Instant Pot Vindaloo is a spicy, tangy Indian curry from the state of Goa in India. This is a homemade authentic vindaloo recipe that comes from my mother-in-law and was adapted for the Instant Pot.
You might have tried Vindaloo at an Indian restaurant or purchased a jar of Vindaloo paste or sauce at a grocery store, but although they may have been tasty, more than likely (sorry to break it to you) they weren’t the real deal. Not even close.
So here are a few facts about an authentic Goan Vindaloo recipe:
- it’s made with pork, not chicken or lamb or beef.
- it doesn’t contain tomatoes.
- it’s spicy, tangy/sour, slightly sweet. But spiciness does not define the dish; it’s not supposed to be unbearably hot and spicy.
- it contains Feni (pronounced Fay-nee), which is a very strong and let’s just say ‘potent-smelling’ Goan spirit/liquor.
- there are no vegetables in it, only meat. No aloo (which means ‘potatoes’ in Hindi). The aloo part of the name is a coincidence. More on that later.
- it’s usually eaten with crusty bread (pao) or steamed rice cakes (sannas), not naan and rice.
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Tips and Substitutions
This Instant Pot Vindaloo recipe requires some patience, mainly with frying the onions. 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.
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.
The country style boneless pork ribs work perfectly for this dish. If you’re substituting another cut, try not to use a lean meat; it’s best to have some fat/marbling for Instant Pot recipes. Before you add the marinated pork to the Instant Pot, make sure there’s nothing stuck to the bottom of the inner pot. If there is, deglaze before adding the meat.
If you can marinate the pork the night before, you’ll have that much more flavor. As with most Indian curries, this Instant Pot Vindaloo tastes even better the day after you cook it.
Instant Pot Vindaloo’s beautiful deep-red color comes from Kashmiri chilies.
Kashmiri chilies are available in Indian grocery stores and they are known for being milder than regular chili peppers, but have a deep red color. Kashmiri Chilies are at 1000 to 2000 on the Scoville Heat Index, somewhere between a Poblano and Pasilla chili pepper.
By way of comparison, the Jalapeno pepper is between 2500 and 8000 Scoville units. 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 using paprika, make sure it hasn’t been sitting around in your cupboard for ages – try and get a fresh container. If you’re interested in seeing the comparison between different types of chili peppers, PepperScale has some very thorough information.
You can add a tablespoon or two of brandy instead of Feni. I would remove a serving of pressure cooked vindaloo, and 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.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot
and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide or the Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make this Instant Pot Vindaloo recipe.
Instant Pot Vindaloo Recipe Ingredients
Instant Pot Vindaloo Recipe Step-by-Step Instructions
- 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 powdered.
- Add 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 pork in this spice blend in a medium bowl and set aside for 15 minutes to (preferably) overnight.
- Blend the onions in the same blender. The blended onions will get the color of the spice blend.
- Instant Pot Duo: Select the ‘Saute’ function.
- Instant Pot Ultra: Select the ‘Saute’ function and press ‘Start’.
- When the inner pot has heated, add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil.
- Saute onions until the onion juice has evaporated, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Instant Pot Duo: Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in ‘Sealing’ position; Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until display reads ‘15’ (15 minutes).
- Instant Pot Ultra: Close the lid; Select Pressure Cook mode; Adjust time to 15 minutes (00:15) and press Start.
- Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down from 15 to 0; it will then switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’ or ’00 00′ and begin to count up.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally (NPR). The float valve will be in the down position. This may take 15 to 30 minutes.
- Press Cancel and Open the Instant Pot.
- Transfer Instant Pot Vindaloo to a serving dish.
- Serve with crusty bread or rice.
Instant Pot Vindaloo
Ingredients
- 6 whole Kashmiri chilies stems removed
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2- inch piece of 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 homemade tamarind paste or prepared tamarind paste
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- Water for spice paste + 3/4 cup water + more for deglazing
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless country style Pork ribs cut into 1 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 cups onion chopped
- 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- 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 medium bowl and marinate pork in spice paste for 15 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.
- 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 pork.
- 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 select 'Manual' or 'Pressure Cook' and cook for 15 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally (NPR).
- Transfer Instant Pot Vindaloo to a serving dish.
- Serve with crusty bread or rice.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. minced garlic, cut up pork, 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
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.
If you loved this recipe, please give it a 5 Star rating in the comment section below and please share it on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you so much!
