This spicy, tangy pork vindaloo Instant Pot recipe hails from Goa, India. I’ve adapted my mother-in-law’s authentic stovetop recipe for the pressure cooker. Instructions for chicken, beef, lamb vindaloo, and the stovetop are also included.

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ℹ Introduction

I didn’t grow up eating this classic Goan curry because I’m not from Goa. However, my husband’s family is Goan, and my mother-in-law Grace is an excellent cook. I adapted her authentic recipe for the pressure cooker.

Vindaloo (pronounced vin-duh-loo) 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 dishes are so spicy that you don’t 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 Goan pork curry in some other ways. Authentic vindaloo curry is made with pork, contains neither tomatoes nor vegetables, and is spicy, tangy, and slightly sweet.

📚 History of Vindaloo

You probably already know that Britain ruled India for centuries. You may not know that the Portuguese arrived in India in the late 15th century.

Portugal established Goa as a colony in the late 17th century and ruled the state until the early 1960s.

The Portuguese introduced carne vinha d’alhos (pork with garlic wine), a relatively mild dish.

Local Indians changed the pronunciation to vindaloo. They added ginger, black pepper, tamarind, cardamom, and other Indian ingredients for more flavor.

Goans eat this pork curry with pao (pronounced pow), which means bread in Portuguese. You tear off a European-style crusty dinner roll and dip it in the curry sauce.

Authentic vindaloo is traditionally made with pork and doesn’t contain vegetables or tomatoes, distinguishing it from restaurant versions.

Ingredients and Tips

🧂 Ingredients You’ll Need for Instant Pot Pork Vindaloo

Cooking Instructions

⏲️ Instant Pot Method

1. Grind whole spices
2. Blend marinade ingredients
3. Marinate the meat
4. Blend the onions
5. Add the onions to the Instant Pot
6. Caramelize the onions
7. Saute meat and add water
8. Pressure cook and release pressure
9. Reduce the sauce

• 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.

• 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 meat in this spice blend in a medium bowl and set aside for 15 minutes to (preferably) overnight.

• 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.

• Turn on Saute mode, and heat oil once the Instant Pot has heated up.
• 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 stick to the bottom, add water one tablespoon at a time to loosen them.
• 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, 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 ¾ cup water.

• Close the lid.
• Select Pressure Cook mode and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes.
• The display will go from On to 12:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
• Do a natural release of pressure. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened.

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 Method for Vindaloo

1. Blend the marinade.
2. Blend the onions.
3. Saute onions till golden brown.
4. Saute the meat briefly.
5. Stir in water, cover, and cook until meat is tender.

See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.

Print Recipe

4.75 from 8 votes

Instant Pot Vindaloo

Instant Pot Vindaloo is a spicy, tangy Indian curry from the state of Goa in India. This is an authentic Goan Indian family recipe that comes from my mother-in-law and was adapted for the Instant Pot.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Main Dishes

Cuisine: Indian

Main Ingredient: pork

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 374kcal

Author: Paint the Kitchen Red

Equipment

• Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
• Blender
• Large Bowl

Ingredients

• 6 whole Kashmiri chilies stems removed
• 2 tsp  cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2- inch cinnamon stick
• 6 cardamom pods seeds only
• 1 tsp  whole black pepper
• 8  whole cloves
• ½ tsp  black mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger finely chopped
• 2 teaspoon tamarind paste or homemade tamarind paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
• Water for spice paste + ¾ to 1 cup water + more for deglazing
• 1 ½ lbs boneless country style Pork ribs (or boneless skinless chicken thighs or beef chuck, or lamb) – Cut into 1 ½ inch pieces (⅔ kg)
• 3 cups onion chopped
• 4 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Brandy optional *

Instructions

Marinade

• In a food processor or blender, pulse 6 whole Kashmiri chilies, 2 tsp  cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 2- inch cinnamon stick, 6 cardamom pods, 1 tsp  whole black pepper, 8  whole cloves and ½ tsp  black mustard seeds until powdered. 
• Add 1 tablespoon garlic, 1 tablespoon ginger, 2 teaspoon tamarind paste, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon brown sugar and ¼ cup apple cider 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 1 ½ lbs boneless country style Pork ribs in spice paste for 30 minutes to (preferably) overnight.
• Blend the 3 cups onion in the same blender/food processor, without washing the jar. The blended onions will get the color of the spice paste. If you don't want to blend the onions, chop them finely.

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 ¾ cup water and stir to combine. 
• Close the lid and pressure cook.

  Pork or Beef: 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 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon cold water.) Finish with brandy or feni.
• Transfer 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 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, beef, or lamb: cook for 1 ½ 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 468mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g

Vindaloo Variations

While pork is the traditional choice for vindaloo, this recipe works well with other meats. Chicken provides a lighter option, while lamb adds a robust, slightly gamey flavor. Beef makes this a hearty, satisfying dish.

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