Mutton Curry with Paratha

Frankly, I was quite confused as to what should be the name of this dish. There was no specific recipe that I followed or any particular technique to prepare it. The procedure was almost spontaneous and whatever spices caught my attention while standing in the kitchen, I just added all of them. Since it was prepared especially to be served with parathas, Parathewaali Mutton Curry seemed to be most apt. I did not have time to marinate the meat but I would highly recommend overnight marination to reduce the overall cooking time. Most important of all, please do enjoy this dish with some fresh out of the stove hot parathas, with a dollop of desi ghee!!! Your ticket to heavenly bliss!! 😋😋

Ingredients 

500 gms mutton on the bone

2 big onions thinly sliced

1 tbsp ginger paste

2 tbsp garlic paste

2 medium potatoes cut into halves 

Mustard oil as required 

Fresh coriander leaves and ginger juliennes for garnishing 

For marination 

1/4 cup yogurt

2 tsp meat tenderizer (can be substituted with 2 tbsp grated raw papaya)

Spice powder (as listed below)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder 

For spice powder 

8-10 whole kashmiri red chillies 

3 green cardamom 

1 black cardamom 

3 cloves 

1/2 star anise 

1/2" cinnamon 

1 tsp fennel seeds/saunf

1/2 tsp shahjeera/caraway seeds 

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds 

2 bay leaves

6-7 black peppercorns

Dry roast all the ingredients and grind to a fine powder. 

Direction 

Start with the marination first. If you have time, I would recommend overnight marination but if pressed for time, a minimum of 1 hour marination is a must. 

Wash and clean the meat thoroughly and apply little salt and keep aside for 10 minutes. Now wash the meat again and drain off excess water. Now mix all ingredients listed under marination and coat the meat well. Cover and keep aside till you prepare the rest of the ingredients. If you are marinating overnight, bring the mutton to room temperature before starting to cook. 

Heat a little oil in a deep frying pan and fry the sliced onions till crispy golden. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels. Now in the same pan, fry the potato halves till golden and keep aside. Strain out bits of onions from the pan, if any, and add the remaining oil to another pan where you will be preparing the mutton. 

I did not add any additional oil to the second pan as the mutton will itself release a lot of fat. However you can add if you feel the oil is not adequate. 

Now add the marinated mutton along with the marinade and fry on a high till the water evaporates and the mutton changes color. Now reduce the flame and continue stirring at regular intervals till the oil separates and the spices no longer smell raw. Now add the ginger garlic paste and fry 2-3 minutes more. Add the potatoes and give a stir. Add half the fried onions and stir. Now add 1/2 cup water and mix. Cover and cook the mutton on a medium low flame till done. Keep checking and stirring in between to ensure it doesn't burn. Add little bit more water if required to cook the mutton. You can also do this in the pressure cooker if you are running short of time or if the mutton is taking too long to cook. 

Once done, reduce the gravy, if any, to minimum and add the remaining fried onions. Adjust the seasoning and stir. Let the mutton cook for another 10 minutes on a low flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and ginger juliennes and serve hot with parathas!!