Goan Pork Vindaloo -- from the husband-man

There is this Netflix show called "the Indian Matchmaking" which has created quite a furore in the Indian community!! I am not aware of current match making scenarios in India but the show was entertaining reality TV. At first I couldn't believe some of the things I heard like the constant demand for "flxible, fair, slim" girls as a bride!!! This was the 21st century goddammit. but then I never believed in a virus stopping life either.
Many reviews and comments on FB felt the show was vile and cringeworthy but I feel that it is partly true of the Indian society. You might deny it and downplay it, but it is not far from the truth.

In India, the discussion, judgements and arguments over eating habits, veg or non-veg, pork and beef is as vehement as the show!!

Last year November when I was in Kolkata, I was on the Calcutta roads a fair amount of time. There was a particular driver whose car I would rent. I had a really good time chatting with him as we plied the roads of the city, from one corner to the other.

One day he asked me "Didi, apni pork khan?" (Didi do you eat pork?)

I ho-hummed and admitted that I did. "It tastes almost like chicken", I assured him.

"Kintu Didi beef? Beef o okhan America te?" (What about Beef? Do you eat beef also in America?)

I ho-hummed again. Well we do eat beef once in a while. I don't like steak because I find the meat too gamy to my taste but my kids love Italian meatballs and those are best with ground beef

"Haa khai majhe majhe," I admitted to eating beef occasionally.

The driver was alarmed and he admonished me, "Kintu Goru to Ma, Goru khaoa apnar thik noy." (but Cows are our Mother, you shouldn't eat them).

Probably his words came from the heavy hand of religion but I couldn't blame him. I did not eat beef or pork growing up in my home in India. Ours was a middle class Brahmin family, pretty conventional about the food that was cooked and eaten. So pork and beef were strictly beyond the realms of food that we could eat. In fact for a long time even chicken was not allowed in my grandmother's home, though we were allowed to cook it in the garden or eat outside. I never saw any of our family or friends eat pork sausages or steaks either, and I largely categorized them as meats that were popular only outside India. Only later did I learn that sausages and cold cuts were very popular among a certain section of Calcutta Bengalis even in the days when my Mother warned me never to eat such meat.

I desperately looked for a reasoning beyond that it tasted good. I mean eating meat, any meat itself is not the kindest thing as my daughter keeps reminding.

"But oita to America'r goru, ora amader Ma noy," I mumbled. (Those are American cows. They are not our mothers.)

The driver pondered over this, and reluctantly nodded his head. I breathed a sigh of relief.

A month later, my Mother calls me on the phone, "You eat beef? And you discussed that with the driver? He complained to me about your eating habits."

I stayed mum.

While I did broaden my eating habit, after coming to the US, only recently (in the last two years) have I started buying and cooking meat other than goat, lamb and chicken. We are still not great at cooking beef other than in meatballs or burger but pork is right up our alley.

During the lockdown when chicken was scarce, we bought pork loins a few times from Costco. The husband-man made a Pork Vindaloo, from his memory of pork curries that he ate in small eateries around his hostel in Kolkata. We asked a couple of our Goan neighbors for recipes and they shared a few which I duly forwarded to the husband-man on whatsapp. he combined teh recipes, did something and madea relaly mean pork Vindaloo.

Now I have never had a Pork Vindaloo back in Goa but his tastes so good with just the right balance of spices -   the curry is on the thinner side like a jhol but spicy hot, the tartness of vinegar balances the heat but still man it is hot. In all it tastes delicious with white rice and a salad on the side.

Do try it!

Parsi style Mutton Curry with Apricots

Parsi style Mutton Curry with Apricots

Last week I realized I know very little.

Like Toilet Paper plays a crucial role in times of Coronavirus.

Or like  a small country like South Korea is far more equipped to combat Covid-19 than US.

Or like dried apricot is used in a Mutton Curry!!

This last piece of info was shared with me by my friend Deepshikha, whose neighbor fed her a Parsi mutton curry with dried apricots. I honestly had no idea that dried apricots could be put in a mutton curry or else I would not have finished half the pack just eating them. Thankfully, I had half a pack left.

My friend didn't have the recipe but said it is just like or Mangshor Jhol but with Apricots. It's a bit sweet and sour. "Add more chilies", if you want it spicy is what she said. I was definitely intrigued and wanted to make this mutton curry.

Now the problem is, we eat red meat or goat meat only very rarely. And then when we do, the girls want a very Bengali Mangsho'r Jhol with potatoes. They don't like me experimenting.

Last Sunday, not paying heed to their protests, I went ahead and made this Mutton Curry. Initially, I had kept the heat from chillies low and the dish did face protests in my home as too sweet. Next day I added some more green chilies and simmered the gravy. It became  a major hit!! The recipe here has a fair amount of chili and is hot. If you want a milder dish, cut down the green chilli.

Apricot or "jardaloo" in Parsi is a very important ingredient of this dish which can be traced back to the use of meat and fruits in the Persian cuisine.

"In the 17th century, India’s Mughal emperor Shah Jahan – famed for his enormous appetite and love of food and luxury – insisted on importing expensive ingredients and an army of cooks from Persia. Its influence stuck for many centuries. The cuisine of Lucknow and also areas of Bombay  still draws heavily on Persian influences – sweet and sour, spice and dairy, meat and fruit – all mixed with savoury dishes" -- from The Guardian

In fact, Jardaloo Salli Boti, a dish of meat cooked with apricots and topped with "salli" (potato crisps), is a true Parsi Cuisine classic with strong Persian touches like dried apricot (jardaloo,) red vinegar and sugar along with a blend of mouthwatering Indian spices.

What I have made here is not exactly Jardaloo Salli Boti. We will call it Parsi style Mutton Curry with Apricots. I have taken some liberty and mixed up the spices a bit.
Instead of just cumin and coriander powder I have used a different spice blend which makes this dish more spicier as I wanted to cut through the sweetness that the apricots will bring. The recipe here has a fair amount of chili and is hot. If you want a milder dish, cut down the green chili.

At the end of the day, with sweetness of the apricots, the heat from the masalas and the tang from the yogurt and vinegar, this was a delicious mutton curry that we really enjoyed.

Grilled Lamb Chops with Indian Spices

When my kids were younger, I used to have this dream -- that they are now older, responsible teenagers and hence doing everything on their own, leaving me with huge expanse of plump, golden afternoons of nothingness. I used to crave for those afternoons of nothingness. I used to fantasize about all things I could do then like -- exercise,new recipes every other day, social media updates by the minute, blog every hour, write a new book every week...

Future seemed glorious.

I was like that kid who wanted to be an adult until she becomes an adult and has to pay mortgage!

