An authentic Pakistani achar gosht curry, flavourful and mildly spicy curry made from traditional pickle spices.
This easy, step-by-step Achar Gosht recipe shows you how to create a rich, flavorful curry right in your own kitchen. By making your own spice blend from scratch, you’ll enjoy a perfectly balanced taste without the overpowering flavour often found in store-bought masala mixes.
What is Achar Gosht ?
Achar Gosht, also known as Achari Gosht, is a Pakistani or North Indian curry where “Achar” means pickle and “Gosht” refers to meat. The dish is characterized by its unique blend of spices commonly found in South Asian pickles, such as mustard seeds, fennel seeds, nigella seeds, and fenugreek seeds. These spices infuse the meat with a distinctive earthy flavor and its very aromatic.
It’s a delicious, mildly spicy and comforting curry like Aloo Gosht (Meat Gravy with Potatoes) and Lamb Rogan Josh.
Not a fan of red meat? No worries check out my recipe for Achari Chicken for creating delicious chicken version of thisAnd to make a vegetarian version of this recipe swap meat with Paneer. Paneer is an Indian frsh cheese which has got soft texture, can easily be cut in cubes and goes well with many dishes like Palak Paneer, matar paneer etc. The spices in this curry recipe blend complement beautifully with cheese.
Ingredients Required for Achar Gosht
- Meat – Traditionally achar gosht is made from goat or lamb but you can also use beef.
- Onions/ Ginger & Garlic – Chopped onions and try to use fresh garlic and ginger as it enhances the flavour of the curry.
- Tomatoe puree – Blitz the fresh tomatoes in blender/food processor. You can also used tinned crushed tomatos.
- Green Chillies – Whole green chillies are added to the curry that give a beautiful aroma. You don’t have to eat the chillies if you are not a chilli lover.
- Yoghurt – use plain yoghurt preferably Greek Yoghurt.
- Spices – I divide spices into 2 groups. Firstly, it’s the regular spices like chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and cumin powder. Then there are spices that gives Pickle(Achari) Flavour. These are Fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, nigella seeds and fennel seeds.
How to Make Achar Gosht
Begin with tempering all the seeds in hot oil for a minute. Sautee onions until they start to turn golden on edges. Add Ginger garlic along with meat and fry for few minutes. Add remaining spices and mix.
Add water, enough to cover the meat. If you are using pressure cooker it should take 15-20 minutes. If you are cooking in a pot it can take up to 40 minutes.
Add yoghurt and cook until oil starts to separate. Blitz tomatoes in blender or food processor and add them to the curry. Cook on high flame for few minutes, when the excess water from tomatoes and yoghurt is evaporated, cover and cook on low heat.
Once tomatoes have broken down and curry is simmering sprinkle garam masala and add whole chilies. Cover for 10 minutes to help curry absorb flavours from chillies.
Best Meat cut for Achar Gosht
When making Achar Gosht with goat or lamb, the best cuts to use are from the leg or shoulder. Leg meat is leaner, meatier, and contains fewer bones—making it easier to eat—while shoulder meat has more connective tissue and bones, which add depth and richness to the curry. For the perfect balance of flavor and texture, you can even combine both cuts. Be sure to trim any excess fat to avoid a greasy curry.
Boneless options also work well—boneless lamb or beef chunks are great for a quicker-cooking, family-friendly version of this dish without compromising on taste.
Watch How to Make Achar Gosht
Tip for Making Perfect Achar Gosht
- Measure the pickle spices, all these spices have a strong flavour so avoid using too much of it.
- Don’t skimp on oil, its essential to fry meat and also for overall texture and appearance of the curry.
- Don’t make the onions brown it will make curry look darker which is not very appetizing.
- Allow the yoghurt to be at room temperature as it prevents curdling. Adding cold yoghurt to hot curry, forms little curdles when added to hot curry. And once that happens there is nothing you can do to fix it.
- Add whole green chillies for flavour. these will gives a beautiful aroma to the curry without making it spicy.
Can you make Achar Gosht In Instant Pot?
Achar gosht can definitely be made in instant pot. Begin with sauté mode on medium heat.
Begin with tempering all the seeds in hot oil for a minute. Sautee onions until they start to turn golden on edges. Add Ginger garlic along with meat and fry for few minutes. Add remaining spices and mix.
Add water, enough to cover the meat. Pressure cook it for 20 minutes. Release the pressure.
Turn the sauté mode again. Add yoghurt and tomatoes. Cook on high setting for few minutes, until the excess water from tomatoes and yoghurt is evaporated and oil starts to separate.
Sprinkle garam masala and add whole chilies. Turn the instant pot off. Keep it covered with lid for 10 minutes.
How to Serve Achar Gosht
Achar gosht is best served with naan or roti. Try out Easy Naan (Flat Bread) to go along with this delicious curry. If you prefer rice, Pea Pulao would be a good option.
Other Meat Recipes to Try
Lamb Rogan Josh
Aloo Gosht (Meat Gravy with Potatoes)
Meatball (Kofte) Curry
Achar Gosht
Ingredients
- 500 g Goat/Lamb Meat (Curry Pieces) See Notes
- 1 Large Onion ( Chopped)
- 2 Medium Tomatoes Pureed See Notes
- 1/2 cup Yoghurt
- 1 tsp Ginger Paste
- 1 tsp Garlic Paste
- 1/4 cup Cooking Oil
- 4 Whole Green Chillies
- Coriander/Cilantro for Garnish
Spices
- 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
- 1 tsp Nigella Seeds
- 1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- 1½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
- ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
Instructions
- In a pot or pressure cooker add oil. Temper fennel, nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds for a minute.
- Add onions and sauté them. Add ginger garlic paste along with meat. Fry until meat changes its color.
- Add remaining spices except for garam masala. Fry the meat for another 5 minutes. Add water , enough to cover the meat. Cover and cook until meat is tender. If you are using pressure cooker it should take 15-20 minutes.
- Whisk yoghurt, make sure its at room temperature. Add it to the curry. Cook on medium high flame until oil starts to separate. Puree tomatoes in a food processor and add them in. Continue to cook on high heat while stir it until excess water from tomatoes evaporates.
- Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes. The tomatoes should completely breakdown and mix into the gravy. Add whole green chilies and sprinkle some garam masala. Cover and simmer for another 5-7 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped Coriander and Serve with naan/roti or rice.
Notes
- Use leg or shoulder cut or mix both. Trim excess fat.
- Tinned tomatoes can also be used. Use crushed or finely chopped tomato.
Fantastic recipe would luv more of da Pakistan recipes
I made the achar gosht using this recipe since then i have stopped using packaged masala. This recipe has perfect balance of spuces, not overly spices and flavour of achar is just amazing.
Hi Unza, Great to know that you liked the recipe. When you can use your own spices why buy boxed spice mix !