Instant Pot Vindaloo is a spicy, tangy Indian curry from the state of Goa in India. This is a homemade authentic vindaloo curry that comes from my mother-in-law and was adapted for the pressure cooker. Instructions for chicken vindaloo, pork vindaloo, and lamb vindaloo. Instructions for the stovetop version are also included.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Vindaloo is a popular dish in Indian restaurants, especially in the UK. It has a reputation for being a hot and spicy curry. At an Indian restaurant, vindaloo usually has a generic curry base, with vinegar and a whole lot of chili peppers thrown in.
Sometimes, these Vindaloo dishes are so spicy that you don’t really get to experience the nuanced flavors. Spiciness should not define the dish; it’s not supposed to be unbearably hot and spicy.
Restaurant vindaloos can differ from traditional vindaloos in some other ways. Authentic vindaloo curry is made with pork, don’t contain tomatoes or any vegetables, and are spicy, tangy, and slightly sweet.
Here are some other Indian recipes you might like to try out!
– Instant Pot Chicken Korma
– Instant Pot Lamb Biryani
– Instant Pot Chicken Curry
– Instant Pot Lamb Curry
History of Vindaloo
Most people know that Britain ruled India for centuries, but they may not know that Portugal has an even longer history in India. The Portuguese arrived in India in the late 15th century, around the time Columbus landed in the Americas.
The state of Goa became a Portuguese colony in the late 17th century and remained under Portuguese rule until the early 1960s.
So, what’s the Vindaloo connection? Well, the Portuguese came to Goa with their recipes and spices. And they brought with them a dish called Carne Vinha d’alhos which means Pork with Garlic Wine. It’s a fairly mild dish cooked similar to the adobo style of Spanish cooking.
Over time, the local Indians changed the pronunciation of the dish to vindaloo and added their own take to the dish with the addition of ginger, black pepper, tamarind, cardamom, and other Indian ingredients. Note: the Hindi word for potatoes is aloo, but “aloo” in vindaloo has nothing to do with potatoes!
Before the Portuguese came to India, Indians had spiced their dishes with black peppers and not chili peppers. At that time, black pepper was found only in India and was prized in Europe as a luxury product imported from India.
It’s hard to believe that chili peppers, which are essential to today’s Indian cooking, were introduced to India by the Portuguese!
I didn’t grow up eating this class Goan curry, because I’m not from Goa. But my husband’s family is Goan and my mother-in-law Grace is a wonderful cook. I’ve adapted her recipe into an Instant Pot recipe.
In Goa, Vindaloo is eaten with pao (pronounced pow), which means bread in Portuguese. They tear off a piece of European-style crusty dinner roll and dip it in the Vindaloo sauce.
TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Preparation
Indian food requires some patience, mainly with frying the onions. In this Instant Pot vindaloo recipe, the onions are blended and sauteed and this gives the dish a creamy consistency.
If you wish to skip the blending, you can finely chop the onions and saute them. In that case, your curry might be less thick but will be just as tasty.
I don’t wash the blender after blending the spice mix. I blend the onions in the unwashed blender so all the spices get into the onions.
Meat
Instant Pot pork vindaloo: Country-style boneless pork ribs or pork shoulder work perfectly for this dish. If you’re substituting another cut, try not to use lean meat; it’s best to have some fat/marbling for Instant Pot recipes. Cut the pork into 1 1/2 inch pieces and pressure cook for 15 minutes on High Pressure.
Instant Pot chicken vindaloo: This recipe can be made with chicken thighs too. Use 1 1/2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 2-inch pieces and set the pressure cook time for 4 minutes on High Pressure.
Instant Pot lamb vindaloo: To make the recipe with lamb, use 1 1/2 lbs of lamb, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes, and set the pressure cook time to 20 minutes on High Pressure.
Sauteing the Onions
Initially, when you saute the blended onions, they’ll release a lot of liquid and steam. You might even shed a tear or two! In the first stage, you can stir the onions occasionally. Once all the liquid has evaporated (about 8 to 10 minutes), keep a close eye on the onions because they can burn very quickly.
As soon as you start seeing them brown on the bottom of the inner pot, be sure to deglaze with water, one tablespoon at a time. Keep stirring and add water if needed, a little at a time, until the onions are cooked, begin to caramelize, and are fragrant.