Now that my kids are older, those afternoons seem to have vanished. I do not have afternoons. And if I have any, they are gone so fast that I miss them. My afternoons seem to sprint faster than Usain Bolt and vanish in the blink of an eye.

My younger one thinks I could have got hold of those afternoons to do some conditioning and get fit abs like her. My older one thinks I should use those afternoons to do anything but check her Physics hw.

I do neither and honestly I have no idea what I am doing really other than wasting my time browsing what-to-watch-on-Netflix. I keep saying I will get more time once the kids are in college, but those are all excuses. Clearly I am ignoring all these well-meaning quotes about "Living in the now". Or maybe I am actually "living-in-the-now" by doing nothing.

So anyway, instead of wasting my time describing afternoons, let me share the recipe of these delicious grilled lamb chops or more like grilled rack of lamb. With fresh garlic, ginger and Indian spices it is a very, very flavorful recipe. I learned it from my friend Deepsikha and just like her I make this dish completely in the oven. No browning in skillet or anything. You can use the same recipe for lamb chops too, only cooking time may vary.

Technically this is not grilling as I am doing it in the oven but I will take convenience and taste over jargon any day. So you can call it what you may but a morsel of that lamb in your mouth and you will agree it is delicious. Period.

I am sure you will love it as much as we do. For a summer dinner, I served it with a salad and a cool Tzatziki which Big Sis made.

Niramish Mangsho -- Shubho Barsho

Tomorrow is  Poila Boishakh, the first day of Boishakh ushering in the Bengali New year. While the English NewYear involves a lot of hard work like late night partying, looking back, looking forward, making resolutions, blah, blah...the Bengali New Year is much more relaxed and laid back in style.

During the 80's and early 90's, Bengali New year was all about 3 things --
(1) wearing new clothes (2) feasting at home (3) visiting stores and collecting single page Bengali calendars rolled in a narrow cylinder and cardboard boxes of sweets and shingaras. In addition to that there was the usual cultural stuff , involving Rabindrasangeet , because how can a Bengali celebrate anything without kalchar -- but I was not greatly interested in them.

Now, #1 holds no attraction for me and it has been almost 30 years since #3. So that leaves us with #2 as the only way to usher in the New Year.  Not necessarily at home but anywhere. Today, we had one of our classmates visiting us from Finland and so we had our Notun Bochor celebration a day early with lots of Bengali food at home.

This Niramish Mangsho, is something I cooked last weekend and have been thinking of sharing with you but the week just got so busy that I didn't get a chance.

Niramish Mangsho or "Vegetarian Mutton Curry" would sound like an oxymoron to most except a Bengali.

To my ears, it sounds perfectly logical since I have grown up hearing about it. Every year, around Kalipujo, my Father would reminisce about one his Uncles, an ardent devotee of the Goddess Kali. This extremely spiritual Uncle, who practiced a strict vegetarian diet all 364 days of the year, would become the greatest meat eating glutton on the day of Kali Pujo. The sacrificial goat for Goddess Kali would be cooked without any onion or garlic and that mutton curry, labeled as "Niramish Mangsho" would be enjoyed by her devout followers as "maha proshaad" -- the blessed mutton curry!!!

As a child I was awed by this show of reverence. How could someone forego meat for one whole year and the satiate his cravings on just one day? And that too with a mutton curry that was cooked without any onion or garlic. Must be very blehh in taste...I thought!!

I might have have tasted that mutton curry during Kali pujo, a small piece as a portion of a larger proshaad, but it did not really make enough of an impact to my childhood palate. I preferred the "Robibar er Mutton Curry" cooked by my Mother on Sundays.

Recently as I was trying to look up more about this Niramish Mangsho, I found that it had a lot of similarity with Kasmiri Brahmin recipe of Rogan Josh which too is made without any onion or garlic. Onion and garlic were not very popular ingredients in the Hindu kitchen yet and Asafoetida or Hing is the major flavoring agent in both the recipes.

In Utsa Ray's book "Culinary Culture in Colonial India", he mentions the the first Bengali cookbook Pakrajeswar(published in 1831) and the second, Byanjan-ratnakar(in 1858).

Ray says -- " Mutton recipes described there hardly prescribed the use of onion or garlic, something frequently used in Mughlai cuisine. The author of Pakrajeswar clearly stated that since people in the region hardly consumed onion, he had refrained from listing it as an essential ingredient in the recipes. Byanjan-ratnakar also did not include onion and garlic in its repertoire of recipes. It can be understood that the readers of Pakrajeswar were mostly Hindus who were not very accustomed to having garlic and onion in their food as yet."

In the same book he also mentions Mukundaram’s Chandimangal composed in late 16th century, which has elaborate lists of what was being cooked in the families of the trading castes and mentions--"Generally, the spices used for cooking fish and mutton were asafoetida and cumin."

We can then extrapolate that Mutton curry cooked without any onion or garlic was the norm in Hindu Bengali families in those times and so "Niramish Mangsho" was not really an anomaly. It was therefore very natural that the goat sacrificed to the Goddess Durga on the ninth day (Nabami) of Durga Pujo and to Goddess Kali on Kalipujo was also cooked in a similar way and offered as prashad.

I cooked this Mutton curry taking cues from Rogan Josh and my Mother's tip of using asafoetida+ginger to temper purely vegetarian curries. I have used whole Garam Masala and the Garam Masala powder just like we do for our regular mutton curry. For the wet spice paste, the very Bengali jeere-dhone baata, I have taken Kashmiri liberty and added some fennel seeds. Fennel seeds was probably not used in Bengali mutton curries. This dish is cooked in ghee in many recipe, however I have cooked it in Mustard Oil and added little ghee towards the end. Cooking it in ghee will definitely add more flavor.

The Mutton Curry was truly flavorful delicious. You wouldn't miss the garlic and onion at all in this dish. However it tastes best when had the same day as cooked and it does not keep well in the refrigerator.

Robibar er Murgir Jhol -- Sunday Chicken Curry

Bengali Chicken Curry | Murgir Jhol

The Bengali Chicken Curry is the most simplest of Chicken Curries popular in Bengali homes. While the Goalondo Steamer Curry or Railway Chicken Curry has now gained popularity, those were not how chicken was cooked in most Bengali homes. This chicken curry recipe is the curry that millions of Bengalis in the 70's and 80's grew up with, their Mothers cooking this dish for lunch on lazy Sunday afternoons

A few months back I got an email.

This is exactly what it said

Didi,

Apnake Jodi Bengali Sunday dupurer chicken curry ranna Korte hoy , family r jonno . Apni ki bhabe ranna korben ?

What is the best recipe apnar kache ? Kindly ektu information dile khub Khushi hobo .

(Didi, If you have to cook the Bengali Chicken Curry for Sunday lunch, how would you do it?)

