Spicy Mutton Curry - a Sunday tradition relooked

Ingredients

Mutton (Baby Goat) - 2 lbs

Marinade ingredients:

Greek Yogurt - 3-4 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tbsp to marinade + 1 tsp during cooking
Salt - to marinade and cook, as per taste
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp, or as per taste

Marinade the Mutton with the marinading ingredients. Keep aside for approx. 30 mins.

Cooking ingredient:

(2 medium Onion + 1 inch ginger + 5 cloves Garlic + 1 green Chilli) fine paste - Use 16-20 tbsps of this paste

Canola oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard oil - just a dash, for flavor
Dry Bay Leaf - 2-3
Sugar - a pinch to caramelize
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 2 big pieces
Shan Meat Curry Masala (Spice) - 3-4 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Potato - 5 small, chopped into halves
Water - 3-4 cups

Cooking method:


Heat Canola oil.
As it warms, add  Dry Bay Leaf, Sugar, Cumin seed and Cinnamon. Let the spices sizzle to flavor the oil and the sugar caramelize to impart the gorgeous golden color to the dish.
Add the Onion\Ginger\Garlic\Tomato paste. Mix well. Keep stirring intermittently for even cooking.
As the paste is half-cooked, add Mustard oil - just a dash, for flavor.
Add Shan Meat Curry Masala and mix well.
Add the marinated Mutton and mix well. Let it sit for 2-3 mins before stirring again. This is the most intensive part of this dish. You do develop a few of the hand muscles by cooking this dish. The Mutton slowly starts absorbing the rich flavors of the spices and changes color as it is being cooked.
Add Coriander Powder and Garam Masala as the Mutton is half cooked.
Continue stirring and cooking.
As the oil separates, add small Potatoes chopped into halves. Mix it with the Mutton.
Add Water and mix well.
If you are cooking in another vessel, time to move the dish to the Pressure cooker.
Put the lid on the Pressure cooker and cook till it is about to give the first whistle. Since we get baby Goats, they do not take too long to cook. If you are using older Goats, it will take more time to cook and more whistles in the Pressure cooker.
Let the lid open by itself. Don't force open the lib by flowing cold water on the lid, etc.
If the dish is thin in consistency, heat the dish and let it thicken, if required.

The meat will release fat, so you are more likely to see a layer of fat on top when you open the Pressure cooker lid. One thing to note is that cooking Mutton is labor and time-intensive. It takes about an hour to cook this properly. However, for Mutton-lovers, this is a one-pot meal with plain rice - so cooking actually gets easier per-meal-wise. In Odiya gatherings, people like it so much that they won't even hesitate to ask the host "Mutton acchi na?" (Is Mutton a part of the menu? :) ). I have even seen people not participate in picnics and outings just because their much coveted meat was not a part of the menu - this is a little too extreme, I suggest therapy for these people! :p

Personally, I was never a big fan of Mutton till I got married and started cooking. R loves Mutton and can have it for all three meals of the day, not that he should be allowed to! :) It is always amazing to see his content look when we have this in the menu. Thanks to him - I have an "acquired" taste for this meat after all these years. The other dish that I make well with Mutton is the Biryani - will definitely share it here someday. I make it once too often, but never remember to take a pic. Someday!

Enjoy this favorite Sunday lunch item of Odiya households with Rice \ Naan \ whatever suits you. Have a great day!

Another Mutton curry recipe is here.

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Hi All -

Have a great 4th of July with barbecue, friends and fireworks (don't miss any of it!)! Our neighborhood had the celebrations last week - presenting an video from that. We had a great time with our dear friends which was an early start to the jubiliations and hope the same for you. Their two dogs gave us immense joy and company through the evening - I am sure they would have personally preferred to avoid the fireworks. Enjoy the rest of the summer ...


Our menu for the evening included Australian lamb with Indian seasonings, home-made Garlic bread (bread was store-bought though! ;)), grilled Asparagaus and Sweet Bell Peppers. And of course, mashed Potatoes - a grill menu looks incomplete without some carbs from Potatoes! :) What was your menu? Would love to hear more.

Australian Lamb with Tandoori and Chicken Tikka BBQ Masala, Coriander Powder, Ginger-Garlic and a spoon of Yogurt to act as tenderizer. Bake at 350 degrees F till the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F. Keep it covered in foil for another 10-15 mins to complete the cooking process.

Tender Asparagaus - my latest favorite veggie for grilling

Garlic bread - bake the bread with butter and tiny pieces of chopped Garlic for 5 mins at 400 degrees F and broil for a minute. Remove immediately and serve.

Keema Cutlet

I can never go wrong with kababs - there is not much to mess it up, right?

When I was eating non-veg, my favorite weekend menu was Rice, Dal (lentils) and a meat Kabab with a crispy Papad - yummo! When I recommence non-veg eating on Jan 2nd next year, think this may be the first item I want to eat. Of course, other than Crab Curry and Whole Food's Tandoori Chicken Pizza with Mint Sauce! ;) Talking of my vegetarian resolve for this year, I am thankfully not craving meat as much as I had imagined I would. 3 months done - another 9 months to go - I can do it!

Was planning to send this post for "Cooking 4 all Season's - Kabab Mela" but I am way past the due date. Anyways, do check it out for a good collection of numerous kabab posts!

Enjoy the post...Bon Appetit!