If you don’t want to blend the onions, you can finely chop them and saute them till golden brown before adding the spice mix. Deglaze well.
Deglazing
As soon as you start seeing the blended onions brown on the bottom of the inner pot, be sure to deglaze with hot water, one tablespoon at a time. Keep stirring and add hot water if needed, a little at a time, until the onions are cooked, begin to caramelize, and are fragrant.
Tamarind Paste
I use homemade tamarind paste prepared from tamarind pulp. If using grocery store tamarind paste, different tamarind pastes have different strengths. The Indian tamarind paste is much stronger than the Thai tamarind concentrate. Adjust the quantity according to your tastes.
Indian Spices
This family recipe calls for grinding the whole spices into a fine powder in a blender. Using whole spices makes the dish so much more flavorful. If you don’t have the whole spices on hand or you don’t want to blend the spices, you can use powders. Here are the approximate conversions:
- 6 whole Kashmiri chilies = 1 1/2 Tbsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin seeds = 2 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 2- inch cinnamon stick = 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 6 cardamom pods seeds only = 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tsp whole black pepper = 1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 8 whole cloves = 3/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds = 3/4 tsp black mustard powder
If you want a more spicy vindaloo, add some more whole red chilies or chili powder.
Kashmiri Chili
Instant Pot Vindaloo’s beautiful deep-red color comes from Kashmiri chilies.
Kashmiri chilies should be available at your local Indian grocery store and they are known for being milder than regular chili peppers but have a deep red color.
You can substitute another red chili pepper, but you might have to decrease the quantity and add some good quality paprika for color.
If you’re sensitive to spice, you can substitute all or part of the chili powder with paprika. If using paprika, make sure it hasn’t been sitting around in your cupboard for ages – try and get a fresh container.
Brandy
The traditional recipe for vindaloo contains feni (pronounced fay-nee), a very strong Goan spirit/liquor that isn’t easily available. I use brandy instead.
The addition of brandy can be an acquired taste. To make sure that you will enjoy the flavor of the brandy, I recommend that you remove a serving of pressure-cooked vindaloo, stir in a half to full teaspoon of brandy, and see if you like the taste, then add more (to taste) to the remaining Instant Pot Vindaloo, and heat through.
Burn Message
If you’re prone to getting the Burn message, add an extra 1/4 cup of water. After pressure cooking is done, you’ll have to reduce the liquid in Saute mode.
FAQs
No, you can double the ingredients and keep the cooking time the same.
If the curry is too runny, there are two possible reasons. You may have added too much water or the meat may have released a lot of liquid. Heat the curry in Saute mode for about 15 minutes to reduce the liquid. You can also add a bit of corn starch mixed with water to thicken the curry.
Yes, you can use Kashmiri chili powder. Add about 1 to 2 tablespoons, depending on how spicy you’d like it to be. You can also use cayenne pepper or another type of chili powder. The quantity will depend on the spice level of the chili powder.
For Instant Pot chicken vindaloo with bone in chicken thighs, you might need to add some extra liquid. Pressure cook for about 10 minutes on High Pressure.
Yes, you can make this curry a day ahead of time. It tastes even better the next day.
Make sure that you deglaze the bottom of the inner pot really well before pressure cooking. Add extra water to the curry to prevent the burn message.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, you might find it helpful to first read one of the following guides and then come back here to learn how to make this recipe.
- Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO EVO PLUS Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO NOVA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO GOURMET Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot PRO Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot PRO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
Instant Pot Vindaloo – Ingredients List
- Turmeric
- Cloves
- Cumin
- Salt
- Brown sugar
- Black pepper
- Mustard seeds
- Kashmiri chilies
- Vinegar
- Water
- Cinnamon
- Cardamom
- Pork (or chicken or lamb)
- Onion
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Tamarind paste
More details in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post
How to Make Vindaloo in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)
- Grind whole spices
- Blend marinade ingredients
- Marinate the meat
- Blend the onions
- Turn on Saute mode
- Add the onions to Instant Pot
- Caramelize the onions
- Saute meat and add water
- Pressure cook
- Release pressure
- Cook the eggs
- Stir in the eggs
How to Turn on Saute Mode
- Instant Pot DUO: Select the Saute function.
- Instant Pot ULTRA: Select the Saute function and press Start.
Grind whole spices
- In a food processor or blender, pulse Kashmiri chilies, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, cinnamon stick, cardamom seeds, black pepper, whole cloves, and black mustard seeds until they become a fine powder.
