My Father's One-Handi Monsoon Mutton Curry
This recipe is a community pick, part of our Fathers’ Day recipe contest in partnership with Nivaala, a brand that like Goya, believes your family recipes are your legacy. Nivaala is an heirloom recipe journal in which you can record all your family recipes. It’s unlike any other recipe journal, and can be passed down your family as heirlooms, just like saris, and jewellery. Here, Sunanda Raniwala shares her father’s mutton curry, a dish that embodies all the beauty of slow cooking.
My father’s one-handi mutton curry cooks slowly over 3-4 hours, till the farm house is full of the aromas of mutton and spices. We enjoy it with freshly made bati, cooked on dry cow dung cakes on chulha. The batis are doused in warm ghee and make the perfect vessel to soak up all the drippings from the gravy and mutton.
We are Jains from Beawar, in Rajasthan. And although our community traditionally does not eat meat, or even garlic and onion, my father was always drawn to culture and food, over religion. So that’s how he brought us up — with a keen palate for culinary adventure. My father would make this dish during the monsoons, on picnics, or on weekends at the farm. But of course, it tastes amazing all year round. This recipe is very close to our hearts; it has become an inextricable part of our annual family gatherings. There are no hard and fast measurements — if it is too spicy, he adds a little bit of curd and lets it cook for a bit longer. And after about three hours of slow cooking, your home will be filled with the most delicious aroma — and that’s how you know it’s done!
RECIPE: MY FATHER’S ONE-HANDI MONSOON MUTTON CURRY
Ingredients
500 g mutton
2 tsp whole black pepper
2 tsp whole cumin
8 dry red chillies
1 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp Ginger-garlic-green chilli paste
½ cup pnion paste
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder (coarse grind)
Salt, to taste
Fresh coriander, a handful
3 tbsp kachi ghani mustard oil (we use cold pressed oil from our farms @raniwalafarms)
Water
Method
Heat mustard oil in a handi or pot till it smokes, then add in the black pepper and jeera
Let the spices bloom for 30 seconds. Then add in the mutton. Cook for about 10 minutes, till the mutton begins to brown
Add salt, turmeric, ginger-garlic-chilli and onion paste into the handi with the rest of the spices, and cover it with a lid
Do not put water in the handi. The mutton and the onions will release moisture. Instead, pour a teaspoon of water on the lid to create steam and pressure. Pour more water as it evaporates.
Check the mutton every 30-45 mins. It should be done in about 2.5 hours. Take it off the stove when the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.
Banner image credit: Malabartearoom.com
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