At first I was a bit irked by this email. Not by the reader as I guessed he was a much younger guy and yet had not called me "Didi" and not Mashima :-p!!. But you know how this "Robibar er Mangsho" has been done to death and restaurants now have it on the menu and folks who have no idea what "Robibar er Mangsho" means order it on a Wednesday night and eat it with naan and a bottle of chilled beer while watching "Didi No.1" on the telly.

It totally sucks the joy out of the whole thing. Honestly it doesn't really make much sense if you are cooking it on a non-Sunday or eating it at a restaurant or using your "food delivery" app like Swiggy to order "ek plate Robibar er Murgi dena".

As chicken slowly started replacing goat meat/mutton in the Bengali household's shopping list, due to affordability or being a leaner choice of meat, the Sunday Mutton Curry was replaced with a rustic Chicken Curry instead.

Murgir Jhol | Bengali Chicken Curry

Tell me, what is a Robibar er Mangsho aka Sunday mutton Curry if not followed by hours of bhaat ghoom (siesta), bangla natok on Kolkata "Ka", and lingering turmeric colored aroma of a jhol on the tip of your fingers until Monday morning ? And most importantly, what is a Robibar er Manghso if not Goat meat!!!!

So this is what I replied

Bhai
Eita trick question kina bujhlam na !!! Sunday to Sunday to exactly same hobe na. Eikhane ekta mutton er dilam. Chicken diye mostly ei rokom i kori, konodin moshla beshi, konodin jhaal beshi, konodin duto gajor instead of aloo, je rokom Sunday sei rokom jhol :-D

(I don't know if you are asking me a trick question. Whichever way you cook your chicken on a Sunday that will be your Sunday Chicken Curry!)

But then I cooled down. I realized the world has changed a whole lot since the times when we used to have meat only on Sundays. In the late 70's,  in most middle class Bengali families like ours, everyday lunch and dinner would be dominated by fish. And when I say fish, I don't mean Malaikari or Kaalia for dinner everyday. Simple fish curries with mustard paste or vegetables in season were the usual norm.

Now Sunday was a red-letter day as that was the only day that offices and schools were closed and so lunch would be a family affair. That was also the day when goat meat was cooked for lunch in most Bengali homes. Meat, in particular Goat meat, was not something we ate every day. It was both expensive and also considered a food rich for daily consumption. Chicken or Murgi was not cooked in most Bengali homes that had matriarch like my Grandmother's. She allowed goat meat but considered "murgi" foreign and so it was banned from her kitchen.

So mutton curry aka "pa(n)thar mangsho" on some Sundays(usually the Sundays earlier in the month soon after payday) was something we lived in anticipation for. By the sheer magic of being a rare and thus much awaited occasion, the Sunday Lunch of Meat Curry and rice took a special position in our heart.

Things changed a fair bit after "chicken" started being used widely in Bengali kitchens. Chicken was cheaper than goat meat, cooked faster, and so it could be cooked on any other day too instead of fish. Often on Sundays, goat meat was getting swapped with "murgi", making it a "Robibar er Murgi'r Jhol". It was not a recipe with unique ingredients, nor was it a heirloom one. It was just a chicken curry, cooked fresh with freshly ground spices, that was had with rice for lunch and led to long hours of siesta afterwards. Yes, the siesta part stayed the same.

As we became global and more connected, that humble chicken or mutton curry was pushed aside for what seemed more fancy names like "karahi gosht" or "chicken rezala" or "coq au voin". Meat wasn't special enough to be cooked only on Sundays any more. You could have it any time. If not at home then outside. And since we all know that familiarity breeds contempt, we didn't really bother about "Sunday Dupur er Mutton Curry" any more. Until that is we grew older and nostalgia struck big time. We didn't want to eat mutton curry whenever we could, we wanted to wait, to build up that excitement for we finally understood that

Happiness is not in getting something but in the waiting.

In my home here, we eat chicken a couple times a week. Strangely we eat mutton maybe once in a couple of months. On a Saturday or a Sunday, when I cook chicken or mutton I usually stick to that same age old recipe my Mother followed on her Sundays.Nothing extraordinary, no special ingredients. I also cook with a lot of jhol. My daughters call this "Weekend er mangsho'r jhol". For them, it is a curry that has potatoes and enough gravy to be mixed with rice.

Here's the recipe of Sunday Dupur er Chicken Curry for the next gen. After wading many waters and making onion paste, grating onion, blah, blah, I have realized the easiest and simplest recipe works best. After all, who wants to waste all of Sunday making Chicken Curry for lunch ?

I also use a Radhuni Meat masala, which my friend had got for me from a Bangladeshi store. It is really good. In its absence use any other Meat masala.

To read about the Sunday tradition and goat meat curry click here - Bengali Pa(n)thar Mangshor Jhol
Another simpler recipe from my Ma-in-law of a mutton curry -- Robibar er Mangsho'r Jhol

Deepshikha's Bengali Goat Meat Curry in Oven -- at Smokies

This Spring Break we went to the Smoky Mountains -- the Great Smoky Mountains. One of the few national parks in the east coast. I am a sucker for National Parks and after our Yellowstone trip last year, my secret desire is to visit all of them. Does not seem like that will happen in this lifetime with the money and time I have at my disposal but that does not mean I won't try.

But the Great Smoky Mountains did not happen out of my love of National Parks. It happened because that was the place decided for a mini reunion of our college friends from twenty years back. It happened millions of whatsapp chats, several hangout sessions late in the night and couple of Google spreadsheets later.

Each hangout was peppered with more serious issues than the last. Luchi or eggs and bacon at breakfast? Pathar manghso on Saturday or bbq? Cookies with tea or muri-chanachur? Pasta for kids or Maggi? Yes we are very focused like that.

Finally a beautiful 8 bedroom chalet in the mountains was booked, food items from goat meat to mustard oil, maggi to maacher chop were packed, and we were all ready for the 12 hour long drive to Tennessee.

If I am honest my first impression of the Smokies as we entered Pigeon Forge was that of deep disappointment. I had Yellowstone and Grand Canyon on my mind and had not expected traffic jams and departmental stores from Wal-Mart to Macy's at the throes of a national park. The fact that we reached on a Friday which was a holiday could have contributed to the throng of crowd.

The deck with the beautiful view

Once we managed to cross all the traffic lights and crawl onto the mountain roads, the traffic peeled off and feel of the forest came back. The path up the mountains had several switchbacks and took scary sharp turns. The trees grew closer and the air turned crisp. My faith in national parks was restored.

