Mutton Pepper Fry (Traditional Fare)

If you ask me, what goes well with this mutton dish, I'd say a tomato rasam, cabbage thoran & white rice.I know your mouth is watering, then, what is stopping you from making this! 

INGREDIENTS:

Mutton: 500 g

Onions: 3 sliced

Shallots: 100 g crushed

Garlic: 10 pods crushed

Ginger: 1” piece sliced

Green chilli: 2 slit

Whole black pepper: 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds: 2 tbsps

Garam masala powder: 1 tsp

Turmeric powder: ½ tsp

Curry leaves: a few

Coconut oil: 3 tbsps

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Dry roast/broil pepper & coriander in a pan, powder & keep aside.

 Heat oil, fry the sliced onions brown & remove on to a plate.

In the remaining oil, add crushed shallots & garlic. Sauté it well.

 Now, add the powdered pepper – coriander, turmeric powder, slit green chillies & ginger.

Put in washed & drained mutton & stir till they change colour.

Pour 2 cups of hot water, cover & cook till done, stirring occasionally.

Now, add salt, curry leaves & garam masala powder.

Fry till the mutton is well coated with the masala.

Last, add the fried onions. Stir well.

A dry meat dish that can be served with any rice/wheat preparations.    

Paya (Traditional Fare)

I was told that in the days of our grand or great grandparents, during the rainy season, trotters & other mutton bones were cooked to make different kinds of soups & gravies. Mutton was preferred because of the medicinal value of goats & sheep.

That was probably the reason for their good health!

Here’s a simple recipe for mutton paya.

INGREDIENTS:

Trotters: 4 cleaned & cut into pieces

Shallots/onions: 100 g

Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tbsp

Green chilli: 2 chopped

Tomato: 1 chopped

Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Fennel seeds: 1 tsp
Whole black pepper: 1 tsp

Cumin powder: ½ tsp

Coriander leaves: 2 tbsps

Coconut milk: ½ cup thin extract (optional)

Oil: 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Use a pressure cooker to prepare this because it takes about an hour to prepare.

Into a cooker, add oil & fennel & pepper, then, add shallots, ginger, garlic, green chillies.

Sauté well & add the powders.

Now, put in tomato & coriander leaves.

Pour 3 cups of water (600 ml).

Bring to boil & add the trotters.

Cover & pressure cook for 45 minutes on low flame, after the first whistle.

When done, add salt & coconut milk.

This is a thin gravy preparation that can be served as a soup too.    

Kolhapuri Mutton (Party Menu)

There is more to Kolhapur than just Kolhapuris(slippers).The food is spicy & authentic.

This is a "must try" recipe. Use whole coriander for that flavour!  

INGREDIENTS:

Mutton: 1 kg

White sesame/til seeds: 50 g

Copra/dry coconut: ½

Cumin: 2 tsps

Caraway seeds/shahi jeera: 2 tsps

Coriander seeds: 1 tbsp

Cinnamon: 1’ piece

Cardamom: 4

Cloves: 6

Pepper: 2 tsps

Red chilli whole: 10 or 1 tbsp powder

Oil: 1 tbsp

 Dry roast sesame seeds & copra separately, do not brown it too much.

Heat oil & fry rest of the ingredients. Grind together with sesame & copra.

Onions: 3 sliced                                               

Ginger paste: 2 tsps

Garlic paste: 2 tsps

Tomatoes: 2 chopped

Coriander leaves

Oil: 2 tbsps

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Heat oil, sauté onions till brown, add ginger –garlic paste & fry well.

Add ground masala, chopped tomatoes & sauté well till oil clears on sides of pan.

Add meat, stir till dry.

Pour 2 cups of hot water (no need to add water if pressure cooking), cook till done.

Add coriander leaves & serve.

This is a semi gravy dish. Good accompaniment for Pulao or Rotis.   

You can use chicken instead of mutton. 

Mutton Piralan with Tandoori Roti

INGREDIENTS:

Mutton: 500 g

Onion: 2 sliced

Shallots: 100 g

Garlic: 10 pods

Ginger: small piece

Cloves: 3

Aniseed seeds/fennel: 1/2tsp

Red chilli powder: 1 tbsp

Coriander powder: 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder: 1/4tsp

Green chilli: 2 slit

Tomato: 1 chopped fine

Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp chopped

Curry leaves

Tamarind paste: 1 tsp

Oil: 3 tbsp

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Grind ginger, fennel, turmeric, shallots, garlic, cloves, chilli powder & coriander powder.

Heat oil in a clay pot, fry sliced onion & green chill, until brown.

Add ground masala & mutton. Stir well till they change colour.

Add chopped tomato.

Cover & cook, without adding water, on a low flame, for half an hour, stirring occasionally.

Now, pour one cup of hot water, simmer till meat is done.

Last, add tamarind, salt, curry leaves & coriander leaves.

NOTE: to balance the taste of tamarind, add a pinch of sugar.

  

This is a spicy mutton dish, which can be served with Naan/roti.

ROTI:

Knead the dough with whole wheat flour, salt & water. Take a big lime sized ball.

Roll out into a 6 to 7 inch circle, thicker than chapatti. In the meantime, heat an iron/ aluminium girdle with handle.

Wet your palm & apply water all over the roti (one side only).

Lift it up slowly & place it on the girdle, watered side down.

Immediately, invert the girdle over fire, rotating it to evenly brown the roti.

Now, put it back on fire, roti side up & brown the under too.

Take it off the pan & apply ghee/butter.

 It will look like a tandoori roti.

 

Dalcha (Traditional Fare)

Biryani is incomplete without this in Tamil Nadu, but I found this good with plain rice & rotis too.

INGREDIENTS: 

Mutton bones: 200 g

Tur dhal/red gram dhal: 1/2cup

Channa dhal/Bengal gram dhal/chick peas: 2 tbsps

Raw mango: 1

Brinjal/aubergine: 3

Green chilli: 2 slit

Onion: 1 sliced

Turmeric powder: 1/2tsp

Biryani masala: 2 tsps (What you’ve kept aside, check recipe of MUNIYANDI BIRYANI) 

Whole garam masala: a few each

Ghee: 2 tsps

Salt to taste

METHOD:

In a pressure cooker, add all the ingredients except ghee.

Pour 2 cups water & cook for 10 minutes.

Stir in ghee before serving.

NOTE: if you don’t like the brinjals over cooked add it last & simmer.

Also, bottle gourd can be used instead of brinjals.  

Muniyandi Biryani (Traditional Fare)

 How this name came about, I don’t know. It’s like a pulao, does not go through the prude interpretation of the biryani process, which is more elaborate, delicate & subject to various interpretations across South Asia to the Arab world.

INGREDIENTS:

Mutton: 500 g

Rice: 2 cups preferably small grain rice

Onions: 3 sliced

Shallots: 100 g 

Garlic: 2 tsps

Ginger: 2 tsps

Green chilli: 5

Coriander leaves: 2 tbsps

Mint leaves: 2 tbsps

Turmeric powder: 1/2tsp

Red chilli powder: 1/2tsp

Curd: 2 tbsps or 2 tomatoes chopped

Oil: 2 tbsps

Ghee: 1 tbsp

Cinnamon stick: 1”piece

Cardamom: 2

Cloves: 3

Fennel: 1 tsp

Lime juice: 1 tsp

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add shallots & sliced onions. Fry it brown.

Grind ginger, garlic, green chilli, coriander & mint (keep a little aside to make DALCHA). Add the rest to fried onions.

Sauté till oil clears. Now, add turmeric powder, chilli powder, mutton & curd or tomatoes.

Cover cooker & pressure cook for 10 minutes.

In another vessel, heat ghee, splutter whole spices & add washed & drained rice.

Fry till you hear crackling sound of rice.

Add the cooked mutton pieces & measure out 4 cups of mutton stock (if there isn’t enough in cooker, add hot water to make up 4 cups).

Pour lime juice, adjust salt & stir well & cook till rice is done.

Serve with raita & dalcha (recipe follows).

Madras Mutton Curry (Traditional Fare)

Madras mutton curry is very famous all over. This gravy is served with parathas, ghee rice or just plain white rice. Try this.

INGREDIENTS:

Mutton: 500 g

Shallots: 100 g

Curry leaves

Coriander leaves

Oil: 1 tbsp

salt to taste

MASALA- 1

Red chilli powder: 1 tbsp or 6 whole chillies

Coriander powder: 1 tbsp

Black pepper powder: 1 tsp

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Dry roast all ingredients in 1 & powder.

