Bhuna Gosht

 

          Bhuna Gosht is an amazing North Indian delicacy that needs no introduction. It is also very popular in Pakistan where it is served with khamiri roti. Bhuna means to fry or to roast and Gosht means mutton or lamb. This yummy preparation is perfect for a weekend lunch. It is also an ideal party recipe or an Eid recipe. So check out a step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this amazing mutton curry.

          In this recipe, mutton is sautéed on a low flame with a good amount of onion, yoghurt and a medley of basic spices till the oil separates. Then it is pressure cooked in a little amount of water till it is tender. Further it is simmered till you have a thick lip smacking gravy. 

           I used both mustard oil and ghee for an intense flavor. Onion, ginger-garlic paste, yoghurt and basic spice powders forms the base of this rich gravy which is almost dry. It goes best as a side dish with naan, tandoori roti, paratha or chapatti. It can also be enjoyed with steamed rice or jeera rice.

• 500 gms. mutton with bones
• 3 tbsp. mustard oil
• 1 tbsp. ghee
• 1" cinnamon stick 
• 2-3 green cardamoms
• 4-5 cloves
• 1/2 mace
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 dry red chilies
• 8-10 whole peppercorns
• 2 onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1 tbsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 1/2 cup yoghurt, whisked
• 2 tbsp. coriander leaves, chopped

          In a small bowl, mix together ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder and 1/4 cup water into a paste. Keep aside.

          Heat oil and ghee in a pan and temper with bay leaves, dry red chilies, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns and mace. Stir fry for a minute.

         Add the onion and sauté till light brown. Then add the mutton and salt to taste. Stir fry till it turns brownish in color.

          Now add the spice paste and continue to sauté till the oil separates. Add 1 cup water and pressure cook for 15-20 minutes on a low flame after the first whistle.

          When the pressure releases, continue to simmer on a medium flame for 4-5 minutes.

          Add the whisked yoghurt and simmer further till the gravy turns thick.

          When done, garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy with Indian flat breads like naan, tandoori roti, rumali roti, chapatti or paratha. It can also be enjoyed with steamed rice or jeera rice.

    

Heat oil & ghee in a pan & temper with bay leaves, dry red chilies, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns & mace. Stir fry for a minute.

                  Add the onion and sauté till light brown.

 Then add the mutton & salt to taste. Stir fry till it turns brownish in color.

                    Now add the spice paste.

                  Continue to sauté till the oil separates. 

                        Add 1 cup water.

Pressure cook for 15-20 minutes on a low flame after the first whistle.

Add the whisked yoghurt & simmer further till the gravy turns thick. 

                  When done, garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Enjoy with Indian flat breads like naan, tandoori roti, rumali roti, chapatti or paratha. 

                  It can also be enjoyed with steamed rice or jeera rice.

Pepper Mutton

 

          Check out this super yummy and spicy pepper mutton that is incredibly easy to prepare. So try out my version of this mutton curry where I have used lots of fresh pepper powder to come up with this appetizing main course. You can enjoy it with steamed rice, jeera rice, plain biryani, tandoori roti or naan for a sumptuous meal. It is a great party recipe and a restaurant style menu that needs to be tried. 

          The spices used in this recipe are very much the same that one uses to prepare a normal mutton curry. The only exception is of course the freshly ground pepper and another secret ingredient - fresh turmeric that I ground along with ginger, garlic and green chilies. 

          I have used red chili powder, but if you wish to tone down the spiciness, you can use Kashmiri red chili powder instead or totally skip it. The cooking medium in this recipe is mustard oil, my favorite. However, you can use any oil that you prefer. 

• 500 gms. mutton with bones, curry cut
• 1/4 cup mustard oil
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 2 green cardamoms 
• 4 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 2" fresh turmeric paste
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 1 tbsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/2 cup yoghurt, well beaten
• 2 tsp. pepper powder
• 1 tbsp. ghee
• coriander leaves to garnish 
• 1 tsp. of lime juice (opt)

          Pressure cook the mutton in 1 cup water and salt to taste for 15-20 minutes on a low flame after the first whistle or till tender. 