It was early spring and the trees were mostly bare except for the light green haze of budding new leaves and splashes of spring flowers here and there. After going through a couple of wrong turns and several phone calls to friends who were already at the chalet, we finally reached the house with a truly "breathtaking view". The Mountains rose right across from the house, its peaks swirled in the typical bluish haze that is quintessential to Smokies.

The kids had lot of fun on zip lines and horse back rides. We went to Jayell's Ranch where even the little ones could zip line on a shorter trail

It was much fun meeting friends after so many years, getting to know their kids, the better halves and generally indulging in what we call in Bengali as "bhaat" -- meaningless banter. Food and adda were the focal points in the backdrop of the mountains. It was fun to see the kids bond with their new friends and have  a great time of their own.

While we were discussing the menu in the days leading to the trip, and trust me it would always end up without a consensus, there was the question of how to cook the goat meat. Should we carry a Pressure cooker ? Will the kitchen have a large enough heavy bottomed pan to cook goat meat for twenty people ? Will Donald Trump be the president ? Should we move to Canada ? You know that kind of questions on which no consensus can be ever reached.

Smokies has lots of pretty waterfalls. We did the Laurel Fall and Grotto Fall hike. Each were approx. 3 mile round trip and easy hike with kids

At this point when everyone was arguing over chat and not really listening to anyone else, our friend from Ohio, Deepshikha said, "We will do the Panthar Mangsho(Goat Meat curry) in the oven. You don'y need anything else except for a largei-ish aluminum tray".

This was so profound that we all just stayed quiet until I mustered to courage to ask "if it tasted good". I shouldn't have. Asked that is. Deepshikha and Biplab are trailblazers in Ohio, investing a lot of time and effort in their local community, doing Durga Pujo and throwing lavish parties with tons of food. They KNOW how to cook mutton in oven and make it taste as good as kosha mangsho.

Mete Chorchori -- Goat Liver Fry the Bengali Way

I don't know about you but I simple love goat liver aka "mete" in Bengali. Chicken liver -- not so much but Goat liver -- yum! My daughters freak out at the very idea that I am eating innards of an animal and refuse to even taste it. Having been fond of mete since a wee young child, I don't understand their reaction.

While "mete" was always thrown in when one bought goat meat back in the days, now I hear it has to be bought separately. The middle-eastern butcher shop where we get our meat does not always have liver available either but he obliges us on special requests. But then my daughters will not eat it so only rarely do we make a mete chorchori these days.

Now though I love mete, it is the husband-man who makes a mean mete charchari, a dry goat liver dish with spices and potatoes. He would make it often when I was pregnant with Big Sis and had a condition that made me anemic. Among the various food that were suggested to boost up my iron and RBC, were beets, spinach and goat liver.

I naturally preferred the goat liver. I mean come on, who wouldn't eat "mete charchari" when the doctor prescribes it in not-so-many-words?

However he refuses to give out a set recipe. So I took pictures to wing it later.

Though we prefer goat liver and make this only with goat liver, you can follow the same recipe for chicken liver. I find chicken liver needs more spices than goat liver, so adjust spices according to your taste.

This is the cast of characters,

As you can see, you need,
onion chopped in slices -- 1 and half onion
tomatoes -- looks like only 1 tomato to me, 
potatoes in cubes, 
garlic paste -- 2tsp, 
ginger paste -- 2 tsp, 
and green chillies -- lots of them

And of course the star -- Goat Liver (I had 1lb of it)

Our butcher chops up the liver in small pieces so all we have to do when we get it home is wash well.

Marinate the goat liver with
Turmeric powder
Red Chili Powder
Garlic paste -- 1 tsp
salt
a tsp of Mustard oil
and leave aside for 30 mins.

Heat mustard oil in a kadhai or saucier

Add the potatoes. With a sprinkle of turmeric powder, fry the potatoes until they get golden brown spots. Remove and keep aside to add later.

Temper the Oil with
1 Tej Pata
a 2" cinnamon stick
4 green cardamom
4 clove

When the spices pop add the green chilies and onion. Fry until onion is brown and soft.

Next goes in the tomatoes, 1 tsp garlic paste and 1 tsp of ginger paste. Keep frying until the tomatoes are all mushed up and the raw smell is gone.

Now add the goat liver pieces and fry the liver at medium-high heat. You might need to sprinkle water in-between if you see the spices charring. Continue frying. This step is called koshano and will take some time until you see the liver pieces changing color to a deep brown.

Add the fried potato cubes and mix well. Add 1/4th tsp of Garam Masala powder and give a good stir.

Now add very little water and cover and cook. Cook until potatoes and liver is done.

It tastes best with ruti or parota. And of course rice.

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Mutton Korma/Mangshor Korma -- with coconut and cashew

This has been a busy month for us with friends visiting and the girls' schedule brimming with what they call "stuff". In between, there has been Mutton Korma and Mangshor jhol but first let me talk about the stuff.

This "stuff" seems to have taken over their lives, making me and their dad run around, dropping, picking up, taking off work to attend school meetings that discusses new test patterns and such obscure stuff and then off to attend more obscure events where I am supposed to help my kindergartner make dolls for Heritage Day.

Yes, you heard it right. Dolls !!! At first when the school sent home a letter seeking volunteers for the event, I quickly trashed it. I had volunteered at LS's class for Valentine's Day and enjoyed myself immensely but I had also found that the class-moms were super craft-y, so no way was I going and making a fool of myself in this project, I decided. Them Dolls, I am not making, I had reassured myself several times.

In a couple of days however LS started complaining. A few of her friend's parents had come in to help make the doll and she wanted me to be there too. "Their doll is going to be perfect. Mine will be made by Mrs.Z and it will not be that good", she wailed.

Apparently the child has more faith on me than her teacher. God, don't prove her wrong. Please. So very hesitantly, I e-mailed the teacher and landed in her school one day, only to hear that LS did not want her doll to be Indian.

"M and S have already made Indian dolls. I want to make a doll from another country", she said

"Err LS...but it is for Heritage Day. You have to make something from the country where your parents and grandparents are."

"But I don't want to do your side of the family. I want to do Baba's side", she said

Now her Baba is more Bengali than most and speaks nothing but Bengali at home and not even an alien from Jupiter would mistake him for a non-Indian.

"What do you mean his side ? He is from India too," I tried to drum reason in to her.

"But Thammi doesn't live in India. They live in XYZ", she wailed, XYZ being a suburb about 3 hours from Calcutta.

She was visibly depressed at the revelation that XYZ was indeed in India and then her interest in the doll took a dive. Thankfully, the kids had already done the cutout and the drawing etc. in class. All we had to help was with the costume and hair. With the variety of supplies available in school, this did not seem as daunting a task, as I had imagined. And guess what I learned in Kindergarten ? How to use a glue gun!

Picture of her doll is in the Kid's Blog.