MASALA  2

 Coconut: 1 cup

Fennel/aniseed: 1 tsp

Poppy seeds/khus khus: 1 tsp

Dry roast fennel & poppy seeds & grind with coconut.

FOR TEMPERING:

Garlic: 1 tsp

Cinnamon: 1” piece

Cloves: 4

Cardamom: 2

Coarsely crush all ingredients for tempering & keep aside.

METHOD:

In a pressure cooker, add mutton, shallots, salt & masala 1. Cook for 10 minutes.

When done add masala 2 & water, according to gravy required.

In another pan, heat oil, add crushed ingredients & curry leaves. Fry till fragrant.

Pour into the mutton curry. Sprinkle coriander leaves. Adjust salt.

Serve with plain white rice or rotis.

The famous Madras Mutton Curry is ready!

Brain Fry (Traditional Fare)

  INGREDIENTS:

Goat brain: 2

Onion: 2

Fennel seeds: 1 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste: 2 tsps

Tomato: 2 chopped fine

Chilli powder: 1 tsp

Turmeric powder: 1/2tsp

Garam masala: 1 tsp

Coriander leaves

Curry leaves

Oil: 2 tbsps

Salt to taste

 METHOD:

Cook brain in salted water, cool & remove the blood vessels. Chop into pieces. 

Heat oil, fry fennel seeds, onions brown, then add ginger-garlic paste & curry leaves.

Now add the powdered spices, when fragrant, add tomatoes.

Sauté well till oil clears out well. Add the brain. Fry well till it looks like scrambled eggs.

Adjust salt & add coriander leaves.

Serve with bread or pav.

Mutton Ball Curry (Quick Fix)

I have already  given a traditional meat ball curry recipe, now, here’s a quick fix. This is a tomato based gravy, which can be made, bottled & used for various preparations.

INGREDIENTS:

Mutton mince: 250 g

Egg: 1

Green chilli: 2 chopped fine

Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tsp

Coriander leaves: 2 tbsps

Red gravy paste: 4 to 5 tbsps

Garam masala powder: 1/2tsp

Oil: 1 tsp

Cumin seeds: 1/2tsp

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Mix ginger-garlic paste, green chilli, coriander leaves, salt & half the egg with the minced mutton.

Make small balls, keep aside.

Heat 1 tsp oil, add cumin seeds & the red gravy paste.

Pour 1 cup water, bring it to a boil before dropping in the meat balls.

 Adjust salt, cook till meat is done.

Sprinkle garam masala powder & some more coriander leaves.

Serve with rice/bread.

For the red gravy:

Onions: 500 g

Tomatoes: 500g red ripe ones

Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tbsp

Red chilli powder: 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder: 1/2tsp

Cardamom: 4

Cloves: 6

Cinnamon: 1” piece

Star anise: 1

Cashew nuts: 10

Poppy seeds: 1 tbps soaked in water

Oil: 100 ml

Salt

Pressure cook onions & tomatoes with 1/2cup water for 5 minutes. Cool & grind.

Also, grind cashew nuts & poppy seeds to a smooth paste.

Heat oil, add whole spices & ground tomato-onion paste. Fry till oil clears on sides of the pan (about 10 minutes).

Add chilli & turmeric powder. Last, add cashew paste & salt.

Cool well, bottle & refrigerate. 

Can be used for veg/paneer or non veg curries.

   

Mutton with Corn (Party Menu)

A popular Rajasthani preparation, which can be tried easily at home.

INGREDIENTS:

Mutton: 250 g

Corn kernels: 1 cup

Corn: 1/2cup ground

Onion: 2

Ginger-garlic paste: 2 tsps

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Cinnamon: 1/2”piece

Cloves: 2

Star anise: 1

Black cardamom: 1

Turmeric powder: 1/4tsp

Green chilli: 3

Coriander leaves: 2 tbsps chopped

Milk: 1/2cup

Curd: 2 tbsps

Lime: 1

Ghee/oil: 2 tbsps

Salt to taste  

METHOD:

Grind onion, green chilli & ginger-garlic paste.

