Mixie (Mixer-grinder) or mortar and pestle (hamandista in Bengali)
Preparation & serving bowls
Ingredients
1kggoat meat/muttonmedium sized pieces
1/2cupmustard oil
2pcwhole red chili
1pcbayleaf
1tspcumin seeds
10pcmedium-sized onions
1tspturmeric powder
1/4tspcumin powderoptional
1/2tspcoriander powderoptional
1cupcurdsmall-sized tea cup
1tspsugar
2cuphot waterkeep ready while the meat cooks
salt to taste
Whole Garam Masala
1tspwhole black pepper
2inchwhole cinnamon stick
5pcwhole cardamom pods
1pcwhole star anise
1pcwhole maceoptional
Ginger Garlic Chili Paste
2pcgarlic podsaround 30 cloves of garlic
2inchginger
5pcgreen chiliesreduce to adjust heat
2pcwhole red chili
Instructions
Preparation the Night Before [15 minutes]
You can very well do this just before you cook, however, I do some preparation the night before. Take two garlic pods and take out around 30 cloves. Peel each of the cloves and put them in the refrigerator. Ensure that you keep them in a packet/bag and seal the opening properly to avoid the raw garlic smell from getting into other edibles
Take the dried red chilies and soak them in a bowl of water. Leave covered. Soaking them the night before will soften it the next morning for preparing the paste. If you want to do it before cooking, boil water and soak the chilies for around half an hour
Preparation for the Mutton Kosha in the Morning [30 minutes]
Take 10 pieces of medium sized onions. Peel and slice them. For this recipe, chopping the onions or preparing the paste will not give the best flavors
Take a 2-inch ginger and peel. Chop roughly and add to the mixie
Chop the garlic cloves and green chilies roughly
Add the chopped garlic cloves, green chilies and soaked dry red chilies to the mixie
Prepare a fine paste. If needed you can add a couple of spoons of water
Peel the potatoes and cut them in halves or quarters, depending on the size. If the potatoes are medium-sized, you can cut them into halves. If large, cut them into quarters
Cooking the Mutton Kosha [2 hours 30 minutes]
Put a wok on medium heat. Most of the cooking will be done on medium flame
Add mustard oil and wait till the oil begins to smoke. Never begin cooking in mustard oil before the oil starts to smoke.
Once you see the smoke, add the dry red chilies and bay leaf
When the dry red chilies have turned dark brown, add the cumin seeds and allow them to splutter
Add in the sliced onions. Stir fry till the onions have browned properly. This is one of the most important steps in the entire process, hence make sure that you take your time to brown the onions before moving on to the next step. This can take anywhere between 15 to 20 minutes. Take care to not burn the onions in the process
Once the onions have browned, add the ginger garlic chilli paste that you prepared previously. Stir fry till the raw smell persists
Add the mutton pieces
Drop in the turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder
This is where the kosha-ing starts. Increase the flame from medium to high. Continuously stir the mutton along with the onions and spice powders. This helps to char the outer part of the mutton pieces and seals in the juices. Keep doing this for at least 30 minutes
Lower the flame to medium
Whisk the curd properly and add to the wok
Add in the potatoes
Continuously stir till the curd has blended with the mutton and spices. If you find any curdling, do not worry. It will be fine by the end of the cooking process
Drop in all the whole spices mentioned under ''Whole Garam Masala'
Stir well for around two minutes, cook covered for four to five minutes
Uncover and repeat the above step till the mutton is cooked. If you find the spices sticking to bottom of the wok, use the spatula to recover the spices. Splash in some water after regular intervals to ensure that spices do not stick to the bottom of the wok
If you wish to serve this mutton kosha with rice, add in a cup of water and allow it to boil. If you wish to serve this with luchi/pulao, do not follow this step
Add the salt and sugar. Stir and cook covered for a couple of minutes
Uncover, check for seasonings and adjust if required
Your kosha mangsho or mutton kosha is ready
Switch off the flame. Allow the mutton kosha to rest for 15-20 minutes before serving with rice or luchi (poori made of common flour)
Notes
Get tender mutton cuts. It will help your mutton cook faster. You can ask the butcher to get you the loin and/or rib of the mutton
Some fat with your mutton always gives an added flavor
A mutton kosha is best cooked without any water. However, it is fine to use splash in some water to avoid burning of the onions and spices
To get the best flavors of the mutton, avoid strong spices. I have stuck to whole spices and used very little of cumin and coriander powder. You can avoid the spice powders altogether
Keep a watchful eye on the wok, you would not want the onions, mutton and spice mix to stick and get burnt
Tomatoes are not mandatory. The job is done by the curd. You can add tomato when the mutton is 80% cooked. Do not puree a tomato, just dice and add them
As mentioned previously, slice your onions. Do not dice, chop or make a paste