Spicy Andhra Mutton Curry

Some months ago, when I made Mangalorean chicken curry for a charity event at work, I received many requests for repeats. One colleague, however, dropped a special request for spicy mutton curry. I promised her that I'd definitely make some for her one day.

Days turned to weeks, weeks to months and before I knew it, I was already in my final week at my current job. Now that the promise I made the other day was haunting me, I got down to making a simple but yummy Spicy Andhra Mutton Curry. 

Here's how the recipe goes:

• Mutton 500 grams

• Salt to taste 

• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp 

• Poppy seeds - 1 tsp

• Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp 

• Black peppercorns - 8

• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp 

• Cinnamon - 1 inch stick 

• Cloves - 4

• Green cardamoms - 2 

• Oil - 4 tbsp

• Curry leaves 10 

• Onions chopped - 3 medium 

• Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp 

• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp 

• Black pepper powder - 2 tsp 

• Tomato chopped - 1 large 

• Fresh coriander leaves chopped (optional) - 2 tbsp

Method

Step 1

Pressure cook mutton pieces with two cups of water, salt and turmeric powder for six whistles. Open the lid when the pressure reduces, drain and reserve the cooking liquor. Dry roast poppy seeds, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves and green cardamoms. Cool and grind to a fine powder. Heat oil in kadai (wok). Add curry leaves and onions. Sauté till the onions are brown. Add ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder and half the black pepper powder and sauté for a minute.

Step 2

Add tomato and mutton pieces, cook on high heat till the tomato is soft. Add salt and the spice powder and simmer for five minutes. Add the reserved cooking liquor and one cup of water and bring to a boil. Simmer till all the mutton pieces get well coated with thick gravy.

Step 3

Add the remaining black pepper powder and stir well. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Grilled Kasundi mustard chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken - 500 gms

Indian mustard sauce - 0.5 cups

Dry red chilli - 2 (crushed)

Red chilli powder - 0.5 teaspoon

Garlic - 4 large cloves (crushed)

Honey - 1 tablespoon 

Salt to taste 

Method 

Mix all ingredients and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Grill and serve hot with a drizzle of lemon juice (optional).

Pork Vindaloo

Goa trip with my buddies had finally happened in July this year and along with it came a big surprise. One of my friends who is least experimental with food and sticks to north Indian cuisine all the time was coaxed (or forced, as he would say) into trying Goan cuisine. And he actually liked something! Pork vindaloo. Needless to say, once we were back to the traffic and routine of Delhi life, all he could talk about was the pork vindaloo. As the only one who cooks in the group, I felt I could perhaps re-create the Goa mood by trying my hand at the dish. And so I did...successfully.

(This pic was taken when the pork was still cooking on dry heat [no gravy at this point] and the lighting was awful. Sorry folks!)

Here's how you make it:

1 Kg Pork meat (meat with fat trimmed)
2 Big Onions
Salt as per taste
15 Kashmiri Chillies,
6-8 Garlic flakes,
1" Ginger
2 Teaspoons of Jeera,
3/4 tsp Haldi,
1" piece of Cinnamon
6 Peppers
6 Cloves
Vinegar

1. Grind the chillies into powder, add just enough vinegar to make a paste and keep it aside. Lets move on to prepping the pork.
2. Wash the Pork pieces well and then chop them up into nice bits.
3. Drain the moisture from the pork. You can do so by using a cloth to absorb all the water.
4. Add some salt and keep it aside. This step should help dry the pieces even more.
5. Now grind all remaining ingredients into a fine paste.
6. Add the ground masala (don't forget the chilly-vinegar!) to the pork pieces and mix well. Ensure that all pieces of pork are evenly coated with the masala. Add a little vinegar to the meat, mix it up once more and store it overnight in the fridge.
7. The next day, blend the onions to add to the marinated pork.
8. Heat a pan and on dry heat, transfer all the ingredients on to the stove.
9. Fry the meat till it starts to seal, that is, the color of the meat should have changed from pink to a pink-brown. Add 1.5 cups of water and let it cook on a slow flame.
10. Check the pork vindaloo in intervals. Once the meat is cooked and the gravy reaches the consistency that you like (the gravy is ideally not thick but is flavorful even when thin so adjust the water accordingly), your Pork Vindaloo is ready!

TIP: Like most Indian dishes that have masalas, Vindaloo always tastes better the next day as the meat gets properly marinated.     

Spicy Andhra Mutton Curry

Now that my mom is more confident about my cooking skills (Yay!), I was "volunteered" to cook mutton last night. For some reason, against my natural inclination, I found myself craving for some spicy curry...and so was my dad. The result was some Andhra Mutton Curry, which was inspired by Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe but altered a little to make it a little more spicier. And though the curry was really good, I think it lacked the punch of chillies that is so typical of Andhra food. However, those who are not very comfortable with chillies and are yet feeling a little brave, this dish would serve them beautifully. Here is how it goes:

Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes
Servings: 4

Preparation Time: 20-30 minutes

1.    Mutton,1/2 cm cubes      - 500 gram

2.    Salt - to taste

3.    Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

4.    Poppy seeds (khuskhus/posto) - 1 teaspoon

5.    Fennel seeds (saunf) - 1/2 teaspoon

6.    Peppercorns - 6

7.    Coriander seeds - 1 teaspoon

8.    Cumin seeds  - 1 teaspoon

9.    Cinnamon - 1 inch piece

10.    Clove  -    5

11.    Green cardamom - 3

12.    Vegetable oil - 4 tablespoon

13.    Curry leaves  -10

14.    Onion ,chopped  - 3 medium

15.    Ginger-garlic paste – 1 and 1/2 teaspoon

16.    Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

17.    Black pepper powder  - 2 teaspoon

18.    Tomato,chopped  - 1 large

19.    Fresh coriander leaves, chopped  - 1/2 tablespoon (for garnish)

Method

I had pre-marinated the mutton in vinegar the previous night to cut down the cooking time. Pressure cook mutton pieces with two cups of water, salt and turmeric powder for 1 whistle and let it simmer for 5 more minutes. (If your mutton is not pre-marinated, Sanjeev suggests that you cook it for 6 whistles.) Open the lid when the pressure reduces, drain and reserve the cooking liquor. Dry roast poppy seeds, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves and green cardamoms. Cool and grind to a fine powder. Heat oil in kadai (wok). Add curry leaves and onions. Sauté till the onions are brown. Add ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder and half the black pepper powder and sauté for a minute. Add tomato and mutton pieces, cook on high heat till the tomato is soft. Add salt and the spice powder and simmer for five minutes. Add the reserved cooking liquor and bring to a boil. Simmer till all the mutton pieces get well coated with thick gravy. Add the remaining black pepper powder and stir well. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.