The best thing amidst all this running around, was the Holi party that we pulled off on a whim, one Saturday. With temperatures dipping to 40s on most days and it being really chilly, the idea did not seem great at first. But then how is a Holi party, Holi if done in May ? Tell me? So, after checking weather.com umpteen times, when Saturday showed promised of going into higher 50s, we bought abir, took a day off to cook and played Holi.

I have never been a Holi fan to be honest. What with  my OCD and such, behind every colored face all I see is hours of clean up. But for this once, I steeled my resolution, shoved my OCD into a closet and shut it tight. And guess what ? The colored faces turned out to be happy and very easy to clean. The girls and their little friends loved the riot of colors and had a blast.

Though I was afraid that BigSis might not like the mess, she enjoyed her first time playing Holi thoroughly.
LS enjoyed herself at the beginning but with color permeating in her hair, she soon got fidgety and wanted to take a shower. At least one of them has got my genes.

Now to this Mutton Korma which I made one weekend for the husband-man's friend. My Mother makes a Mutton dish like this but hers is more heavy on spices. Along with coconut she also grinds whole coriander and garam masala to make a spice paste. Mine is based on this Chicken Korma but I have used little coconut here to make the dish more rich and creamy. It was a good dish, different from our regular Mangshor Jhol


Start off with 4 lb of mutton, cleaned and washed. Get the back leg or front shoulder of goat from your butcher

In a blender jar add
1/2 Cup Yogurt
6 pods of garlic(I get real fat pods of garlic here but the smell is not too strong)
2" of ginger
and make a paste

In a big bowl marinate the mutton in following
the ginger+garlic+yogurt paste
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp of Kashmiri Mirch/Red Chilli Powder
salt
1 tsp Mustard oil

I usually marinate mutton overnight but if you are short of time an hour or two should be okay.

Now heat some oil in a wide mouthed pan.

Temper the oil with
2 Black Cardamom
4 small green cardamom
4 clove
2 small tej patta
2" stick of cinnamon

Once the spices sputter add
3 cups of sliced onion(about 1&1/2 large onion chopped in thin slices)
Fry onion till soft, pink and translucent

Now add the mutton along with the marinade.

Add
1 tbsp Coriander powder
1/2 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp Kashmiri Mirch

Now "bhuno/kashao" the mutton for next 30-35 mins. Water will release from the mutton and you will see oil surfacing.

Make a paste of
1/2 Cup of soft grated coconut
1/4 Cup of Cashew
with a splash of water


Add this coconut-kaju paste to the mutton and cook for another 15 minutes.

Now transfer the mutton to a pressure cooker. I also added potatoes to this dish on this particular day but usually the recipe does not call for potatoes

Add
1/4 Cup of beaten yogurt mixed with 1 Cup of water
salt to taste
2 dry Red Chillies
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
and mix well


Close the lid of the pressure cooker. Once the steam has reached, lower the heat and cook mutton at low heat for about 20 mins. Next, raise the heat and cook for another 5 mins.

Let the pressure cooker release steam naturally. Open the cooker to an awesome arora and serve the Korma with rice or pulao.

Bengali Mutton Stew -- and a song for Saraswati

Bengali Mutton Stew adapted from Lila Majumdar's Brown Stew

When I was a small child, I did not sing. Rather I assumed that "I cannot sing". It must have been a true assumption since years later when I tried to sing lullaby to my daughters, they protested and later told me to not sing when they are trying to sleep!

However my father, like all fathers, did not believe in my lack of singing talent as a 5 year old. He was a connoisseur of Rabindra Sangeet and though he himself could not sing a single note in key, he made it up by being an ardent listener. Rabindra Sangeet was the only music that played in our house in those days. The few Hindi songs that I heard were either over the neighborhood loudspeaker or on Binaca Geetmala on Bibidh Bharati. The only voices that boomed through our tape recorder was that of Debobroto Biswas, Suchitra Mitra and Kanika.

This overdose of Rabindra Sangeet at home, made me kind of detest Tagore's Songs. Yes, a blasphemy, but honestly I did not get most of the Tagore songs as a child. There were few like "Purano sei diner kotha" and "Aakash bhora surjo tara" which I really liked but most others, played day in and day out sounded monotonic to my ignorant ears.

As a result when my Father wanted me to learn Rabindra Sangeet, as most Bengali Fathers would, I protested. I said "I cannot sing", which might have been true but not something that could not have been worked on with some training. But I steadfastly refused any training and even with an opportunity to learn at Tagore's ChitraBhanu, I did not succumb to the pleasures of learning music. Even at the compulsory music class in school, I mouthed words, keeping my voice low, assuming that I cannot really sing.

Many, many years later, I kind of started appreciating Tagore's songs. I partly understood the words, the poetry and the music or at least I thought I did. My understanding was not even close to my Father's love for Tagore's songs but at least I realized why he might have wanted me to learn Rabindra Sangeet.

So, as most Bengali Mothers are wont to do, I enrolled my daughters in a Bengali music class.

I have always heard that most parents want to fulfill their wishes through their children. I thought it was a selfish thing to want. Now, I know, it is not always so. With their years of trudging through the swirling waters of life, when parents eventually realize what happiness those wishes and trainings could bring, they want to plant a love for that wish in their child's heart. So a parent who dropped out of school makes sure that the offspring gets to finish academics, the one who hardly practiced the piano and wishes she could play music for her own solace persuades her child to practice piano every day and the one who never learned to sing wants her daughters to sing.

It is not that we parents want our children to become like us, we think it will do them good to be what we aren't.

With that wish in my heart, I suggested gaaner school aka music school to my daughters. Of course my father has been subtly suggesting the same all along.I must say that I was lucky enough to find a music teacher in my neighborhood, who is not only fantastic but also knows how to work with kids very well. So once a week, after school, in the evening, she fills my daughter's life with music they don't hear everyday.She teaches them children's songs along with Vedic songs often interspersed with Rabindra Sangeet. The result is that both LS and BS look forward to their Friday Bangla Gaaner school where they go along with little friends they have known since birth.

For this Saraswati pujo, their music teacher has taught them Tagore's "Modhuro Dhwoni Baaje". And when these little kids sing this difficult Bengali song, pronouncing the words just right, my heart is filled with an unknown happiness.

My Dad was in tears hearing their rendition which I had sent him over e-mail.After all they are little kids, growing up far from Tagore's land and probably do not understand meaning of half of the words of this song. Their singing is not perfect but it is beautiful.

For my father, it is probably a wish come true.

Modhuro Dhwoni Baaje by Little Sis

Now back to this very Bengali Mutton Stew which LS loves. BS too loves the stew as long as she does not have to eat the mutton. She is turning into a vegetarian these days. In winter vegetables like carrots and beet makes this the perfect winter stew.