Blend marinade ingredients
- Add the rest of the ingredients for the marinade: garlic, ginger, tamarind paste, salt, brown sugar, and white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Blend to a smooth paste, adding water as needed to make sure the contents of the blender are able to move freely, but not too much. When you’re finished, the paste should be the consistency of pesto.
Marinate the meat
- Marinate meat in this spice blend in a medium bowl and set aside for 15 minutes to (preferably) overnight.
Blend the onions
- Blend the onions until the onions are smooth. I use the same blender I grind the spices in, without rinsing. The blended onions will get the color of the spice blend.
How to Turn on Saute Mode
- Instant Pot DUO: Select the Saute function.
- Instant Pot ULTRA: Select the Saute function and press Start.
Add onions to the Instant Pot
- Heat oil once the Instant Pot has heated up.
- Saute onions until the onion juice has evaporated, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Caramelize the onions
- After 8 to 10 minutes, the liquid will evaporate and you’ll be left with a thick paste.
- Once the liquid has evaporated, stir more frequently to keep the onions from burning; they can burn in seconds!
- If the onions begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to deglaze, and keep stirring.
- After about 5 minutes, the onions will become a thick paste, caramelized and fragrant.
Saute meat and add water
- Deglaze with more water if there’s anything stuck to the bottom of the pot before adding the meat, and stir to loosen any brown bits.
- Add 2 more tablespoons oil and marinated pork, chicken, or lamb.
- Saute for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring well. Press ‘Cancel’ and deglaze to make sure there isn’t anything stuck to the bottom of the inner pot.
- Stir in 3/4 cup water.
- After about 5 minutes, the onions will become a thick paste, caramelized and fragrant.
Pressure Cook
Pressure cook on high pressure:
- Pork – 15 minutes
- Chicken – 4 minutes
- Lamb – 20 minutes
Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 15 minutes
- Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in ‘Sealing’ position
- Press Manual (or Pressure Cook) and + or – until the display reads ‘15′ (15 minutes).
Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 15 minutes
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 15 minutes (00:15).
- Press Start.
Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)
- Instant Pot display will change to On.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to Keep Warm mode and display ‘L0:00’ or ’00 00′ and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.
How to Naturally Release Pressure (NPR) on the DUO and ULTRA
- Allow the pressure to release naturally (NPR). The float valve will be in the down position. This may take 15 to 30 minutes. [Find out more about the pressure release methods and how and when to use them. ]
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
Reduce the sauce
- If the curry is too thin, turn on Saute mode and reduce the gravy until you get your desired consistency. If you wish, you can thicken with cornstarch mixed with cold water (about 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water).
- Serve with crusty french bread, naan, or Instant Pot rice: basmati rice, jasmine rice or brown rice.
Stovetop Directions for Vindaloo
To make this vindaloo recipe on the stovetop:
- Blend the marinade.
- Blend the onions.
- Saute onions till golden brown.
- Saute the meat briefly.
- Stir in water, cover, and cook until meat is tender.
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Instant Pot Vindaloo
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 whole Kashmiri chilies stems removed
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2- inch cinnamon stick
- 6 cardamom pods seeds only
- 1 tsp whole black pepper
- 8 whole cloves
- 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 Tbsp garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp ginger finely chopped
- 2 tsp tamarind paste or homemade tamarind paste
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
- Water for spice paste + 3/4 to 1 cup water + more for deglazing
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless country style Pork ribs (or boneless skinless chicken thighs or lamb) – Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 cups onion chopped
- 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Brandy optional *
Instructions
Marinade
- In a food processor or blender, pulse Kashmiri chillies, cumin seeds, turmeric, cinnamon stick, cardamom seeds, black pepper, cloves and mustard seeds until powdered.
- Add garlic, ginger, tamarind, salt, brown sugar and vinegar.
- Blend to a smooth paste, adding just enough water to make sure the contents of the blender are able to move freely. When you’re finished, the spice paste should be the consistency of a thick pesto.
- Transfer spice blend to a large bowl and marinate meat in spice paste for 30 minutes to (preferably) overnight.
- Blend the onions in the same blender/food processor, without washing the jar. The blended onions will get the color of the spice paste.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Select the Saute function of the Instant Pot.
- When the inner pot has heated, add 2 tablespoons oil.
