By Tript Arora

Mutton Curry is lamb cooked with flavourful spices in onion and tomato gravy. Though it is cooked in many delectable versions, Punjabi Mutton Curry is simple and tasty. The whole spices are sauteed in pure ghee or mustard oil and then cooked with onions, ginger garlic and tomato gravy. I prefer to cook it in mustard oil which gives a sharp flavour to this dish. I also prefer to cook my mutton Curry with bones. Since it adds flavour and juice to the Curry. The best meat is of the front leg of the lamb which is tender and juicy. The most asked question is why the mutton remains chewy. If we don’t pressure cook it for the required time, it doesn’t cook well and becomes chewy. It should be slow cooked for best results. Serve it with jeera rice on a Sunday brunch and delight yourself with this simple and flavourful recipe.

We need

500 gm Mutton with bones, 2 Tbsp fresh Curd, 3 Medium Onions, 2 Medium Tomatoes, 8 Cloves of Garlic, 2″ Ginger piece, 2 Green Chillies, 2 Tbsp Kasuri Methi, 1 Tbsp Turmeric, 1 Tbsp Red Chilli Powder, 1 Tbsp Coriander Powder, 1 Tsp Garam Masala, 1 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder, 2 Bay leaves, 4 Cloves, 2 Green Cardamoms, 1″  Cinnamon stick, 1 Black Cardamom, 1 Tbsp Cumin Powder, 1 Tbsp salt or to taste, 5 Tbsp Mustard Oil.

Here we go

–              Wash Mutton thoroughly under running water and then put it in a sieve to drain water completely.

–              Add fresh curd to the mutton along with ½ Tbsp salt and red chilli powder. Mix well and set aside.

–              Grind onion to a fine paste. Also grind ginger, garlic and green chillies separately. Make puree of tomatoes also and set aside.

–              In a pressure cooker add mustard oil and heat it till it smokes. Let it cool. When cooled, put it again on flame and add cumin seeds, black & green cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks . Saute till cumin seeds splutter.

–              Add onion paste to these whole spices and saute till onions turn light brown in colour. Add ginger garlic paste to the onions and saute again till it leaves oil.

–              Add tomato puree and ½ tbsp salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, kashmiri Red chilli powder and garam masala powder. Saute till it leaves oil. Add kasuri methi and mix.

–              Add marinated mutton to this onion & tomato masala. Saute till it leaves oil and gets aromatic. Mutton juices are also sealed. It will take 5 to 7 minutes. Keep the flame on low during the process.

–              Add around 600 ml of water to the mutton and close the lid of the pressure cooker. Keep the flame on high.

–              After 1 whistle, turn the flame on low and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Oh, it smells so good. After 15 minutes turn off the flame and let the pressure release on its own. When the pressure is released, open the pressure cooker and serve your mutton Curry with jeera rice or chapati. Enjoy your Sunday Lunch.

Preparation Time : 15 minutes.

Cooking Time : 45 minutes.

Tips: Grind the onions to a fine paste for smooth gravy. Add a little water if required for grinding.

First wash mutton and marinate with curd, red pepper and salt and then start with the gravy preparation as the mutton will get marinated side by side till you prepare the gravy. It will save time.

Always keep the flame on low after the first whistle as the slow cooked mutton is tender and delicious.