ITALIAN COOKING of MUTTON

Ingredients

• 4 pieces (approx. 1 powa / 233 g each) Mutton thigh pieces (bone-in, with enough fat) (Use pieces from the thigh weighing about 1 powa each (roughly 230–240 g). Fat on the meat is important for this dish — do not trim it off.)
• 1 cup Curd (plain, full-fat yoghurt) (Use full-fat plain yoghurt. Room temperature curd works best for the marinade.)
• 1 to taste Salt (Add to taste when mixing the marinade.)
• 2 tablespoons Ghee (for marinade) (Mixed directly into the marinade with the curd and spice pastes.)
• 1 tablespoon Paste of ginger (To make the paste, peel fresh ginger and grind it to a smooth paste using a mortar and pestle or small blender with a few drops of water.)
• 2 tablespoons Paste of onions (To make the paste, roughly chop onions and blend to a smooth paste. Squeeze out excess moisture before using.)
• 1 tablespoon Paste of garlics (To make the paste, peel garlic cloves and crush or blend to a smooth paste.)
• 1 tablespoon Paste of chillies (To make the paste, remove stems from fresh or dried chillies and blend to a smooth paste with a little water. Adjust quantity to your heat preference.)
• 1 tablespoon Paste of coriander (To make the paste, grind coriander seeds (or use fresh coriander leaves and stems) with a little water to form a smooth paste.)
• 1 tablespoon Paste of garam-masalla (for marinade) (To make a paste of garam masala, mix garam masala powder with just enough water to form a thick paste.)
• 4 tablespoons Ghee (for frying) (Used to fry the whole spices and onion pieces before adding the marinated meat.)
• 1 teaspoon Entire cumins (whole cumin seeds) (Use whole, unground cumin seeds — they are fried in the ghee first to release their aroma.)
• 1 teaspoon Garam-masalla (whole or ground, for frying) (Added to the hot ghee along with the whole cumin and other spices at the start of cooking.)
• 3 dried red chillies Broken chillies (dried red chillies, broken in half) (Break or snap dried red chillies in half before adding to the hot ghee. Remove seeds if you prefer less heat.)
• 2 leaves Cassia leaves (tej patta / Indian bay leaves) (Also called tej patta. These are Indian bay leaves — they differ from Mediterranean bay leaves and have a mild cinnamon-like aroma.)
• 1 large onion, cut into rough pieces Pieces of onions (for frying in ghee) (Cut onion into wedges or large rough chunks. These are fried in the ghee before the meat is added.)
• 1 cup (or just enough to barely cover the meat) Hot water (Use freshly boiled water. Add only enough so the meat cooks through — all the liquid should evaporate by the end, leaving no soup.)
• 1 tablespoon Ghee (for finishing) (Drizzled over the dish just before removing from the heat, for richness and gloss.)
• 1 small handful Almonds (fried pieces, for serving) (Slice or roughly chop almonds and fry in a little ghee until golden before serving as a garnish.)
• 1 small handful Onions (fried pieces, for serving) (Thinly slice or roughly chop onions and fry in ghee until golden brown. Used as a garnish when serving.)

Instructions

1. 1Place your mutton thigh pieces in a large bowl. Add the curd, salt, ghee (for marinade), paste of ginger, paste of onions, paste of garlics, paste of chillies, paste of coriander, and paste of garam-masalla. Use your hands or a spoon to coat every piece of meat thoroughly with the marinade — make sure all surfaces are well covered. Cover the bowl tightly with a lid or cling film and leave to marinate at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours. If your kitchen is very warm, place it in the refrigerator and bring it back to room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.
2. 2Set a large, heavy-bottomed pot or deep pan over medium-high heat. Add the ghee for frying and let it heat until it shimmers — it should be hot but not smoking. Add the whole cumin seeds and let them sizzle for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Next add the garam-masalla, the broken dried chillies, and the cassia leaves, and stir for another 30 seconds. Add the roughly cut onion pieces and fry, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes until they turn golden and begin to soften. Keep the heat at medium-high to ensure everything fries rather than steams.
3. 3Add all the marinated mutton pieces directly into the pot along with any marinade left in the bowl. Increase the heat to high and fry the meat, turning the pieces occasionally with tongs or a spoon, for about 8 to 10 minutes. The goal is to sear and fry the meat so it takes on colour and the marinade reduces and coats the meat rather than forming a liquid sauce. Stir regularly to prevent the spices from sticking or burning on the bottom of the pot.
4. 4Pour in just enough hot water so that the meat is barely submerged — you want the meat to cook through, but by the end all the liquid must have evaporated with no broth remaining. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot loosely, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, checking every 5 minutes. Stir occasionally and turn the pieces so they cook evenly. As the water reduces, remove the lid to help evaporation and turn the heat back up to medium-high for the final few minutes to ensure the dish is completely dry. The meat is done when it is tender and the spices cling to the pieces without any liquid pooling in the pot.
5. 5Just before removing the pot from the heat, drizzle the finishing ghee evenly over the meat. Gently stir or tilt the pot so the ghee coats all the pieces. This adds a final layer of richness and gives the meat a subtle sheen. Remove from the heat immediately after.
6. 6Transfer the cooked mutton to a serving dish. Scatter fried almond pieces and fried onion pieces generously over the top just before bringing to the table. To prepare the garnishes: for the fried almonds, slice or roughly chop the almonds and fry them in a small amount of ghee in a separate pan over medium heat until golden, then drain on a paper towel. For the fried onions, slice or chop onions and fry in ghee over medium-high heat until deep golden brown, then drain similarly. Serve immediately.