Mutton Korma...cheat your way out!!

Mutton Korma…remember that advertisement “fill it, shut it, forget it”? Unlike most mutton dishes, which require hours of slaving over the stove, this one requires minimal effort but the end result is totally lip smacking…so needless to say one of my favourites…the only real effort involved is in frying the onions but gone are those days and now I cheat and use store brought fried onions…if you don’t, you must...this is one of the things I refused to use earlier and took a lot of convincing from my friend HK…now the fried onion packet has become a pantry staple (along with tinned chopped tomatoes, again thanks to HK)...especially for those days when all we are craving for is a curry – and it gets ready in 10 minutes J

Mutton Korma

Ingredients:

• Meat, Goat/Mutton or Lamb, 400 gms
• Crisp Fried Onions, ¼ cup + ¼ cup (I use store bought, if you don’t: finely slice red onion and deep fry them till golden brown. Strain using a slotted spoon and spread out on a plate and let them crisp up. Don’t use a paper towel as then the onions don’t crisp up)
• Curd, 4 tbsp
• Coriander powder, 2 tsp
• Red Chili powder, ½ tsp (for heat)
• Kashmiri red chili powder, 1 tsp (or colour)
• Fresh Garlic, grated/paste, 2 tsp
• Fresh Ginger, grated/paste, 2 tsp
• Black Cardamom, 1 (optional)
• Green Cardamoms, 2-3
• Cloves, 3-4
• Cinnamon, 1” stick
• Bay leaf, 1
• Oil/Ghee, 2 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Water, 1 cup or as needed

Instructions:

Blend ¼ cup of fried onions along with curd, coriander powder, red chili powder, kashmiri red chili powder, garlic paste and ginger paste. Marinate the mutton in the curd mix for a couple of hours – cover and refrigerate. If the mutton quality is good and fresh, marinating for 10- 15 minutes is good enough.

Bring the marinated mutton back to room temperate before starting cooking. Sprinkle salt and mix well. If marinating for half an hour or less, add salt in the marinade itself.

Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pan (with lid) or a pressure cooker. Add in black cardamom, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf.

After about 10-12 seconds, add the marinated mutton. Stir well and fry till mutton is coloured brown on all sides – about 10 minutes.

Add the water, cover and let it cook on medium low flame for about 40-50 minutes.

Add the balance ¼ cup of fried onions and mix well. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook till done – another hour or so till the meat is fork tender. Do check for consistency of the gravy along the way and add water if required.

Stay away from coriander leaves for garnishing!! J

Serve hot with rice or rotis – tandoori, tawa or rumaali 

Shahi Dum Aloo (Potatoes cooked in cashew nut gravy)...the prodigal blogger returns!!!

Shahi Dum Aloo (Potatoes cooked in cashew nut gravy)…strange how potatoes have become my go-to ingredient (I still refuse to call it a vegetable!!) over the years, instead of the vitriolic hatred I felt for them earlier…the array of potato dishes that I can churn out now amazes me as well at times – Indian, Indian inspired, non-Indian…as long as there are potatoes at home, the man isn’t going hungry…he will go fat but not hungry J…there are six variants of dum aloo that I can do now and this is but only one of them…the humble yogurt replaces the cream that is typically used and believe me, makes this one better than the original Shahi J

Shahi Dum Aloo (Potatoes cooked in cashew nut gravy)

Ingredients:

• Potatoes, either baby or tween potatoesJ, 500 gms
• Khus Khus/Posto/White poppy seeds, 1 tbsp
• Cashews, 12-15
• Onion, 1 small
• Green cardamom, 1-2
• Cloves, 3-4
• Cinnamon, 1 inch stick
• Bay leaf, 1
• Fresh Ginger, paste/finely grated, 1 tsp
• Turmeric, 1/8 tsp
• Red Chili powder, ¼ tsp (for heat)
• Kashmiri red chili powder, ½ tsp (for colour)
• Coriander powder, ½ tsp
• Plain Yogurt/Dahi, ¼ cup
• Salt, to taste
• Oil or Ghee, 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
• Water, as needed/mentioned
• Saunf/ Fennel seed powder, 1/4 tsp (optional)
• Cashews, for garnishing, a handful (optional)

Instructions:

Wash and scrub clean the potatoes and par boil them in salted water. Peel and prick each potato a few times using a toothpick.  (You can skip peeling the potatoes if using baby potatoes but IMO this tastes better when peeled)

Soak the posto and cashews in ¼ cup of warm water for about 15-20 minutes. Grind into a very fine paste.

Whip the yogurt very well with a fork and keep it on the kitchen counter to ensure it is at room temperature before you start cooking.

Peel the onion. Boil it in ½ cup of water till it becomes soft and all the water evaporates. (Or pressure cook in ¼ cup water for two whistles on high). Let cool and grind it into a fine paste.

Heat 1 tbsp oil/ghee in a heavy bottom pan (with lid). Lightly fry the potatoes till pale golden brown on all sides. Remove the potatoes using a slotted spoon and keep aside. 

If using cashews for garnishing later, fry them in the same pan on low heat till pale golden on both sides.

Lower the heat and in the same pan, add the balance 1 tbsp oil/ghee. Splutter in the cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf. 

Add the onion paste and sauté for 15-20 seconds till it starts to change colour. Add in the ginger paste, mix  and sauté together for a minute or two.

Add in the turmeric, red chili powder, kashmiri chili powder, coriander powder and salt. Mix well with the onion paste and let sauté for a minute or so.

Add in the posto and cashew paste, mix and let it all fry on low heat till the masala starts releasing oil at the sides.

Now add in the potatoes and toss them around to ensure they are well coated with the masala. Let the potatoes cook till the masala starts oozing oil again, about 10 minutes. Do stir frequently but gently – don’t let the cashew paste burn or let the potatoes break.

Switch of the heat and let the potatoes cool a bit. We need to add the whipped yogurt now and if the potatoes mix is too hot, the yogurt will split.

Add the whipped yogurt, mix well and switch the heat back on again – at the lowest heat and let the mix cook for a couple of minutes. Check for salt and add more if needed.

Add this stage, add ½ a cup of water and cover with a lid and let the potatoes simmer for 10-15 minutes till you get a thick gravy and oil starts releasing at the sides.

Sprinkle fennel seed powder and mix well couple of minutes before switching off the heat. 

Top with fried cashews and serve hot with plain pooris or paranthas.