A Bong and his/her food, is inseparable. No matter where a discussion, plan, holiday, festival, celebration, trip, meeting or any random day may start at, for a true blue Bong, it MUST end in good food. Not any food, “good” food! Food is a festival in itself, for us!
And in this love affair with food, one of the most desired Bong delicacies is the MUTTON (Goat Meat). Most Bengali families have several traditions around this Mutton. For example, in most households, Sunday lunch must comprise of “maangsho-bhaat”, the famed mutton curry with potatoes and rice. Then again, on any special occasion, be it a wedding, or a normal birthday, “luchi-mangsho” – dry mutton bhuna and maida puri (a kind of deep fried bread) – is a staple. One of the dishes every Bengali woman, and many Bengali men are expected to cook well, savor well and relish well. I can’t even remember how long ago I fell in love with all good things in life, and mutton.
Like most people my age, I started cooking (initially to survive) only once I had to leave home and set up in a foreign country, in a college dorm :-(. And one of the first dishes I tried to master was obviously the mutton kosha and the mutton curry. But it wasn’t until I moved to Manahattan that I could find the right kind of “mutton” to cook – the “baby” goat meat. Baby goat meat is the key, and then the body part of the goat – the shoulder meat and the “raan” supposedly have the best kind of meat. While growing up in Kolkata, I have seen my grandfather, my uncle and my dad go to the market across our house, and get freshly butchered meat from their specific shop. Where you buy the meat was as important in the ritual of preparing mutton kosha/curry. In New York, I could only depend on the Bangladeshi or Pakistani meat shops that carried baby goat – which could be rare. But then, most often, the meat was good. Now, in Gurgaon, after several trials and errors, I buy my meat from Shakeef, in Nirvana Country and it is perfect.
To make the best of mutton curry, choose your meat well – must come out tender, yet firm, after cooking, and must absorb all the spices.
Now, with all that history and geography, let’s start cooking the mutton kosha (a very common recipe) and pair it with luchi, for a Sunday meal, just to celebrate life and food 🙂 or, for no reason at all!
I always prefer to slow cook (not in a pressure cooker), in a deep bottom pot, with a well fitting lid. I follow my mom’s recipe, but have adapted it for a quick-fix mode :-p
Other ingredients (for the Mutton Kosha with potatoes) –
Mutton: 500 gms
Potato: 3 medium
Chopped Onions (red): 1 large and 1 medium (or 2-3 large for more gravy)
Ginger: 2 inch (grated or made into a paste)
Garlic: 7-8 large cloves (grated or made into a paste)
Tomatoes: 2 medium (chopped)
Green chillies: 2-3 (as hot as you want)
Clove/Cardamom/Cinnamon sticks: 1 tsp
Haldi/Turmeric Powder: 1 tbsp (or as per taste and color)
Red Chilli Powder: 1 tsp (or as per taste)
Kashmiri Chili Powder: Optional (for color)
Cumin Powder: 1.5 tsp
Garam Masala powder: 1/2 tbsp
Bay leaves: 1-2
Dried red chillies: 2
Salt: to taste
Sugar: to caramelize in the oil, for color (about 1/2 tsp)
Vinegar: Optional
Oil: 3-4 tbsp (generous amounts, mustard oil recommended)
Ghee: a dash of it for flavor
Time:
Prep time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 40-45 mins (approx.)
Serves 3
Method:
1. Chop onions, peel and grate the ginger and garlic (you can make a paste too, with ginger/garlic/green chillies)
2. Wash, peel and cut the potatoes in half
3. Put a deep bottomed pot on the high flame. A good cooking tip I read somewhere was to heat the cooking pan/pot well, before pouring anything. It saves energy as well as cooks well.
4. Pour the mustard oil and heat till it smokes.
5. Fry the potato pieces lightly, just to brown them a little on the outside (does not need to be cooked)
6. Strain and take out the potatoes from the pot. In the same oil, on low heat, add the whole spices (clove/cinnamon/cardamom), bay leaves, dried red chillies, and sugar (to caramelize)
7. Once you start getting the aroma, turn up the heat and add the chopped onions. Lower the heat now for the onions to get cooked, and not burn
8. Once the onions start sweating, and turns that translucent pink, add the grated giner/garlic/green chillies.
8. Once the ginger garlic starts getting cooked, and relieves their juices, turn up the heat on high, add the mutton and brown the meat for a couple of minutes
9. Now add the potatoes (fried)
10. Now add the spices: salt, turmeric, red chilli pwder, kashmiri chilli powder, cumin powder and a dash of vinegar (optional)
11. Add chopped onions
12. Give it a stir or two, and then cover the lid and put it on low heat. Let the moisture be locked in so the meat cooks in the juices from itself and onions/tomatoes.
13. Let it cook till the meat is done (tender but firm), potato is cooked but not breaking, and the onion/tomatoes/spices blend together to make a smooth gravy (approx. 35 -50 minutes, depending on meat quality – check once after 20 minutes and again after 35 minutes)
**For kosha, addition of water is avoidable. If the gravy dries up too much before the meat is cooked, add boiling water slowly, to help keep the moisture in.
14. Once done, switch off the gas, check for taste, and then flavor with garam masala powder (I usually roast the whole spices and freshly grind them in a coffee grinder, but any readymade pack would do) and add a dash of desi ghee (optional, but highly recommended)
15. Serve with luchis/parathas/fulkas
