Simple yet delicious, Instant Pot Turmeric Lamb – Kashmiri Kalia – Goat Curry (made with either goat or lamb) is an easy, wholesome and quick meal to put together. I have used goat meat (also called mutton in India).
Kalia is eaten on special occasions in Kashmiri culture, especially during happy times, like the birth of a baby, during a wedding or in welcoming a bride.
The gravy in Kalia is slightly thin. The beautiful yellow color is attained from turmeric and ground fennel. Ground ginger gives this dish a great aroma. Kalia tastes great with steamed white rice or paratha (thick whole wheat tortilla). It is a perfect comfort food and the kids love it too!
What ingredients do I need to make Instant Pot Turmeric Lamb -Kashmiri Kalia – Goat Curry?
An instant pot of-course!
Spices: Dried bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon stick, black and green cardamom pods, ground fennel, ground ginger, asafoetida, garam masala, and cumin seeds.
Milk: Plain full fat milk. Keep it out of the refrigerator when you start cooking. The milk does not need to be pressure cooked. It will be added to the pressure-cooked goat curry later.
Goat or lamb: Here I’ve used goat meat from the shoulder. You can either use breast/chest meat, or shoulder pieces for kalia. I buy goat from an Indian grocery store and I ask them to chop small to medium sized pieces. You can use lamb too. However, the cooking time for lamb can be reduced by 5 minutes. So instead of 30 minutes manual/high pressure you can select 25 minutes manual.
How are we going to make Instant Pot Turmeric Lamb – Kashmiri Kalia – Goat Curry?
Prep: Some people grind the cloves and cardamom pods in a motor and pestle, while some throw the whole spices as is. I have thrown the whole spices as is.
Add cloves, dried bay leaves, cinnamon stick, black cardamom pods, green cardamom pod, to the inner pot.
Add the goat.
Then add water.
Then add the ground fennel, ground ginger, salt, asafoetida, and mix well.
Once all the ingredients are in, seal the pot and select manual/high pressure for 30 minutes.
When cooking is complete, use quick pressure release to depressurize for firm meat and natural pressure release for tender. Kashmiri’s like the meat slightly firm. Open the lid and select sauté and add milk. Let it sauté for 2 minutes until it comes to a boil. Keep stirring.
Then add the turmeric, and garam masala and let it sauté for another 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a pan turn on medium-heat and add oil. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Turn off the heat and add the oil and cumin seed mix to the kalia/goat curry in the pot.
Press cancel and let it sit for a few minutes.
Tried this recipe yet? Give us a rating, comment below in the reply section and let us know what you think.
Moreover, try some of our other recipes:
Instant Pot Kashmiri Chicken Yakhni
Instant Pot Kashmiri Chicken Aloo

Instant Pot Turmeric Lamb -Kashmiri Kalia – Goat Curry
Ingredients
- 2 whole cloves
(laung)
- 2 dried bay leaf
(tej patta)
- 1 cinnamon stick
2 inch piece (dalchini)
- 2 whole black cardamom pods
(kali elaichi)
- 1 whole green cardamom pods
(hari elaichi)
- 1.8 pounds goat (medium sized pieces) (shoulder, back, or chest)
- 1 cup water
- 3.5 tsp ground fennel
(saunf powder)
- 1.5 tsp ground ginger
(sonth)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp asafoetida
(heeng)
- 1/2 cup milk (plain and full fat at room temperature)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
(haldi)
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp oil of choice
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
(jeera)
Instructions
Prep
- You can crush the cloves, black cardamom pods, and green cardamom pod in a motor and pestle. This is optional. I have added the whole spices as is.
Cook
- Add cloves, dried bay leaves, cinnamon stick, black cardamom pods, and the green cardamom pod to the inner pot.
- Add the goat followed by water.
- Add ground fennel, ground ginger, salt, asafoetida and mix well.
- Secure the lid on the pot and close the pressure-release valve.
- Select manual and cook at high pressure for 30 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, use quick pressure release to depressurize for firm meat and natural pressure release for tender. Kashmiri's like the meat slightly firm.
- Open the lid.
- Select sauté, adjust to normal, and add the milk. Let it it sauté for 2 minutes until it comes to a boil.
- Then add ground turmeric, and garam masala and let it sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a pan turn on medium-heat add oil. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Turn off the heat and add the oil and cumin seed mix to the gravy in the pot.
- Press cancel and let it sit for a few minutes.
- Transfer to a serving bowl. Discard the bay leaves
Serve
- Serve with steamed rice.
Notes
- This recipe has been tried on a 6-quart instant pot. The proportions may vary depending on the size of the instant pot you choose to use.
- All these spices can be easily found in an Indian store.
- You can either use lamb or goat meat. I have used goat meat for this recipe.
- I buy the goat meat from an Indian grocery store and ask them to chop the shoulder to mid sized pieces. The mutton cut that I have used for this recipe is Bone-in shoulder. Shoulder takes long to cook since it is a sturdy meat. You can modify the cooking time to less depending on what type of goat meat you buy. Meat from the leg or breast cooks faster and you could reduce the pressure time to 25 minutes in case you choose those meat cuts.
- If the pieces are smaller than 2 inches then reduce the cook time to 25 minutes.
You must log in to post a comment.