          Grind together ginger-garlic, fresh turmeric and green chili into a paste and keep aside. 

          Heat oil in a pan and temper with bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves. Sauté for a few seconds. Add the onion and stir fry till light brown.

          Now add the spice paste and all the dry spices (except Pepper powder) and sauté on a medium flame till the oil separates. Add the yoghurt and stir for a couple of minutes.

          Add the cooked mutton and simmer till the gravy is thick. Switch off the flame and add the pepper powder and ghee. 

          Mix well and keep it covered for 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and a drizzle of some lime juice. Enjoy with steamed rice, jeer rice, pulao, plain biryani, naan or tandoori roti. 

Chettinad Mutton Chukka

          This is a traditional dry mutton curry in the authentic Chettinad style. Chettinad is a region in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, known for its spicy veg. and non-veg. recipes. Chukka means dry and the mutton is cooked with a concoction of various spices, freshly ground and strongly flavoured by the use of peppercorns. 

           This yummy preparation can be enjoyed with either plain steamed rice, plain Biryani, jeera rice, pulao, dosa, appam, idiyappam, parathas or any Indian bread. So go ahead and give it a try by following a step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.

• 450 gms. mutton on bones, cubed
• 3 tbsp. oil
• 2-3 onions, chopped
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 tsp. tamarind paste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• 3-4 tbsp. Chettinad spice paste

Chettinad Spice Mix-

• 2-3 tbsp. coriander seeds
• 8-10 dry red chilies (I used Kashmiri red chilies)
• 2-3 green cardamoms
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 5-6 cloves
• 1 tbsp. cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp. fresh grated coconut
• 1 javitri (mace)
• 1 tbsp. stone flower
• 1 star anise
• 1/4 tsp. fenugreek seeds
• 1/2-1 tsp. peppercorns
• 1 tbsp. fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds (opt)

          Dry roast the coconut first till light brown. Then add rest of the ingredients and sauté for a minute on a low flame or till you get a nice aroma coming through. Keep aside to cool. Then grind into a fine paste by adding some water. Set aside.

          Pressure cook the mutton in 1 cup water for 20-25 minutes on a low flame after the first whistle. Separate the mutton from the stock and keep aside.

          Heat oil in a pan and fry the chopped onions till light brown. Then add the ground  Chettinad paste. ginger-garlic paste and turmeric powder.

          Sauté till the oil separates. Add the tomatoes and continue to fry on a medium flame till it is mashed.

          Now add the boiled mutton, salt and the curry leaves. Mix everything well and add 1/4 cup water. Cover and simmer till the gravy turns thick. 

          Serve as desired, with any form of rice preparation or Indian bread like plain biryani, pulao, jeera rice, paratha, naan, appam, dosa or idiyappam.

                                Heat oil & fry chopped onion till light brown. 

                    Add ground Chettinad paste, ginger-garlic paste & turmeric powder.
                    Sauté till oil separates. 

                     Add tomatoes & continue to fry on a medium flame till it is mashed.

                Add boiled mutton, salt & curry leaves. Mix well & add 1/3 cup stock. Cover
                and simmer till gravy turns thick. 

              Serve with any kind of Indian bread or rice preparation like plain biryani, pulao,
              jeera rice, paratha, naan, appam, dosa or idiyappam.

Lemon Flavoured Chettinad Mutton Chukka (Dry Mutton Curry - South Indian Style)

          Chettinad cuisine is known for its hot and spicy dishes. One of them is the Mutton Chukka, which is a traditional mutton curry cooked in the Chettinad style. Chukka means dry and the mutton is cooked with a wide array of spices, the most important being the special homemade Chettinad spice powder.

