Those Splurgy New Year's

-

That Yumm View from the top

What are Bengalis majorly known for? Durga pujo, the intellectual bhodroloks or the Bangla bandhs? I know what you are thinking. Our popular MAACHER JHOL. Isn't it? Yes, its true that fish is a part of our staple diet, but as a child, Sunday lunches used to remain incomplete without maer hate radha Mangsher jhol - bhaat ( mutton stew with rice ). It goes without saying that all Kolkatans must have tried and tasted "Gol barir" kosha mangsho at least once, from that small eatery near Shyambazar five point crossing. Its a dish which is seriously not for the faint hearted ( literally speaking.. with the amount of oil which goes into this dish). That thick gravy which floats around the juicy , succulent mutton pieces can make you go oohh la la!!..
          All of us have tried to imitate this dish at home with loads of ingredients, but the secret to this recipe is the minimalistic approach. Mutton has a characteristic flavour of its own which should not be overshadowed by excessive use of spices. Just a mild garam masala's touch to the already flavourful meat makes the dish so... actually indescribable. You have to try this lip smacking traditional Bengali recipe just once, to fall in love with it.
          Kosha Mangsho is not a daily affair in any Bengali household. But what makes some special occasions even more special??  A match made in heaven... the true Bongs must have guessed it right.. spicy Kosha mangsho with sweet mishti pulao.
The beginning of a New Year can be called for such a special occasion. So, next time when you call upon your friends in this new year, or  have a simple at - home dinner date, do surprise them with this Bengali delicacy..

Ingredients

For The Marinade
  • Mutton - 500gms
  • Yoghurt - 400gms
  • Turmeric powder - 2 teaspoons
  • Chilli powder - 2 teaspoons
  • Salt
The Marinade


For the gravy
  • Onion - 2 medium sized thinly sliced
  • Garlic 6-7 cloves
  • Ginger - around 3 inches
    ( Coarsely crush the ginger and garlic together)
  • Garam masala ( 2 bay leaves, 3-4 cardamom, 1 long cinnamon stick, 3-4 cloves)
  • Mustard oil - 2 tablespoon ( you can always use more)
  • Ghee - 2 teaspoon


Onion and coarsely ground Ginger - Garlic


Some Flavours for the Meat


Procedure

  • Marinade the mutton at least for 2 hours, preferably overnight.
  • Pour in the mustard oil in a hot kadhai and crackle up the garam masala.. once they start sputtering put in the coarsely ground ginger and garlic.
  • After frying them for around a minute, we add in the onion and continue frying them for around 5 minutes on medium flame.
  • When the onions turn translucent and that raw ginger smell disappears, put in the marinated mutton.
  • Now we keep the mutton on high flame, uncovered, stir it occasionally, add some hot water in small quantities .when it dries up and continue doing this for at least 25-30 minutes (This is the part which means koshano i.e. cooking well) till the oil seperates. You can notice the change of colour in your gravy.

 Notice that gradual change of colour just by koshano

After this you can keep the mutton covered in low flame, till it turns soft or can pressure cook it in low flame for at least 15-20 minutes more.
When you open the lid, just add a dollop of ghee, adjust your seasonings and your mutton kosha is ready..
You can enjoy this dish with luchi (puri), roti, naan but it kind of goes best with mishti pulao..




There are many recipes of mutton but this is our original version of serving KOSHA MANGSHO in a simple delicious way. Hope you enjoy our recipe.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Eggless Carrot - Walnut Cake - The Solution for the Sadness

-
Image
Winter in India and the garden - fresh fruits and vegetables go hand in hand. Come winter and you are greeted with colourful diversities of beans & leafy veggies, crisp turnips, beets, carrots & radishes, refreshing capsicums, cabbages & cauliflowers, the spring onions, the broccoli.. the list continues. Yes, winter in this part of the world is not all that harsh. Instead its about monkey caps, lep - kombol ( extremely soft and heavy blankets ), nolen - gur , oranges and room heaters. To get an idea about our kind of winters, do read this . Now imagine, while you are in the middle of all those cosy, snuggly mornings, sipping the first caffeine of the day from under that warm blanket, staring out through the windows at the foggy skies and you start fantasizing about experimentation with all those fresh produce, promoting your kitchen lab to another level and all of a sudden you're awakened by the local sabji - wallah' s ( local vegetab
Read more

Simplicity at its best - Masoor Daal with some nice warm Bhaat

-
Image
My all - time comfort food Daily home - cooking never seemed to be a very complicated process to me. As a child I saw my mother enter the kitchen around 8 in the morning and she would be done and dusted by 9.30 a.m. ( since baba would have his brunch by 9 before leaving for office). Even today, when I call up my Maa for some information regarding specific use of spices in a particular recipe she would say " oito !! Holud, lonka aar olpo zeere guro.. aar kichuna " ( meaning you just add turmeric, chilli and a little cumin powder and that's that !!). You ask any experienced Bengali home - cook and you will come back with the same answer. This made me wonder why then all Bengali food taste so prominently different? With this doubt in mind I started  my independent culinary journey and soon realised, immoderate use of spices generally take the natural flavours off the main components. Spices should complement the dish and must not be exaggerated. Hence, simplic
Read more

Chilli Chicken, a taste of the only Chinatown in India

-
Image
Thanks to the upper caste Hindu Brahmins under the British rule, who thought working with leather goods is a job made for the so - called lower castes like Chamars or Mochis, traders and workers from China arrived in Colonial India. A particular Chinese friend also set up a sugar mill near Kolkata welcoming more of his acquaintances into this port city. Some say, they are the reason we call sugar, "chini"!! Fast forward three centuries later, Kolkata is the only city in India which comes alive with fluorescent dragon and lion dancers every Chinese New Year in February. These Christian and Buddhist friends even house a Kali temple where a Hindu Goddess, Kali is worshipped with Chowmein as " bhog " instead of the usual fruits. Where else would you find this multi - culturalism? Although only a handful of our Bengali - Chinese friends still own leather businesses, the one reason we would remain forever grateful is the Chinese cuisine they br
Read more