A spicy mutton curry, that requires a lot of patience to make!!!
Kosha mangsho is an iconic Bengali delicacy. It involves cooking the mutton on a slow flame for hours and the results are absolutely worth it- a gravy that it so uniquely filled with a burst of flavor that it would leave you wanting more!
I never thought I would put in over 4 hours to prepare a dish, but I guess there's always a first! This dish is something I have grown up eating and I have been craving for a very long time. As a special request from a friend, I decided to give it a try.
I was thrilled with the outcome but definitely needed to take a break from the kitchen for a day to recover from the exhaustion :)
INGREDIENTS
600 gms boneless mutton (I chose not to use the mutton with bones, but you can use whatever you prefer)
Marinade:
3 tbsp minced onions
1 tsp of ginger/garlic paste
150 g yoghurt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 1/2 tsp red chili powder
Salt to taste
Gravy:
20 g mustard oil
4 cloves
4 green cardamom
1 black cardamom
3 inch cinnamon sticks
4 or 5 dried red chillies
2 bay leaves
2 medium onions (sliced)
1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
3 or 4 tbsp yoghurt
1 tsp sugar
Salt to tatse
RECIPE FOR KOSHA MANGSHO
Step 1: Mix all the ingredients mentioned above in the marinade section in a large bowl and add in the mutton pieces. Ensure you massage the marinade into the mutton. Keep refrigerated for about 3 hours.
Step 2: Heat oil in a large kadai (deep pan). Once the oil has started to smoke, add the bay leaves, dried red chilies, cinnamon, green cardamom, black cardamom, and cloves.
Step 3: Add in the sliced onions and fry them until they are light brown in color. Then, add the ginger/ garlic paste and fry for another 2 minutes. You can use the 1 tsp of sugar to caramelize the onions.
Step 4: While the onions are cooking, in a small bowl mix the powdered spices (red chili, coriander and cumin) with some water and mix well. Pour this into the kadai and stir along with the onions.
Step 5: Once the onions have cooked well with the spices, add the marinated mutton to the kadai. Cook the mutton on a high flame till everything is well mixed and the water dries up.
Step 6: Add in the yoghurt (3 or 4 tbsps well beaten) and some garam masala powder and salt to taste. Mix everything and keep frying.
Step 7 onward: On medium heat, for the next 90 minutes or so, repeat the following steps: * Add 1/2 a cup of hot water to the kadai * Mix well and scrape the meat from the bottom of the kadai * Cover the kadai and let it cook for about 5 minutes * Uncover and stir everything thoroughly
This is obviously very tedious and time consuming. I chose a nice movie to watch and kept running up and down every 5 minutes (I set a timer on my phone).
What's amazing to note is the change in color after every time you repeat the stirring and cooking. I took about 2 hours to do this till I was satisfied with the color and softness of the meat.
I served this with jeera (cumin) rice and naans (Indian bread). I hope you take the challenge of trying out this dish at home and if you do, please write in to me as always. I love hearing your stories!
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