal meat markets. I usually use the ‘mixed’ cut made from various parts. If you prefer meatier pieces, go for leg or shoulder. See variations for replacing goat/lamb with beef. Vine or Roma tomatoes: Ripe, tasty ones make a big difference in flavor. If yours are particularly tasteless, you may want to add yogurt for the tangy flavor. Green chili pepper: Such as Serrano or Bird’s Eye. For subtle heat and flavor when cooking the goat. Afterward, I like to add another green chili along with the cauliflower, this time for aroma and aesthetics. Spices: A few whole spices to add depth – cumin seeds, cloves, and green cardamom pods. You’ll also need standard ground spices such as coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, and turmeric. Finishing ingredients: Garnishing ingredients really elevate Gobi Gosht. Freshly ground black pepper, garam masala, cilantro, lemon, and a bit of julienned ginger. You don’t need the julienned ginger but it looks nice. As my mother-in-law says, wherever there’s cauliflower, add extra ginger. Butter: Not essential but just to take it over the top.
How to make Gobi Gosht
This recipe takes time, but it’s straightforward. Here’s what you’ll do:
Cook the Meat
Tip: Do not proceed to the next step if your meat isn’t fully tender. You want it to break when pressed with a wooden spoon. If not, continue to cook for another 10-15 minutes.
Sauté out Moisture
Sear the Meat
Bhunai: Bhunai is a term used to describe an important South Asian cooking technique. This technique, which can best be described as a blend of sautéing and frying, is critical to ‘cook out’ each component of a curry and maximize its flavors. Here, we’re using bhunai to reduce the onions and tomatoes into a homogenous, cohesive masala while giving the meat intense flavor (maillard reaction). Taking the time to cook it down here is why we don’t have to initially brown the onions.
Steam the Cauliflower
Garnish
Variations
How to add more Curry
If you prefer the version with a light curry, like Aloo Gosht, just add 1/2-1 cup water along with the cauliflower in Step 5.
How to Replace Goat/Lamb with Beef
Instant Pot Method
I’ve tried many times to make this entirely in the Instant Pot. Unless you want the extra gravy version, it’s hard to steam the cauliflower in the Instant Pot. It gets watery and mushy instead of tender. If you pressure cook it again, it sticks. (If you’re able to make it entirely in the IP, I’d love to hear from you.) It’s less of a circus act if you cook the meat in the Instant Pot, then transfer it to stovetop. I’ve included the instructions in the recipe card. Tried this recipe? If you have a minute, please consider leaving a comment telling me how it was! You can also take a quick picture and upload it directly into the comments. If you’re on Instagram, please tag me so I can see your creations. I truly love hearing from you. Thank you!