Usually I make the stew this way. But this time I followed the recipe for Leela Majumdar's "Brown Stew" narrated in her inimitable style, from her cookbook which I read more for the comfort it brings than recipes. This is truly the most heart warming soup you can make, with minimal effort on your part. It tastes best with mutton but is good enough with chicken too.

Bengali Mutton Stew

Prep

Though the recipe does not suggest, I always marinate my meat. Marinate Mutton/Goat meat in ginger paste, garlic paste, salt and a pinch of turmeric powder. I usually marinate all the mutton I get and then freeze in portions. For this stew I used about 10 piece of that marinated mutton (about 1 lb)

Wash and chop the following vegetables for stew
1 carrot
half of a large beet
2 small red potatoes in halves
about 8-10 string beans
a small portion of green papaya
half of a red onion
As the author says, do not overload this stew with vegetables. The vegetables should be in proportion with the meat you use.

Cook

Heat about 1 Tbsp of Vegetable oil in a pressure cooker

Temper the oil with
2 small Tej Patta
2 clove
2 green cradamom
a small stick of cinnamon
10 whole black peppercorns

When the whole spices sputter, add the mutton pieces. The  pieces should be in a single layer and not crowd the pan.
Saute at high heat until the mutton pieces are browned. If the mutton releases water, cook until the water is dried off and the mutton has lost its raw coloring. Take out the mutton and keep aside.

To the same oil, add the onion and fry for 2-3 minutes until onion softens a little.

Add all the other chopped vegetables, sprinkle salt and let the vegetables brown a little. It is not really necessary to fry the vegetables, just gently saute for a few minutes.

Next make a roux by mixing about 1/4th cup of flour mixed in 1/4 Cup Milk + 1/4 Cup Water(whole wheat atta or maida). Pour this and toss the vegetables around. The original recipe had suggested adding the flour along with the mutton but I add it with the vegetables

Now add the browned mutton pieces.

Add about 3-4 cups of water, salt to taste and mix everything with a ladle.

At this point add 2 fat clove of garlic chopped in slices and an inch of ginger grated. Add a tomato if you wish. Let the stew come to a simmer.

Close the pressure cooker. After the first whistle or once the pressure is built up, lower the heat and let the stew cook at low medium heat for about 10 minutes. After that raise the heat and cook for 5-6 more minutes. Switch off and let the pressure cooker release steam naturally.

Once the pressure cooker lid can be opened, carefully open the lid and check if meat is done. If not, you have to close the lid and cook for another 6-8 minutes.

If the meat is done, taste the stew and add freshly cracked black pepper and salt to taste. If the stew looks a bit runny, open the lid and put it on heat again to cook off some of the excess water.

Serve with a dollop of butter and with a piece of crusty bread or rice on the side..

Similar Soups and Stews from my blog:

One more Mutton Stew

Chicken Stew for the Kids -- Chotoder Chicken Stew

Kerala Style Chicken Stew

Chicken Keema in Mint-Coriander Paste

 
I have had this recipe in my draft for more than two months now. Almost since summer when the sun was warm and the backyard bereft of snow. For the last two months, I have been thinking of sharing it with you. It deserves sharing for it is really good and it has found its way in our home because someone I barely know had shared it with me.

But all these days I have had nothing to say fitting with the recipe. Seriously I have to learn to post without going "yadda yadda yadda" every time.

Anyway, what with winter and the first snow of the season, there is something to chat about today.

With the early morning call from the school announcing a snow day today, I had an inkling of how the day would roll out and fill up the 14 hours which lay ahead; hours bare of any per-destined activity or schedule or gathering. I had a hunch that the girls might want to make a snowman or at least a snow angel or if nothing have a snow ball fight. I usually stay far from such activities as snow is definitely not on my favorite list and I would much rather stay inside and click pictures than wear mittens and jackets and indulge in making snowmen.

As predicted, they started on that chant way before lunch, soon after we had the upma I made. And finally when the snow had trickled down, they went out on the deck to make a snow man. The girls showed a lot of interest initially as is their wont but eventually the grunt work was done all by Dad. The snowman was made toothless and looked kind of cute, but then with a brilliant stroke of creativity, the husband-man decided to make its teeth out of dried amla and boom it became a snow goon. Or a "deranged mutant killer monster snow goon" as Calvin would have said.

We also put up the Christmas Tree, a fake affair which looks gorgeous when the lights and shiny trinkets are on. And then the husband-man fried crispy pakoras which we gulped down with tea and with friends who could drop by once the roads were clear.

Now though technically I am not a big fan of cold winter, there is something about staying home on winter evenings that I enjoy.

A cup of tea.

The flicker of flames in the fireplace.

The Christmas tree.

The special movies on for Christmas.

It seems like a time to put away your worries and dust away the mundane to put up shiny baubles and bask in small pleasures of glittery tchotchke.

And to share one's favorite recipe for a Keema made with Mint Coriander paste. A recipe that was inspired by Rini's (who blogs on non-food topics ) recipe in a Facebook Group many months ago. A recipe whose taste lingers on though I last made it about a month ago. Peppery with a hint of mint and fresh coriander. A spicy after note. A silent thank you for people who are generous enough to share their recipes and make your dinner that much special.

That is the spirit of the season.

Keema in a Mint Coriander Paste

Start off with 2lb of Chicken keema.  You can of course use lamb/mutton keema and the result will be better but I went with the leaner option.

Put the keema in a bowl. To it add
1/4th cup of thick yogurt
1 tbsp loosley packed Cumin powder
1 tbsp loosley packed Coriander powder
1 tsp Kashmiri Mirch
salt to taste
Mix well and keep aside for an hour.

Meanwhile make the mint-coriander paste:
Add the following to the blender jar and make a smooth paste
Coriander Leaves -- 1 cup chopped
Mint leaves -- 1/2 cup chopped (If you don't have fresh, use the dried mint but use only 2 tbsp)
Garlic -- 4 fat clove
Ginger -- 1" peeled and chopped
Hot Indian green chilli -- 4
Whole Black Peppercorns -- 1 tbsp
This greenish paste can be stored for future use and as base for many other curries.

Now start making the Keema Curry

Heat 2tsp of Vegetable oil in a frying pan/kadhai. Start with a frying pan or kadhai with a wide base.

Fry about 3 tbsp of cashew and 1 tbsp of golden raisins until the cashew turns brown. Remove and keep aside.

To the same pan, now add 2 tbsp of Mustard Oil

When the Oil is sufficiently hot, temper the oil with
2 Tej Patta
one 2" stick of cinnamon
2 Big Black Cardamom lightly bruised

To the flavored oil add
1 medium sized onion thinly sliced

Fry the onion until they are soft and light brown and then follow with
2tsp of garlic paste.