- Saute onions until the onion juice has evaporated, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- ** Once the liquid has evaporated, stir more frequently to keep the onions from burning; they can burn in seconds!
- If the onions begin to stick to the bottom of the Instant Pot, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to deglaze. Keep stirring and adding water as needed, but only a little at a time.
- After about 5 minutes, the onions will become a thick paste, caramelized and fragrant.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and deglaze with more water if there’s anything stuck to the bottom of the pot, stirring to loosen any brown bits.
- Select the Saute function again.
- Add 2 tablespoons oil to the inner pot and add in the marinated meat.
- Saute meat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Deglaze if needed, to make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the inner pot.
- Press Cancel. Add 3/4 cup water and stir to combine.
- Close the lid and pressure cook.Pork: 15 minutes, Chicken: 4 minutes, Lamb: 20 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally (NPR). [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- If the curry is too thin, heat in Saute mode and reduce until it gets to your desired consistency. You can also thicken the curry with a cornstarch slurry (mixture of 1 Tbsp cornstarch and 1 Tbsp cold water.)
- Transfer Instant Pot Vindaloo to a serving dish. Serve with crusty bread, naan or rice.
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat oil in a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat. Saute onions until the onion juice has evaporated, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. (Once the liquid has evaporated, stir more frequently to keep the onions from burning; they can burn in seconds! If the onions begin to stick to the bottom of the Instant Pot, add hot water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to deglaze. Keep stirring and adding hot water as needed, but only a little at a time.)
- Keep sauteing till the onions are caramelized and golden brown in color.
- Add some more oil and stir in the marinated meat. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in half cup of hot water for chicken and one cup water for pork or lamb. Reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and cook until meat is tender. (Check and stir occasionally to make sure the curry doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Add more hot water as needed.)Chicken: cook for 20 minutes or until tender.Pork or lamb: cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. After one hour of cooking, taste and adjust with more sugar, salt, vinegar as needed.
- Transfer vindaloo to a serving dish. Serve with crusty bread, naan or rice.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. minced garlic, cut up meat, etc.
- Instead of blending the onions, you can finely chop the onions. In that case, your curry might be less thick.
- * If you have access to the Goan liquor called feni, finish with 1 to 2 tablespoons after cooking is complete. You can also substitute brandy for the Feni. I suggest adding a little bit to one serving and taste before you add it to the entire dish.
- If using store-bought tamarind paste, different tamarind pastes have different strengths. The Indian version is much stronger than the Thai version. If using the Indian version, decrease the quantity.
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips.
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Linda Lee Fuhrman
I love Neena’s recipes. Made this for my husband who was a little skeptical. He absolutely loved it, and so did I!
Paint the Kitchen Red
That’s so great to hear, Linda. Thank you for your comment!
Gillian
Hi Neena I am making g the pork vindaloox2 recipes should I do 1.5 cups water or just 3/4 cups please advise..tks xo
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Gillian, have you made the recipe before and had no issues with 3/4 cup? You could try out 1 cup but to be safe I’d just double the liquid.
Barbara
Quick question and I will give this a whirl – I have Kashmiri chili powder that I just bought – was hoping I can use in place of the dried chiles – if so, what amount would you recommend?
Thanks so much – you are my go-to site for fabulous insta pot recipes❣️
Paint the Kitchen Red
Barbara, it all depends on how spicy you would like the curry to be. 2 to 3 teaspoons will be a good start.
John B
Hi Neena,
Can I substitute chicken for the pork? Would I do anything different? And, if I cannot find Kashmiri chilies what should I use as a substitute? Can I use dried Kashmiri chilies if I can find them? I
Thank you so much
Paint the Kitchen Red
John, yes you can use chicken. Bite-size boneless chicken thighs will cook in 4 minutes. Larger pieces, another 1 to 2 minutes. Bone-in chicken will be about 8 to 9 minutes – but you’ll need to add some extra liquid because you might have sealing issues. Yes, dried Kashmiri chilies are what you need to use. If you can’t find them, just substitute cayenne pepper powder or another dried chili (just watch for the spice level). Hope you enjoy the recipe.
David
RE: Tamarind paste. How much would you reduce the quantity if using the Indian variant vs. the Thai variant?
Thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red
David, if you’re using tamicon brand, try about 3/4 to 1 teaspoon. You can always adjust the tanginess by adding more vinegar at the end.