MEAT CURRY

Name: MEAT CURRY
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 900 g Meat (mutton or goat preferred), cut into pieces (1 seer is approximately 900 g. Tender mutton or young goat (under 1 year old) is recommended. Wash meat before cutting into pieces.); 60 g Onions (for paste) (Half of the total onion quantity (approx. 115 g total, half powa). Roughly chop before blending into paste.); 55 g Onions (minced) (The remaining half of the total onion quantity. Mince finely for frying.); 115 g Ghee (Half powa is approximately 115 g. Clarified butter used as the cooking fat.); 115 g Curd (plain yoghurt) (Half powa is approximately 115 g. Do not use curd if you plan to add milk at the end.); 6 g Turmeric (ground) (Half tola is approximately 6 g (about 1 teaspoon). Ground turmeric powder.); 6 g Black pepper (ground) (Half tola is approximately 6 g. Optional — use if desired, but reduce coriander to 1 tola if using.); 6 g Cumin (ground) (Half tola is approximately 6 g. Optional — use if desired, but reduce coriander to 1 tola if using.); 6 g Garam masala (powdered) (Half tola is approximately 6 g. Added at the very end of cooking.); 24 g Ginger (2 tolas is approximately 24 g. Fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped before blending into paste.); 24 g Coriander (ground) (2 tolas (approx. 24 g) if pepper and cumin are not used. Use only 1 tola (approx. 12 g) if pepper and cumin are included.); 15 g Salt (1¼ tola is approximately 15 g (about 2½ teaspoons).); 0 a few Dried or fresh chillies (A few chillies — quantity to taste. Blended into the spice paste.); 0 a few Cassia leaves (Indian bay leaves) (A few leaves added when the meat is browned. Cassia leaves are also known as tej patta (Indian bay leaves).); 0 to taste Almonds (pieces) (Optional. A handful of roughly chopped or slivered almonds browned with the onions.); 0 as needed Water or milk (A small amount added little by little during browning, and then a little more added at the end. Use cow's milk or coconut milk. Do not use curd if using milk.); 0 to taste Lemon juice (Only required if using coconut milk instead of cow's milk. Add at the very end.)

A richly spiced Indian meat curry made by browning meat in ghee with a fresh-ground paste of chillies, ginger, turmeric, coriander and onions, finished with garam masala and optionally milk or coconut milk. This colonial-era recipe produces a dry, deeply flavoured curry with minimal sauce.

⏱ Prep: 20m

🍳 Cook: 40m

⏰ Total: 60m

🍽 Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

900 g Meat (mutton or goat preferred), cut into pieces (1 seer is approximately 900 g. Tender mutton or young goat (under 1 year old) is recommended. Wash meat before cutting into pieces.)
60 g Onions (for paste) (Half of the total onion quantity (approx. 115 g total, half powa). Roughly chop before blending into paste.)
55 g Onions (minced) (The remaining half of the total onion quantity. Mince finely for frying.)
115 g Ghee (Half powa is approximately 115 g. Clarified butter used as the cooking fat.)
115 g Curd (plain yoghurt) (Half powa is approximately 115 g. Do not use curd if you plan to add milk at the end.)
6 g Turmeric (ground) (Half tola is approximately 6 g (about 1 teaspoon). Ground turmeric powder.)
6 g Black pepper (ground) (Half tola is approximately 6 g. Optional — use if desired, but reduce coriander to 1 tola if using.)
6 g Cumin (ground) (Half tola is approximately 6 g. Optional — use if desired, but reduce coriander to 1 tola if using.)
6 g Garam masala (powdered) (Half tola is approximately 6 g. Added at the very end of cooking.)
24 g Ginger (2 tolas is approximately 24 g. Fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped before blending into paste.)
24 g Coriander (ground) (2 tolas (approx. 24 g) if pepper and cumin are not used. Use only 1 tola (approx. 12 g) if pepper and cumin are included.)
15 g Salt (1¼ tola is approximately 15 g (about 2½ teaspoons).)
0 a few Dried or fresh chillies (A few chillies — quantity to taste. Blended into the spice paste.)
0 a few Cassia leaves (Indian bay leaves) (A few leaves added when the meat is browned. Cassia leaves are also known as tej patta (Indian bay leaves).)
0 to taste Almonds (pieces) (Optional. A handful of roughly chopped or slivered almonds browned with the onions.)
0 as needed Water or milk (A small amount added little by little during browning, and then a little more added at the end. Use cow's milk or coconut milk. Do not use curd if using milk.)
0 to taste Lemon juice (Only required if using coconut milk instead of cow's milk. Add at the very end.)

Instructions

1Wash the meat thoroughly under cold running water, then cut it into bite-sized pieces. Pat the pieces dry with paper towels and set aside. Tender mutton or young goat (under 1 year old) gives the best results.
2Divide the onions into two equal portions. Take the first half of the onions and roughly chop them. Place them into a blender or use a pestle and mortar along with the chillies, fresh ginger (peeled and roughly chopped), ground turmeric, and ground coriander. Blend or grind everything together into a smooth paste, adding a tiny splash of water if needed to help it blend. Set this paste aside. Finely mince the remaining half of the onions and set aside separately.
3Place a heavy-bottomed pot or deep pan over medium heat. Add the ghee and let it melt and heat until it shimmers. Add the finely minced onions (and the optional almond pieces, if using) to the hot ghee. Fry, stirring regularly, until the onions are lightly golden brown. