LEMONGRASS FLAVOURED MUTTON CURRY

 

I ALLOW ONLY TWO VARIETY OF MEAT AT HOME; MUTTON & CHICKEN!

It is true Hindu Bengalis did not allow chicken & eggs in their homes, once! That was until few decades back. In our case, it was mid 1976, when we shifted to the suburbs of Kolkata, DumDum, coming right out of the maternal grandparent's lap. The maternal grandfather did not have any problem with any food, he even enjoyed noodles & indochinese at times. He was a foodie but took a controlled amount. It is our paternal grandparents and maternal grandmother who did not allow chicken & eggs in their lives. The paternal grandparents were very liberal otherwise about allowing others to live their lives. It is the maternal grandmother who wanted every other person to follow the rules set by her. At one point in life, I felt it is not okay to impose one's rules on others! She had to respect the current time and trends and give a nod to the wishes of her kids. That way, one retains the chair of respect till the end. To build a peaceful environment in home requires strategy, not hard work! What is the point if you work hard and give a lot, yet do not earn that much of love and respect from your own? Beyond a point, your kids are also not your own when they reach an age. Anyway, the entry of chicken was not so troublesome in our DumDum home; it suited our Sunday dining table well. Why did chicken taste so well on those days of Ramayan, Sherlock Holmes, etc.? I want to watch again that particular Sherlock Homes series, by the way! If the price of mutton was rising by then; chicken was an easy and yum solution for the middle-class Bengalis! 

CHICKEN THEN; CHICKEN NOW!

We always had been mutton lovers in the family, it had been the most loved meat variety among the Bengalis. I do not know about now; has chicken taken over? It is also true we loved chicken and looked forward to a Sunday, it was the meat eating day in the family. We siblings used to be very happy on a Sunday; if it was a chicken day, we were very happy; if it was a mutton day; we were little more happy; the parents too ate one or two pieces extra if it was mutton. It was a calculated amount cooked; we waited the entire evening for that dinner with hot ruti / chapati and the few remaining pieces of the meat post lunch. These days; we can buy in bulk any day, any time. But, we cannot have more than two pieces at a time; most of the time it is one big piece if chicken and three small pieces, if mutton. In those days, we were served three to four pieces at a time, yet we craved for more. May be because a gap of six days was a lot! Our son was getting meat every other day whilst at home. My brother too eats now and then; easy availability makes any thing less interesting! The other reason for my diminishing fondness for meat is the reason the meat varieties here do not attract my taste bud. A major factor playing here is definitely our age. As a couple, we really enjoy a number of vegetables with potatoes; at times prawns thrown in to them. If I cook a kali dal or narkol diye cholar dal; the man happily have them with ruti / porota / luchi. He would be happier if there be an egg omelette too!

LEAVE CHICKEN TODAY, WELCOME THE MUTTON! WHAT IS LEMONGRASS FLAVOURED MUTTON CURRY?

I would always stand for variety in the food dishes I cook! Besides many of my blogger friends; I find BREADVESALT's blog space for various Turkish delights very descriptive and apt! My family told me about the variety of meat they have eaten in different picnic get-togethers. I was either not born then or I was just a toddler. Actually, the brother next to my father had been a food enthusiast, till date is. He used to stay with my parents in Asansol and arrange for picnics; gather even deer meat and cook a feast for all. I have heard these stories from mani, our mother. Once my uncle went back to Assam, life got different for them. They shifted to Kolkata and my baby brother was born; life got super fast for our mother; the father had no interest in the kitchen. Hence, I had seen mutton & chicken been cooked alternately in our home. Our mother cooked a variety of dishes other than Bengali that she had learnt from here and there. But chicken and mutton were cooked typically the Bengali way! We never got bored with it, till date we love it that way! I do bring in some changes at times; like adding LEMONGRASS to the MUTTON CURRY to get a FLAVOURSOME MEAT CURRY. Else, the other ingredients remain the same. I may tell you this LEMONGRASS FLAVOURED MUTTON CURRY is a FLAVOUR BURST  NON-VEGETARIAN MEAT CURRY! We liked it for a change!

INGREDIENTS :

GOAT MEAT OR LAMB : 1 KG

TOMATO : 2 MEDIUM SIZED

ONION : 2 MEDIUM SIZED

GREEN CHILLI : 3-4 

LEMONGRASS : 1-2 STALK

GINGER PASTE : 2 TBSP

GARLIC PASTE : 2 TBSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 11/2 TBSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 11/2 TSP

CINNAMON POWDER : 1/2 TSP

GREEN CARDAMOM POWDER : 1/4 TSP

CLOVES POWDER : 2-3 PINCH

BAY LEAF : 1

VINEGAR : 2-3 TBSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 4-5 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

The first thing to do is to clean the meat very well; get rid of any residual hair and skin. Thereafter, we will wash it few times. Then we will marinate it with some salt, half of the ginger & garlic pastes, half of the turmeric and red chilli powder, vinegar!

We will cover the meat container tight and refrigerate it for at least 5-6 hours; 12 hours should be better. We will take it out an hour before starting to cook.

We will slice the onions, discarding the skin and the two ends, wash well. We will cut the lemongrass stalks smaller; I take the inner core portion. We will crush well half, the other half lightly.

We will heat the oil and temper it with a bay leaf. We will add the onion slices and stir cook at low heat for 2 minutes. Then, we will add the properly crushed lemongrass stalk; give a stir.

We will cook the sliced onion & crushed lemongrass furthermore for 3-4 minutes at low heat and then add the rest of the ginger & garlic pastes, 1/2 of the turmeric. We will stir cook it for 3-4 minutes.

Thereafter, we will add the red chilli powder and sprinkle some water; stir cook it for a minute or two.

We will add the marinated mutton and fold in well; stir cook at high heat for 5-6 minutes. Then we will add the lightly crushed lemongrass; fold in well.

We will reduce the heat to minimal and cover cook for 25-30 minutes. We will remove the cover; add 2 coffee mugs of warm water; washed and chopped tomatoes, washed & slitted green chillies, cinnamon+green cardamom+cloves powders. We will fold in well and again cover it.

We will cover cook at minimal heat for 40-45 minutes, stir every 5 minutes. We should be done by then.

Have it with plain rice, have it with bread varieties; it tastes great; even the stale next day! On that particular day, I also had cooked a light hilsa curry, kolmi shaak bhaja / kangkong stir fry, spinach lentil curry / palong er dal!