You might also like to try these Instant Pot Recipes:
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| Instant Pot Indian Chicken Curry | Instant Pot Fish Curry | Instant Pot Beef Curry/Stew |
Marion Cook
I loved your recipe…and your story. I found your recipe after a Facebook Instant Pot Member mentioned this…and I had to find out what it was.
I will need to go on a shopping adventure to find what I need to make it.
Can’t wait !
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Marion – thanks so much for commenting! I haven’t had a chance to post the recipe to Facebook! I’m going to try and share it today. If you go to an Indian grocery store, you’ll find everything you need. If you’ve never been to one, you can contact me if you have any questions! Prices at Indian stores are much more affordable than regular grocery stores. Let me know how it goes please!
Joe Varghese
Wow Neena .. what an amazing post .. I’ve been making vindaloo all these years but never thought about the origination of this dish. Thanks for all the info .. I am definitely trying this out and I do have a bottle of “Kaju Feni” that I managed to bring from my last trip to India. I am stoked to try out your recipe. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for posting this!!!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Joe – loved your comment! I too have a bottle of Kaju Feni that somehow ended up in my suitcase from India 🙂 I’d love your thoughts on the end result. If you’re used to spice, you might want to try upping the chillies – with 6 it was spicy but very bearable. Enjoy.
sandra
I’m really looking forward to trying this one! I love Vindaloo! The background story for the dish was very interesting.
A question for you. How do you get the seeds out of those tiny looking pods?
sandra
Sorry, I left out an important detail in my question!
How do you get the seeds out of the tiny cardamom pods? Just crush them or?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Sandra, great question. You could use powdered cardamom, but it won’t taste as fresh. To remove the seeds, just use the back of a spoon to press down on the pod and break it open and then remove the seeds. Yes, they are tiny!
Barbara Schieving
Looks delicious!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you Barbara!
Chris
Neena, just finished the vindaloo, great flavors but the sauce is pretty runny. I followed recipe, any ideas?
Thx, Chris
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Chris, I would cook it on Saute to thicken it. Sounds like your spice paste may have been thinner than mine, so the 3/4 cup water may have been too much. It’s a fine line because if you have too little water, the Instant Pot won’t seal. I hope you’ll give it another try.
Chris
I added some cornstarch to thicken, perfect!
Paint the Kitchen Red
I’m so glad it worked out for you in the end, Chris.
Bill
HI,
I just found your site. It is just what I needed to perfect my instantpot cooking.
My cooking is very eclectic I will try just about any style of cooking. I have been
searching for a gumbo recipe to try. I heard it is difficult to make a roux in the pot
your gumbo recipe makes it look easy. I have made lots of gumbos, cajun and creole
recipes that call for a roux no problem. I will try your gumbo, but without the tomatoes.
Cajuns use of tomatoes in gumbos is not looked upon with gusto. Will get back to you
when I prepare this for family and friends.
Bill
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Bill – thanks for your comment. I try to make all my recipes so that you can cook the entire recipe in the Instant Pot. That being said, you might find that cooking the roux in a saucepan is a bit quicker. I hear you about the tomatoes – I know it’s ‘controversial’ but it tastes really good – I suppose mine’s a creole version 🙂 Hope you like it!
Joe Varghese
Hi Neena .. I made this again today and it was amazing .. also tried Chicken Cafreal and that turned out pretty good. Have you tried making Chicken Cafreal in the Instant Pot? Perhaps give it a shot and give us the perfect recipe (with your mother-in-law’s help of course)
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Joe – awesome! I think I need to work on Chicken Cafreal then 🙂 Will have to ask Grace for some help on that because I’ve actually never cooked it, just eaten it!
Ivan Robichaud
Hi, I have powdered kashmiri chilies. How much do you suggest using ?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Great question, Ivan. I would say that each Kashmiri chili grinds up to about 1 1/4 tsp of powder. So 6 chilies would be 7 1/2 tsp, which is about 2 1/2 Tbsp. Which kinda seems like a lot! I would err on the safe side and add 1 Tbsp when you’re grinding the paste. Then taste and add another Tbsp if you’d like to. Let me know how it goes!
Victoria Benoit
Wow! That’s the only word to describe the vindaloo story and recipe. I tried and it came out great. This is my first time cooking in instant it and I was very proud of it but the credit goes entirely to you. Thank you. I will look you up on dishes.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Victoria! There are some recipes that are truly special and this is one of them because it comes from my dear mother in law. So your comment was, in turn, special too! The other recipe that’s special to me is my mom’s homestyle chicken curry that I adapted for the Instant Pot, which you might like and you could add some chili powder to make it more spicy. Thank you for your kind words!
