A meaty fare…

When we were growing up, I remember eating mutton/lamb as a special lunch on Sundays and Holidays. Mom would make a different meat dsh every week and it was always seen as a delicacy! Her mutton Biryani often won her many praises from friends, family and anyone who happened to eat it, and made her the talk of the town. But apart from her Biryani, I was a die-hard fan of her simple mutton curry that I would happily gorge on with a good helping of rice.

A few weeks back, on our weekly trip to the local grocery supermarket, I happened to chance upon a pack of fresh cut lamb. Now this was a joyous ocassion for me since, I’ve never really noticed lamb at the store before; and my refusal to enter a butcher shop limits me to eating lamb outside of home.

With the pack sitting happily in my cart, I treaded home with many ideas on how I could relish this delight. So finally when the time to cook the meat, I questioned myself a number of times to figure out the right way I wanted to dish it out. Bitten with the bitter cold of the lazy Sunday morning, I decided to go for something that would be spicy and good enough to enjoy with fresh warm rotis.

So while I cut the lamb into tiny bite-size chunks, I could already taste my leisurely Sunday meal!

Mutton Masala

Ingredients:

2 lb boneless mutton/lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes 1 large onion, sliced 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (I just take equal amounts of ginger and garlic and make a paste of it) 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped 1 tsp cumin seeds

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1 cinnamon stick 6-7 whole peppercorns 7-8 cloves 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp coriander powder 1/2 tsp red chili powder salt, to taste 2 tbsp cooking oil fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped for garnish

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Once it starts to sizzle, add in sliced onions and fry till slightly brown.

2. Add in meat pieces, chopped green chillies and ginger-garlic paste, and fry for 3-4 minutes.

3. Add salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder and let all spices blend in well.

4. Once meat starts to brown, add tomato paste, cinnamon stick, peppercorns and cloves, and saute for 2-3 minutes.

5. Add water and cover cook for 30-35 minutes or till meat tenderizes. You can add more water, bit by bit, to prevent it from drying up.

6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot!