It's Eid and (I know it's grosse but) it's Mutton time!

So guys it's Eid and I do have a special dish that is made with Mutton in celebration of this wonderful festival and is a typically Bohri Muslim dish that we make and so I'd love to share it with you. Also, please note that this is a celebration and festival dish so you CANNOT count the calories for this one.

Ingredients

1kg mutton

Oil for frying

2 medium sized potatoes cut in quarters

2 large onions – sliced and fried crispy brown (or 4 - 5 small ones) this is called birista

1 ¼ heaped teaspoon of ginger garlic paste

¾ tsp green chillies paste

1 tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds

1 tsp cumin (jeera)

2 - 3 Tej patta or Bay leaf

2 Elaichi or Cardamom pods broken roughly by hand

4 lavang or cloves

4 miris or whole pepper seeds

1-2 small sticks of cinnamon (dalchini)

¼ tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Corriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp red chili powder

Salt to taste

2 tomatoes chopped finely

100g Cashews ground to a fine paste

150g Yoghurt

2 hard boiled eggs (optional) for decoration

Fresh coriander and mint leaves chopped for garnish

Method

Wash cut and clean the mutton pieces and marinate in Ginger, Garlic and chili paste for a few hours (preferably overnight)

Heat oil in the lower half of a large pressure cooker and keep on high flame

Cut onions in half and slice.

Fry the onions until they are brown and crispy, drain oil and remove onto sheets of tissue to cool.

Next make quarters of the potatoes and fry in the same oil until golden brown (around 3 - 5 minutes)

Remove and keep aside for later

Take out oil in excess of 1/2 a cup and put on high flame to heat

Add fenugreek seeds seeds, jeera, Bay leaf, cardamom pods, cloves, whole peppers and cinnamon to the oil and saute quickly over the high flame for around 1 minute

Add turmeric powder, cumin and corriander powder, red chili powder and salt

Add the Mutton to this aromatic hot and spicy mixture and let it saute for a bit until it changes colour.

Cut 2- 3 tomatoes finely and add to this mixture

Add just enough hot water to cover the mutton and put in a pressure cooker to cook. let the flame be high for the first whistle and then put it on a low flame. remove lid after the third whistle to check if the meat has been cooked. This can be done by checking the softness and colour of the meat and when done transfer all ingredients to a large vessel for the rest of the cooking process.

please do not yet put the pressure cooker to wash as it comes in use slightly later.

Put on a slow flame and allow the mutton to simmer whilst you prepare the next procedure

In the same pressure cooker add a teaspoon of oil and heat and saute the cashewnut paste until the oil separates and add to the mutton gravy

In a mixie put the birista and the yoghurt and whizz until a smooth paste is formed

Add this to the mutton and stir continuously.

never completely cover and keep the mutton dish when it is boiling with the yogurt as there are chances that it might curdle.

There finally you're dish is done. It isn't as hard as it looks on the recipe and besides, most Indian households have all the above ingredients and spices mostly so all you need to do is prepare all the ingredients in advance and then it's just a matter of putting them in one after the other.

Just garnish it with chopped mint and coriander leaves and the hard boiled eggs quartered lengthwise and serve!

This dish is ideally eaten with Naan. In Bandra you can get naans at Hersh Bakery.

Enjoy!