Add about 1 tbsp of Tomato paste(substitute with Ketchup) and the green paste that you have made. At medium heat, fry the masala till oil separetes.

Now add the keema. 
Sprinkle on it about 1/2 tbsp of Bhaja Masla. You can also use Garam masala or some Meat masala but this particular Bhaja Masla gives a very nice taste.

Keep stirring the keema, breaking up any lumps until the keema loses its raw color. The keema will also release water, keep on frying until the water dries up and the keema is cooked and crumbled. Once the keema is done, taste and adjust for spices.

In a separate pan, heat some more mustard oil, say 2tsp. When the oil is hot, add 1 tbsp of black pepper powder. Add this pepper flavored oil to the keema in the other pan.

Now add about 1/2 cup of warm water for gravy, salt to taste and let the gravy simmer for 5 minutes at low heat.

Add the fried kaju-kismish to the keema and mix well. Add some more chpped mint. Switch off heat and cover the fry pan.Let it sit for half an hour before serving.

Pritha Sen's Railway Mutton Curry -- Bengali style

Railway Mutton Curry

The Railway Mutton Curry is a legacy from the food cooked aboard the Indian Railways during British raj. The dishes served in the dining cars of indian railways in those times  were a blend of Anglo-Indian, Bengali and South Indian, cooked to perfection. There are a few different recipes for this Railway Mutton Curry. The one I have shared here has more Bengali touch than the South-Indian version.

My first train journey, or rather the one that I can recall, because there must have been many before that, is of an over crowded Darjeeling Express or maybe Tinshukia Mail. I think it was the Darjeeling Express because if I remember correct only my Mother and I were traveling, to Dida' house in Kolkata during a winter vacation.

Ma's friend from the neighborhood P-pishi was also traveling the same day on the same train. The train was packed as I remember and faint conversations of something about a natok er dol--a drama company troupe occupying our seats in a second class compartment bubbles through memory. Those were polite times and I think my Ma and P-pishi agreed to share their reserved seats with the folks from the troupe who had last minute bookings and not enough reservations. I was all of five or maybe six and went off to sleep curled up in whatever little space we had.

And then my memory gets stronger and there is a loud voice that says "Malda eshe geche. Malda. Seddho dim khabi na ?" (We have reached Malda Station. Malda. Don't you want a boiled egg?)
I am sure there was a past history of my eating and loving the warm to touch boiled egg at Malda Station for my Mother to have woken me from a slumber in a crowded train to offer those. Those freshly boiled eggs, sliced along the length and sprinkled with coarse white salt and crushed black pepper were proffered through the iron grills of the train window by the Dimwala on the platform. I scarfed down two of them and went back to sleep. And yet again the very mention of the everyday boiled eggs brings to my mind Malda Station and I have a strong belief that no egg ever tasted that good.

Just like an omelet brings to mind the double dim er omelet or double egg omelet at the Railway canteen in Patna Junction. Once you pushed aside those swing doors, the Railway Canteen was a place with white napkins and waiters in stiff starched uniform very unlike the crowded and loud station just outside. Every year on our annual journey it was a ritual to have a plate of  kadak toast with Amul butter and double dim er omelet at the canteen. I still remember that how I would be disappointed by the omelet every year, because though it was made with two eggs, it wasn't a thick omelet but a large thin one which filled the entire size of a dinner plate.And yet every year without fail I would order the same at the Railway canteen.

Railway Mutton Curry - Bengali style railway mutton curry

Next was an older me, maybe a 10 year old, a first class coupe with sliding doors and a corridor outside. I loved the first class coupe, way more than the A/C coaches we traveled in later. The coupe gave you the privacy and the wind blowing on your face through the wide open windows, one of the main reasons I loved train journeys.

The evening we boarded the train, a three stack high stainless steel tiffin carrier carried our dinner. Soon after the train had pulled out, Ma would spread newspapers on the rexine covered berths and open the latches of the tiffin carrier to reveal steel containers filled with luchi, sada alu chorchori and sondesh. But more than that I looked forward to the next day's lunch, the one we could not carry from home and had to order from the railway catering service. I would always order a chicken curry and rice, Baba would do the same and Ma would order a Veg meal. Dining cars were phased out by then and the catering service loaded trays of cooked food from designated stations. Lunch would arrive in those steel rectangular plates with compartments-- rice, pickle, a watery dal and a chicken curry with a thin layer of oil floating on a scarlet colored gravy which would inevitably have spilled onto the dal with the motion of the train. It was not an extraordinary curry and I clearly don't recall its taste.

But the experience of food in a train with the wind rustling through the open windows, the green paddy fields stretched towards the horizon, the little village boys standing by the railway lines waving their scrawny limbs to the marching beat of the iron wheels is something that makes it exemplary merely by situation.

Like the dim-seddho and the chicken curry, I am sure for many of my generation growing up in India, Food and railway journeys are closely intertwined. JhaalMuri at Kharagpur, Guavas with pink insides at Allahabad, Medu Vadas on the southern line, Puri Sabzi at Moghalsarai, Mihidana at Bardhaman -- we all have our train food favorites.

So when I first saw this recipe of Railway Mutton Curry shared by Pritha Sen at Atul Sikand's page Sikandulous Cuisne, I knew I had to try it, if only because of its name. Pritha Sen, from Gurgaon has immense knowledge about history of Indian food and her narrative on  this curry made it all the more interesting. Her story about origin of this dish dates further back, when South eastern railway was called BNR and trains came with salons and dining cars.

With her permission, I am reproducing part of her article in her own words:

"Many a classic dish has been born out of necessity, culture, lifestyle, ethnicity and the ingredients available locally. Many of them are a testimony of the times. There are certain tastes that linger and many years later surface in our urban kitchens as a salute to those chefs whose ingenuity created them in the first place. So we got our seekh kebabs from the marauding Mongols who fanned out from Central Asia across the world, spreading their seed as well as their cuisine. Their spears served as the seekhs to roast pieces of meat over the campfire in the evenings. Then there are the now famous stories about Dum Pukht cuisine or the Mongolian hot pot and in more recent times, Tandoori Chicken and Chicken Butter Masala or American Chopsuey and Chicken/Gobi Manchurian!

One such form of cuisine was that which was developed by the entourage of cooks and bearers who travelled with officers serving in the administrative, forest and railway services in India in colonial times. They cooked with whatever they carried with them or was locally available at their place of halt, flavouring the dishes with a blend of sleight of hand, what the Memsahib had taught them and dollops of ethnicity. And thus was born dishes like the Railway Mutton or Chicken Curry, the Railway Aloo curry with triangular Atta Parathas, Dak Bungalow Mutton Curry, Madras Club Qorma, Dak Bungalow Roast Chicken, the Rose Custard and of course Bread Puddings and Caramel Custard.

