Goat paya aka goat trotters curry, is essentially a runny, brothy curry that is infused with robust flavors and tons of nutrients.
Versatile and delicious, this curry is prepared using a simple blend of spices to let the hero ingredient- goat trotters shine. The long simmer creates a silky, collagen-rich broth that's deeply flavorful and perfect for soaking up with bullet naan, crusty bread, or steamed rice.
This curry is famous in many parts of India, and has some Pakistani origins too. Just like most Indian curries, this pairs wonderfully with some naan bread or steamed jeera rice to mop up all that gravy.
What's best is the fact that this curry is rich in nutrients- the cooking process turns the lamb trotters into a delicious and flavorful curry that packs in all the benefits of a bone broth, if not more.
Quick Look: Goat Paya Curry
- 🔪 Prep time: 20 minutes.
- ⏲️ Cook time: 2½–3 hours (or 45 minutes in a pressure cooker).
- 👪 Servings: 6.
- 📋 Main ingredients: Lamb trotters, onions, tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, whole and ground spices.
- ♨️ Cooking method: Sauté → cook the masala → simmer until tender → garnish and serve.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy.
- 🥣 Serving ideas: Enjoy with naan, tandoori roti, steamed basmati rice and some laccha pyaaz.
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What I Love About the Recipe
- The curry is rich, comforting and deeply flavorful- like my bhuna gosht curry.
- It can be prepped ahead of time, and tastes even better the next day- like my white chicken karahi.
- The curry is slow-cooked until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender, and is perfect for special occasions or weekend cooking
Recipe Ingredients
Trotters: I used goat trotters which you can easily find at a local butcher shop near you. You can use either goat or lamb for this recipe.
Ginger garlic chili paste: The flavor builder. I like using my homemade ginger garlic paste and chop up some green chilies for the heat.
Onions + tomatoes: The base for the curry. I used sliced onions for a bit of texture, but if you like a smoother curry, you can blend them both together and then use them.
Dry spices: You'll need some turmeric, chili powder and garam masala powder to add that pop of color and flavor to the curry.
Whole spices: Cinnamon, bay leaves and black peppercorns, for that depth.
Lime: A generous squeeze of lime juice, to tie all the flavors together.
Cilantro: Lots of fresh cilantro, to garnish.
See recipe card for quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- If you don't have fresh tomatoes at hand, or just don't want to puree them, you can make do with canned tomatoes too.
- If you love spicy food, you can add in some more green chilies or even some chopped red chilies if you want to. I do this when I make chickpea tikka masala too.
- Want your curry to have a richer, thicker texture? Add some whisked full fat yogurt into the mix and let the curry simmer for a few additional minutes.
How to Make Goat Paya Curry
Step 1: Into a pressure cooker, add the goat trotters or mutton paya along with the whole spices, salt, turmeric, 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste with some green chili paste and let it cook on low heat for an hour. Add enough water to cover all the trotters.
Step 2: Heat 4 tablespoon oil in a large pot, add in the thinly sliced onions and allow it to cook on medium heat until the onions turn translucent.
Step 3: Next, add in the tomatoes and saute. Then add the chili powder, coriander-cumin powder and the remaining 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste and allow it to cook again for a few minutes until the mixture gets fragrant.
Step 4: Allow this to cool down completely and then blend this into a smooth paste.
Step 5: Heat the remaining 2 tablespoon oil in the same pot and add the cooked lamb trotters and this paste . Lower the heat and let this simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Step 6: Add in the green chilies, garam masala powder, lemon juice and julienned ginger and give it all a good mix.
Step 7: Garnish with a generous sprinkle of chopped coriander leaves and serve hot!
Top Tip
Use a heavy bottomed pot to simmer the Paya curry. This will ensure that the spices and the curry base are cooked evenly, and don't end up getting burnt.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- You can make the Paya curry even without the pressure cooker. Just remember that the lamb trotters need to be cooked to perfection, and that using a regular pot may translate into longer cooking time.
