Paanthaa-r maangso (Mutton curry)

Ingredients:

Goat meat - 500 g (neck and rib portions are the best)

Curd – 100 g (or 1 whole lemon or 2 teaspoons of vinegar)

Tarmeric powder – 3 teaspoonfuls (not heaped).

Cumin powder – 3 teaspoonfuls (not heaped).

Coriander powder – 2 teaspoonfuls (not heaped).

Red chilly powder – 1 teaspoonful (or according to taste).

Salt – 5 teaspoonfuls (not heaped, or according to taste).

Green cardamom – 5 pods

Cinnamon stick – 2 inches

Clove – 5 pieces

Tejpatta(Malabathrum) – 2

Cooking oil – 8 tablespoons

Onion – 250 g

Ginger paste – 50 g

Garlic – 5 pods

Green chilly – 2 (or more according to taste)

Optional Ingredients:

Potatoes - 2 medium sized

Asafoetida – according to taste

Cashew nuts – 10 pieces

Raisins – 5 pieces

Dried red chilly – 2 (or more according to taste).

Sugar – 1/4 teaspoon.

Procedure:

1. Clean the meat with water. Drain all the water.
2. Add 2 teaspoonfuls of tarmeric powder, all the red chilly powder, 1 teaspoonful of coriander powder, 2 teaspoonfuls of cumin powder, 3 teaspoonfuls of salt to the meat.
3. Pour 2 tablespoonfuls of oil on it and mix with your hand(which may be painful due to the chilly powder, but most effective) or a spatula. The longer you mix it the better.
4. Add the curd or the vinegar or squeeze out the juice from the lemon and continue mixing. Curd will produce a thicker gravy.
5. Once all the meat pieces are covered with the spice mixture, leave it for at least half an hour. Again, the longer you can marinate, the better. You can even leave it in the fridge overnight.
6. If you want potatoes in the meat, cut them into quarters and stir-fry them until golden brown and slightly softer.
7. Heat oil, add 1 inch of cinnamon stick, 2 tejpattas, 2 cardamom pods, 3 cloves and 2 green chillies (slit into two or chopped into smaller pieces). You may add a pinch of sugar (1/4 teaspoon or less) to get a dark red colour of the gravy.
8. Once the tejpattas start getting dark (~15-20 s), add the cashews and the raisins (if at all) and then add the ginger paste and the smashed garlic. Stir for 20-30 s (until the garlic paste changes colour).
9. Add the onion (chopped into ~2 mm thick long slices). Keep tossing andturning the spices with a spatula until the onion becomes golden brown. If it gets stuck at the bottom, add a teaspoonful of oil and keep scraping it off with the spatula.
10. Add the marinated meat. Keep turning it around. A lot of water and melted fat will come out of it. Mix well with the spices.
11. Add the cumin powder and the coriander powder.
12. You can reduce the heat and cook it without adding any water and without covering the pot, making it relatively dry. This is called “kashaa”. No potatoes go into mutton kashaa. On the other hand, you can add water to drown the meat completely and cover the pot and cook in medium/low flame until the meat is almost cooked. If you want to add potatoes, add them at this stage. Both the meat and the potatoes should get done simultaneously. Add 1 teaspoonful of tarmeric powder and 2 teaspoonfuls of salt (or according to taste).
13. When the meat is cooked, you can slit the rest of the green chillies and put them into the dish. This will add the flavour of green chilly without actually making it too spicy.
14. Just before serving, smash two cardamom pods, 2 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon stick and sprinkle it into the dish. Mix it well with the meat. You can also add asafoetida at this stage. The dish can be garnished with fresh coriander leaves.