Have you seen those red squashes in supermarkets that says kokum juice? It’s mostly made during summers at home because of its cooling properties. It is also great to relieve acid reflux. I recently bought some and used it in my mutton curry. It acts as a souring agent lending a touch of sweetness to the curry. All you need to do is soak the kokum in warm water for it to release its juices. Then add the whole thing to your curry. Even the kokum. It tastes great once the sourness has toned down.
For this curry, I marinated mutton in yoghurt, chilli powder, garam masala, ginger and garlic. The basics. Then I cooked it in a ground spice paste with sauted onions in mustard oil and finished it off with coconut milk to lighten it up. Very simple.
Yield:
4 servings
Prep time:
15 mins
Cooking time:
40 mins (approximately)
Ingredients:
Mutton – 700-800 gm on the bone (curry cut)
Marinade –
Yoghurt – 3 heaped tbsp
Chilli powder – 2 tsp
Garam masala – 2 tsp
Ginger – 1 inch piece crushed and finely chopped
Garlic – 4-5 cloves crushed and finely chopped
Spice paste –
Kashmiri chillies – 4-5 deseeded
Peppercorns – 2 tsp
Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
Cinnamon – 2 inch stick
Cloves – 4-5
Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
A splash of water
Other ingredients –
Mustard oil – 3 tbsp
Onions – 4 sliced
Coconut milk – 1 tetra pack (200 ml)
Salt to taste
Method:
Marinate mutton overnight.
In a pressure cooker, heat the mustard oil till it begins to smoke (not a cigarette).
Turn the heat off and let it cool completely. Put it back on the heat once it has cooled.
Add the onion slices and saute till they turn brown (I took it a little farther and waited till they turned dark).
Tip the mutton in along with the spice paste and salt. Add one cup of water.
Now add half the coconut milk. Cover the cooker with its lid and wait till it lets out two whistles on high heat.
Then lower the heat and cook for 20 mins.
Take it off the heat after 20 mins and let the pressure drop on its own.
Remove the lid and add the rest of the coconut milk and mix.
Check for salt.
Serve with rice (don’t even touch the rotis).