- Want the curry to have a thicker texture? You can prepare a simple slurry using a bit of chickpea flour and water and add it into the curry while it is still on heat, slowly, while whisking it constantly. That's what I did when I made my Gujarati white kadhi too.
- To speed up the cooking process, you can also cook the lamb trotters with a bit of meat tenderizer added in. This will also help the goat trotters absorb the flavors better.
- To lend this curry a nice smoky flavor, you can choose to grill the whole onions over an open flame, grind them into a paste and then use them for the recipe.
- You can also use ghee instead of oil for this recipe to make the curry taste even better! I like doing this when I make Achari Gosht.
- Use some whole wheat flour to rub the lamb trotters and 'clean' it. You can then wash them off or use them as is, in the recipe.
- I used a pressure cooker to make this goat paya curry, but you can also choose to use your Instant Pot if you want to.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
Pair this goat trotter curry with some steamed rice or naan bread to soak up all that delicious gravy. Don't forget to pair it with a classic Indian masala buttermilk or cucumber mint raita to cool things down.
If you're making this as a part of an Indian feast, consider pairing it with some masala papad, a side of Kachumber salad or some moong dal vadas.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
The trotters should feel tender and gelatinous to touch. If they're tough and chewy, they still need to be cooked a bit more.
You can use any allspice mix or curry mix if you don't have the whole spices the recipe calls for.
If your Paya curry has turned out runny, you can enjoy it as Paya soup, which is a flavorsome and healthy bone broth soup.
You can use up the leftover curry to cook your pulao (rice pilaf) dishes.
Yes, it freezes really well, which means you can easily make it in a big batch and store it for up to 2 months. I like to use my favorite freezer safe meal prep containers for these.
If you have some leftovers, you can transfer them to a food safe container and refrigerate them for up to 3 days. Remember to reheat the goat Paya curry on low heat, ideally over the stovetop in a heavy bottomed pot.
More Flavorful Indian Mains
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If you tried this goat paya curry or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Goat Paya (Goat Trotters Curry)
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoon oil
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic-chili paste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2-3 bay leaf
- 2 whole cinnamon
- 1 lemon juice
- 3 lamb trotters
- 2 onions sliced
- 2 tomatoes pureed
- 2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon coriander-cumin powder
- 2 green chillies
- 1 tablespoon ginger julienned
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 3 tablespoon coriander leaves chopped
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns whole
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
- Start by adding the lamb trotters to a pressure cooker or your Instant Pot along with the whole spices- the bay leaf, cinnamon, black peppercorns, cumin, salt, turmeric, 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic-chili paste and let it cook on low heat for an hour.
- Heat 4 tablespoon oil in a large pot, add in the thinly sliced onions and allow it to cook until the onions turn translucent.
- Next, add in the tomatoes and give it all a good mix. Then add the chili powder, coriander-cumin powder and the remaining 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic-chili paste and allow it to cook again for a few minutes until the mixture gets fragrant.
- Allow this to cool down completely and then blend this into a smooth paste.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoon oil in the same pot and add in this paste along with the cooked lamb trotters and let this simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Add in the green chilies, garam masala powder, lemon juice and julienned ginger and give it all a good mix.
- Top with a generous sprinkle of chopped coriander leaves and serve hot!
Notes
- You can make the Paya curry even without the pressure cooker. Just remember that the lamb trotters need to be cooked to perfection, and that using a regular pot may translate into longer cooking time.
- Want the curry to have a thicker texture? You can prepare a simple slurry using a bit of chickpea flour and water and add it into the curry while it is still on heat, slowly, while whisking it constantly.
- To speed up the cooking process, you can also cook the lamb trotters with a bit of meat tenderizer added in. This will also help the goat trotters absorb the flavors better.
- To lend this curry a nice smoky flavor, you can choose to grill the whole onions over an open flame, grind them into a paste and then use them for the recipe.
- You can also use ghee instead of oil for this recipe to make the curry taste even better!
- Use some whole wheat flour to rub the lamb trotters and 'clean' it. You can then wash them off or use them as is, in the recipe.
- I used a pressure cooker to make this goat paya curry, but you can also choose to use your Instant Pot if you want to.
