Desi Style Mutton Curry with Papa's bhuna mutton masala

Garg loves to cook, but strictly only and only his non vegetarian food. He finds it therapeutic, yeah exactly the way we love baking and cooking, and he will forget all his stress, and tensions, and will turn into a small kid enjoying his favorite sport. And every time he cooks it, he would tell me in sometime in the next 1 hour of cooking, 'Aapko pata hai na Garg i love cooking', yeah he calls me Garg :D, and yes Garg i know u love cooking and i can see it every time you cook.

He is the same as his father in very many aspects and i would say this is just another trait he has got from him. Papa loves cooking non vegetarian curries and he will have the same sparkle in his eyes every time he cooks chicken or mutton. Just like Garg, papa also loves mutton, and whenever he is into cooking, he is just the opposite of Garg, so so patient, and cooks with utmost love. Papa has just one recipe for his chicken or mutton, and everybody who has it, loves it. He would grind fresh bhuna masala every time. Its a very time consuming task, and none of us would ever attempt doing it. 

Hence whenever we go home, we stock ourselves really well with the masala, papa gets generous enough to prepare a big box of masala for us. And voila, we are set for a long time for any desi style curry. 

Thats papa, diligently making his masala, not a good click but still i love this pic! His bhuna masala / curry powder is simple otherwise, you just need to remember the elements. I dont remember the name, but i recall, papa once told me that he follows the recipe by a punjabi lady, who almost 30 yrs back had written a black and white cookbook, and it tastes the same always. 

Mutton Bhuna Masala

you can see the composition of the spices above.

6-7 tbsp of coriander seeds

7-8 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp pepper powder

1 tsp cardomom seeds

1 tsp cloves 

7-8 badi ilaichi, black cardamoms

1/2 inch cinnamon stick

1 nutmeg/ jaiphal crushed

1 chakra phool / star anise

1 inch javitri / mace

Fry all the masalas seperately for 1-2 minutes each, and set aside to cool. 

Crush each of them a little. 

And then grind them into a corse powder. 

The aroma will take you to a different level, this will make you, a good 100-150 grams of masala, which will suffice you for a good 15-20 times. Just keep it in a tight container.

Desi Style Mutton Curry / Indian Style Lamb Curry

Ingredients

750 gms mutton cut into small pieces with bone

6 small onions, 4 ground into a paste, 2 finely chopped.

3 tomatoes, peeled and pureed

2 tsp ginger paste

2 tsp garlic paste

2 bay leaf

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp Bhuna masala 

salt to taste

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp chilli powder

2 tbsp yoghurt

2 tsp kasoori methi

Coriander for garnish

Method

1. We are always in a hurry, so Garg always cooks the mutton initially in the microwave, on the days when we have the time, we marinate the mutton for 2 hrs in the yogurth, ginger garlic paste and salt. But in such days, fill the mutton with 4 cups of water and some salt and cook it for 20 mins in a microwave, it will become tender and cook really fast. Start with this step to save all the time. 

2. Take 4 tbsp olive oil in a pressure cooker, add the cumin seeds and let it splutter. 

3. Now add the turmeric, chilly powder and the salt , let it cook for a few seconds and then add the finely chopped onions. Let it fry for a good 3-4 minutes, or until it turns golden brown. 

4. Now add the ginger garlic paste, fry for 2 minutes or till the raw smell is gone.

5. Then add the onion paste, and let it cook for 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown / brown, i feel the more fried the onions, the better the color. 

6. Now add the tomato puree, and cook for 5 minutes in medium high flame, stirring continuously so that it doesn't burn.

7. At this stage, your mutton must be done, add the mutton pieces with the mutton stock, just be sure you dont add all the stock, save some for future use. Also add the kasoori methi here.

8. Let it get a bowl, close the pressure cooker and let it cook for 5 whistles in medium low flame. 

9. When done, switch off the head and let it cool before you open the cooker, it will cook further in that heat. 

10 Garnish it with some coriander leaves and relish it with some steamed rice or some parathas or tandoori roti. Bliss!

 This is my day 20 into the December Blogging Marathon.! Yay on that!