Marinate mutton with red chilli powder, turmeric & salt in milk for half an hour.

Heat ghee/oil in a pressure cooker, add whole spices & ground onion paste.

Sauté well & add marinated meat, corn kernels & ground corn.

Add curd, coriander leaves & salt.

Cut the lime into 2, squeeze the juice of half lime & keep aside. Cut the other half into 2 & place over the mutton. Cover cooker & cook for 10 minutes.

When done, remove the lime pieces & pour lime juice, stir well & serve with rotis.

 

"KAALA"Mutton (Party Menu)

This recipe is from Maharashtra. I tasted this at a neighbour’s place in Mumbai. The colour of the dish is black. Hence the name!

INGREDIENTS:

Mutton: 500 g

Onions: 2

Coriander leaves: 100 g

Garlic: 10 pods

Ginger: 1” piece

Asafoetida: 1/4tsp

Chilli powder: 1 ½ tsp

 Dry coconut/copra: 1/2cup

Star anise: 1

Bay leaf

Turmeric powder: 1/4tsp

Lime: 1/2

Oil: 3 tbsps

Salt to taste

kantha lasoon masala: 2 tsp(literally translates as onion garlic masala, used extensively in Maharashtrian cuisine, garam masala can be used instead of this)

METHOD:

Grind half the coriander leaves with a few pods of garlic & ginger to a fine paste. Keep aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, fry copra & sliced onion, till brown in colour. Grind with remaining coriander leaves, garlic & kantha lasoon masala/garam masala.

In the same pan, heat 1 more tbsp of oil, add asafoetida powder, ground green masala & fry well.

Add mutton pieces, sauté till it changes colour. Pour enough water to cover mutton. Cook till done.

Alternately, pressure cook mutton for 10 minutes.

Again, in another pan, heat remaining 1 tbsp oil, fry star anise, bay leaf & ground copra masala.

Add chilli powder, turmeric powder.

Put into the mutton.

Cook till gravy thickens.

Squeeze juice of half a lime.

 Serve with Naan, parathas or pulao.

The copra & onion should be fried dark brown. That gives the dish the black colour.

Mutton Biryani (Party Menu)

This is my version of the Kacchi gosht ki biryani. This recipe is different from the biryani we are used to in that partially cooked rice is topped over raw marinated mutton & cooked on slow fire. Definitely worth a try!

INGREDIENTS:

Basmati rice: 750 g

Mutton: 1 kg

Ghee: 100 ml

Saffron: a pinch soaked in ½ cup milk

Marinade:

 Onion: 10 fried

Ginger paste: 1 tbsp

Garlic paste: 1 tbsp

Green chilli crushed: 10

Mint leaves: a handful chopped

Coriander leaves: a handful chopped

Curd: 1 cup

Chilli powder: 2 tsps

Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp

Cinnamon stick: 1” piece

Cloves: 6

Cardamom: 4

Lemon juice: 2 tbsps

Raw papaya paste: 2 tbsps

Salt to taste

To garnish: coriander leaves

                     Boiled eggs
                      fried onions

METHOD:

Marinate mutton with all the ingredients in" Marinade" for a minimum of 2 hours (I keep it overnight in the refrigerator).

Cook rice in excess water till half done, with salt, 4 slit green chillies & a few whole spices. Drain & keep aside.

Put the marinated mutton into a heavy bottomed vessel, top with cooked rice, level it, sprinkle the saffron infused milk.

Mix ghee into a cup (200 ml) of hot water (you can use the water from cooking rice).Pour it over the rice, put coriander leaves, fried onions. Cover rice with  aluminium foil & secure with a lid.(Steam should not escape.)

Place on stove, over high flame for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, heat a tawa, place the biryani vessel on it & cook on slow fire for an hour.

(The tawa helps retain low temperature hence the mutton is soft & juicy.Rest the biryani for half an hour before serving.

Serve with salad & date/chilli chutney.

 Chilli chutney: green chilli: 100 g slit

                         tamarind paste: 1 tbsp

                         Jaggery: 2 tbsps

                         Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

                         Oil: 2 tsps

                         salt to taste

Saute green chilli in oil, add tamarind, jaggery, chilli powder & salt.Pour 1 cup (200 ml) water.Boil till thick. Substitute  green chilli with dates for date chutney.