          Today I gave a twist to it by adding some kaffir lime leaves. This gave a slight refreshing lemony aroma to the dish. This yummy preparation can be enjoyed with either plain steamed rice, plain Biryani, jeera rice, dosa, appam, parathas or any Indian bread. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.

• 400 gms mutton on bones, cubed
• few kaffir lime leaves
• 2-3 tbsp. oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. tamarind paste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp. chettinad spice
• 1 onion, sliced
• 10-12 roasted cashews

Chettinad Spice Mix-

• 2-3 tbsp. coriander seeds
• 8-10 dry red chilies
• 2-3 green cardamoms
• 1" cinnamon
• 5-6 cloves
• 1 tbsp. cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp. fresh grated coconut
• 1 javitri
• 1 tbsp. stone flower
• 2 marathi moggu
• 1 star anise
• 1/4 tsp. fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tsp. pepper corns
• 1 tbsp. fennel seeds

          Dry roast the coconut first till light brown. Then add rest of the ingredients and saute for a minute on a low flame or till you get a nice aroma coming through. Keep aside to cool. Then grind into a fine powder and store in an air tight container.

          Pressure cook the mutton in 1 cup water and the lime leaves for 20 minutes on a low flame after the first whistle. Discard the leaves and separate the mutton from the stock. keep aside.

          Heat oil in a pan and fry the chopped onions and the curry leaves. Then add the ginger-garlic paste, tomato paste and tamarind paste mixed with 1/4 cup water.

          Saute till the oil separates. Add the turmeric powder and the chettinad powder. Give it a stir and then add the boiled and drained mutton, 1/2 cup of the stock, sliced onion and the cashews.

          Mix well and simmer for 2-3 minutes or till the gravy turns thick. Serve as desired, either with any form of rice preparation or Indian bread.

                               Heat oil & fry chopped onions & curry leaves. 

                               Add ginger-garlic paste, tomato paste & tamarind paste.
                

                               Add turmeric powder & Chettinad powder. Give it a stir.

                                Then add boiled & drained mutton,

                         1/2 cup of stock, sliced onion & cashews. Simmer for 2-3 minutes 
                         or till gravy turns thick. 

                         Serve as desired, either with any form of rice preparation or Indian bread.

Junglee Maas (Rustic Mutton Curry - Rajasthani Style)

          This Rajasthani style rustic dish used to be prepared by the hunters with a minimum of spices. Only salt, ghee (clarified butter) and lots of red chilies went into preparing this simple recipe. So here comes my version. 

          I have used olive oil instead, and very little of ghee. It is a fiery mutton curry, and cooked almost in a pickled form. It is relished with either rice or any Indian bread. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it.

• 500 gms. mutton on bones
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp. ghee
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 2 green cardamoms
• 4 cloves
• salt to taste
• 15 dry red chilies, broken
• 4-5 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1" ginger, chopped
• 1 tbsp. kashmiri red chilies
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tbsp. lime juice.

          Heat oil and ghee. Temper with the whole garam masala. Saute for a few seconds. Add the mutton and fry on a low flame till lightly browned.

          Add the garlic, ginger, red chilies and salt. Mix well. Cover and simmer on a very low flame for almost 90 minutes or till done.

          Keep sprinkling water at intervals. When almost done add the red chili powder and tomato paste mixed with 1 tbsp. water. 

          Give it a stir and continue to simmer for another 4-5 minutes. Add lime juice to the end product and serve with either chapatis or rice.

                    Heat oil & ghee. Temper with whole garam masala. Sauté for few seconds.

                               Add mutton & fry on a low flame till lightly browned.

                                Add garlic, ginger, red chilies &  salt. Mix well. 

                      Cover & simmer on very low flame for almost 90 minutes or till done.

                                 Keep sprinkling water at intervals.

                 When almost done, add red chili powder & tomato paste mixed with 1 tbsp.
                  water. 

                   Add lime juice to the end product & serve with either chapatis or rice.