I was fortunate enough to have grown up in this legacy of the Raj, as a child of the Railways, when there were dining cars on trains, complete with tables for four covered with white damask and set with proper crockery and silver. Think back to that scene in Satyajit Ray's 'Nayak' where Sharmila Tagore starts her interview with Uttam Kumar. Liveried waiters padded about silently, serving known railway delicacies of those times – fish fry with tartar sauce, mutton breast cutlets on the bone, perfectly fried finger chips with tomato sauce, finely cut chicken sandwiches, chicken and tomato soups, mulligatawny soups and side dishes of roast chicken and boiled vegetables or mutton stew with bread, or chicken/mutton curry rice. The menu was limited but delicious.

When my father went on tour, which was referred to as ‘going on Line’ the phrase originating from ‘line inspection’, Naresh, our old peon, a relic of the Raj himself, packed his Line Box or Line Peti as he called it. A Line Box was a 2ft by 3ft rectangular wooden box, which had a tray with partitions on top of the main unit. The bottom was packed with rice, flour, dal, spices etc. The top tray held potatoes, onions, garlic, ginger in neat compartments. Naresh then loaded it onto Baba’s saloon, an entire railway coach converted to house a sitting-cum-dining room, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, pantry and staff quarters. Naresh travelled with him along with an assistant, cooking Baba fresh meals as he travelled for days from one railway junction to another.

We, as a family, also travelled with him at times living in the saloon and eating and sleeping as the steam engine chugged across India, spewing vicious black fumes. No worries. We children were well ensconced in our fairy tale moving home, revelling in wondrous delight at the shining stainless steel hand showers in the bathrooms which we had never seen before and kitchens fitted with tall coal ovens to roast the chicken to a turn and bake the perfect dessert.

The railway cuisine as I realise today was generously tempered with a South Indian flavour. The reason being that during my childhood or perhaps before that much of the Class IV railway staff were South Indians, mainly Telugus from Andhra Pradesh. The engine drivers and ticket collectors or station masters were Anglo-Indians, the last of the community left in Railway service before they all emigrated to Australia. So the dishes we were served were a blend of Anglo-Indian, Bengali and South Indian, cooked to perfection.

I leave you with one such dish which today rightly occupies pride of place on many restaurant menus that serve Anglo-Indian or Raj cuisine. I promise to come back with more."

 

Pritha Di shared two recipes of this mutton curry. The first one was courtesy Jennifer Brennan and apparently the more authentic one and had Curry leaves and Coconut Milk. I selected the second one which was more Bengali than South Indian.This was from Bengal in later times: Courtesy Basav Mukherjee. I adapted the recipe making small changes but sticking to the core of the wonderful masala paste that lends the curry its special flavor. Don't get intimidated by the length of the post or ingredient list. All of them can be found in your kitchen pantry and if you follow the steps, it takes no longer than a regular mutton curry.

Railway Mutton Curry

What you Need

Mutton ~ 4lb with bone, usually shoulder or back leg. After washing, mutton was marinated overnight
Onion -- 2 large chopped in slices= 4 cups of sliced onion
Tomatoes -- 1 cup pureed
Potatoes ~ 2 large potatoes chopped in quarters

Whole Garam Masala -- 2 Black cardamom, 6 green cardamom, 2" stick of cinnamon, 8 clove, 4 bay leaves, 3 strands of javetri, 8 dry red chilli

Special Masala Paste

Coriander seeds ~ 2 tsp
Cumin Seeds ~ 2 tsp
Fennel seeds or Saunf ~ 2 tsp
Whole black Peppercorns -- 15
Dry Red Chilli -- 8
Garlic -- 8 fat cloves
Ginger -- 2" piece finely chopped
Kashmiri Mirch -- 2 tsp
Sugar -- 1/2 tsp

For Gravy

Garlic paste -- 1 tbsp
Ginger paste -- 1 tbsp

Water ~ 1.5 cups

Garam Masala ~ 1 tsp
Green Chillies -- 3-4

Mustard Oil -- 4 tbsp

How I Did It

Preparation :

Marinate mutton overnight with
2 tsp ginger paste, 
2tsp garlic paste, 
2 tsp mustard oil, 
1 tsp vinegar, 
salt 
2 tsp Kashmiri Mirch
and Turmeric powder
 

Make the Special Masala paste:
Heat a small pan or kadhai.

Add the
coriander seeds, 
cumin seeds, 
fennel seeds, 
dried red chillies, 
peppercorns and roast till fragrant.

Once roasted, add the above spices to a blender along with
8 big cloves of garlic 
2 inch of ginger, roughly chopped
2 tsp of Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tbsp Mustard Oil

Make a fine paste adding splash of water if necessary. Add 1/2 tsp sugar to the paste. The paste is where the magic lies.


Start Cooking :
In a pressure cooker or a fry pan, add 3 tablespoons of mustard oil.

Heat the oil till its smoking. Fry the potatoes in the oil. Once the potatoes turn golden yellow with brown spots, remove and keep aside

Now, reduce the flame and  add the whole garam masala
2 Black cardamom, 
6 green cardamom, 
2" stick of cinnamon, 
8 clove, 
4 bay leaves, 
3 strands of javetri, 
8 dry red chilli

Once you get the fragrance of the whole spices add
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste. 
Fry them for about a minute.

Now add the sliced onion and fry with a sprinkle of salt. Fry the onion, stirring constantly, till they get browned and caramelized.

Next goes in the pureed tomatoes which needs to be fried for 3-4 minutes till raw smell is gone.

Next add the mutton pieces to this.Increase the flame to high and fry the mutton pieces in high heat till mutton loses its raw color. The mutton will sear and turn a light brown

Reduce the flame a bit and let the mutton release its juices.
At medium heat, continue to saute or kashao  the mutton till you see a layer of oil floating. Stir continuously. This takes a good 20-25 minutes

Now add the Special Masala that you have prepared and mix it with the meat. Fry everything together for next 5-7 minutes.

Add back the potatoes to the mix and reduce flame to low.

Add about 1.5 cups of water. Add salt to taste. I added water though the original recipe did not ask for it.

Bring the gravy to a boil and then close the pressure cooker lid.Reduce the flame to the lowest and pressure cook the curry for 15 minutes. Towards the end of 15 mins, increase the heat and cook for 8  minutes at full pressure

Once you can open the cooker lid, break 3-4 green chillies and add to the curry for an awesome flavor
Also add one tsp of garam masala powder and stir.

Close the cooker lid again  and let this rest for about an hour. Serve with steaming white rice.