Ingredients:

Keema - 2lbs (Lamb\Chicken - both taste great!)
Onion - 2 large, finely chopped
Tomato - 2, finely chopped
Ginger - 2 tbsp, grated
Garlic - 4 tbsp, grated
Green chilli - 3-4, finely chopped
Shan Chapli Kabab mix - 1 packet
Salt - as per taste
Egg - 2
Fresh Mint - few sprigs, finely chopped
Fresh coriander leaves- few sprigs, finely chopped
Canola oil - for shallow frying, a few tbsps

Method:

Make a paste of the all the above ingredients, except canola oil.
Heat canola oil.
Take a spoonful of the above paste and try to flatten it in the palm of your hand or in the pan.
Let one side cook before turning it over for the other side to cook.
Garnish with fresh chopped onions, sliced green peppers and slices of cucumber.

Sharing some recent pics of my Simei upma recipe which is regular weekend brunch item in my house. We love it - leftovers are convenient work-day lunch take-aways. Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Simei Upma

An even closer look at the Simei Upma

Goat Curry with Raita

I am submitting this for the "Regional Cusines of India (RCI) event: Oriya Cuisine from the state of Orissa in India". It is being hosted by Swapna of "Swad of India" blog. The announcement for this event is here. RCI was originally started by LakshmiK of "Veggie Cuisine" blog and other foodie bloggers take turns hosting this event.

Update on 09/08/2007 - Round-up link is here.

Goat Curry aka Mangso Tarkari (Makes 10 servings)

Ingredients

Baby Goat Meat - 2 lbs
Large tomatoes - 3
Canola oil - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 2 stick
Dry red chillies - 4
Dry Bay leaf aka Tej Pata - 2
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 4
Large Onion - 1
Ginger - 3 inches
Garlic - 1 pod
Lemon juice - 4-5 drops
Shaan Meat Masala powder - 2 tbsp
Minced coriander leaves - 3 tbsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Salt as per taste

Marinade ingredients

Salt 3tbsp
Paprika 2 tbsp
Shaan Meat Masala 3 tbsp
Yogurt 2 tbsp
Garam Masala 1 tbsp
Mustard Oil - 2 tbsp
Turmeric - 2 tbsp

Step 1

Marinade the meat with the marinade ingredients for an hour. Before cooking, make sure the meat has reached room temperature.

Step 2

Boil 3 large tomatoes in plain water. Once the water boils, cook covered in Medium heat for 15 minutes. After this, place the boiled tomatoes in cold water. This not only reduces the temperature, but also makes it easy to peel the skin off the tomatoes.



Step 3

Heat 1 tsp canola oil. Season the oil with 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp jeera, 2 stick cinnamon, 4 dry red chillies, 2 Bay leaf aka Tej Pata, 4 cloves, 4 cardamom for a minute. Next, add sliced onion and fry till it is golden brown on High heat. Add minced ginger and garlic and cook on High heat for about 5 minutes.

Once done, add the boiled tomatoes. The tomatoes will melt in the mixture. Add 4-5 drops of lemon juice to retain the bright red colour of the curry. Add 2 tbsp Shaan Meat Masala powder and salt as per taste.



Add the marinated mutton and cook on High heat for about an hour. Till the masala is uniformly coated and the oil separates on the almost cooked meat. (In Oriya, this state of the meat is called "Kasa Mangso". Since this recipe takes so long, family members will have their first serving of this curry in this state and comment on how delicious it tastes! Yes, it is ALWAYS delicious :) )



Pressure cook for 1 whistle on Medium heat. Wait for 10 minutes and then open the pressure cooker. Garnish with 3 tbsp minced coriander leaves and 1 tsp garam masala.

Note of caution - The whole process takes approximately 2 hours!



The above pic includes Basmati Rice and Raita.

Raita (makes 4 servings)

Onion - 1 small sliced
Tomato - 1 large sliced
Cucumber - 2 small or 1 large sliced
Green chilli - 4 sliced OR red chilli powder - 1 tsp(optional)
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt as per taste
Mix all the above ingredients. Don't mix till you are ready to eat. Else cucumber will release water-content and make the salad watery.

Sunday in a Oriya house - This curry is a regular item for Sunday lunch in most Oriya houses. Dad will head out after breakfast to get fresh-cut mutton. Meanwhile, ladies of the house will make the required preparation for the curry. As well as any other side dish such as brinjal fry or cauliflower fry or raita or badi-chura or so on. Atleast two sides has to be there. Everyone will have a heavy lunch and retire for an afternoon seista. Don't worry, by 4PM, everyone is back in full swing for evening snacks! :)

A marriage reception is considered incomplete if the host did not serve mutton in the menu. Even if it was a ten-course meal! In Mayurbhanj district of Orissa, one meal before the marriage ceremony has to be mudi (Puffed Rice aka Bhel) and mutton curry. Try it! It just tastes awesome.

Update on 04/12/2008 - Another recipe for Goat Curry from Maa

Make a paste of 2 big onions, 6 garlic pieces, 1 inch of ginger and 1 tomato. Keep aside.

Marinade 20 pieces of mutton with 1 tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric pd and 1/2 tsp chilli pd..

Heat 3 tbsp canola oil on high heat. Add 2 dry red chilli, 3 dry bay leaves. Add 10 tbsp of the ground paste of onion-ginger-garlic-tomato, 1 tsp of turmeric pd. and 1 tsp of meat masala. Keep stirring on high heat for about 5 mins or till the oil separates. Add the marinated mutton and cook till the mutton is cooked. Add 1/2 tsp of paprika powder for bright red color. Add 3 small or medium-sized potato cut into half a few minutes before the lid is put on the pressure cooker. Pressure cook on high heat for 1 whistle and 5 minutes in Medium heat. After opening the lid, add 1 tsp of garam masala. Maa advises NOT to put coriander leaves as it tends to take over the taste of mutton.