Rex Ribultan
Hi Neenah,
I have a mini and was wondering if your Vindaloo recipe will fit in the 6 quart Instant Pot?
Thank you very much.
Respectfully,
Rex
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Rex – did you mean “fit in the 3 quart”? I don’t own a 3 quart, but the most important thing to remember is that your contents should not go past the 2/3 full mark. I would venture a guess that the quantity of food in the recipe as written would not go past that mark, but can’t say for sure. Sorry!
Dennis Borges
Glad I found your Instant Pot recipe for pork Vindaloo. It is the Catholic Goans that once fish and veg Hindus, were forcibly convert ed by the 16th century Inquisition. Over the centuries, these Goans transformed and adapted Portuguese non vegan recipes. I am a direct Goan descendant living in Canada for the past 50 years and authentic Goan foods are perfect for Christmas day and our freezing winters. There are thousands of us in Toronto, hoping our Canadian born children and grandchildren will include our food traditions beyond the Christmas season
I wish you to know that your narrative on the history is spot on and the recipe authentic. Maybe I am sensitive on one issue. Goa was a possession of Portugal. They plundered our natural resources like iron ore. If a colony, Goa’s majority today would be people of Portuguese origin, like in Brazil. Canada Australia and the US were British colonies.
I have sent your link to my Goan kindred, as many of them of the older generation were never taught their history. I am approaching 73, a widower and thanks to you, I live to learn that others love our cuisine. Keep up the good work.
Paint the Kitchen Red
It’s really great to hear from a true Goan and I really appreciate you taking the time to comment. Yes, colonial history is such a messy one isn’t? Thank you for your kind words, Dennis!
Julie
I love this recipe! The difference that the real spices make is noticeable and the wonderful tang of vinegar is my very favorite taste in your Vindaloo. I’m going to try more of your recipes now – thank you for sharing your gift!
Paint the Kitchen Red
What a great comment to receive on this Thanksgiving day 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to comment and rate the recipe. It’s more special because it’s a family recipe.
Calbob
We are big fans of Indian food. Wow! The Vindaloo is fantastic.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you for the comment!! It’s a great recipe – the key is to get the quantity of liquid just right so it’s not too watery but will come to pressure.
Nicole
Hello!
I tried this vindaloo recipe and we loved it! My husband loves vindaloo and this is the first vindaloo recipe I have made that he loved. I have been working on more indian cooking as we are adopting our daughter from India. My question is about ingredients. I know you said ,traditionally, tomatoes are not used, but my husband loves the vindaloo from the indian restaurant with tomatoes and feels like he misses it with this recipe even though he loves this one. In his head he wants tomatoes. Haha Would it be terrible to add a tomato product (ie. Sauce, fresh tomatoes, etc) thanks for the recipe and the help 🙂
Ps. I am making this again Saturday
Nicole
Paint the Kitchen Red
That is such a great comment, Nicole! If you want to add tomatoes, I would suggest sauteing the onions, add a cup of chopped tomatoes and saute some more until the tomatoes are fried well and the oil starts to separate. And then proceed with the recipe. Adding the tomato may require some extra liquid to prevent sealing issues. Same goes for tomato sauce or paste and those have a higher chance of causing sealing issues so definitely some extra liquid. Good luck! And congratulations on the new addition to your family!
Albert Chin
Making this for the third time in 3-4 weeks. This dish has been growing on me. I wasn’t fully convinced after the first try because I was eating it with plain basmati rice. I now eat it was basmati rice pilau which adds more flavor. I really like the spiciness as well. I’ve passed on this recipe to some family members hoping they will also enjoy it.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks for your comment, Albert, and for sharing your experience 🙂
Jen
This recipe looks amazing, I can’t wait to try as my husband LOVES Indian food. I am new to instant pot, but recently made a Chicken Tikka Masala recipe (which my husband likes!) and have have many of the spices, but in ground form… What would be the measurements for the spices already ground?
Thanks in advance!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Jen, it’s a bit hard to say exactly but here are estimates:
Kashmiri chili powder – 1 to 2 Tbsp depending on how spicy you want it. I would start with 1 Tbsp and taste. The spice will mellow a bit after pressure cooking.
Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp
Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp
Cloves powder – less than 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder – 2 tsp
Black pepper powder – 1 tsp or to taste
Hope your husband likes the recipe!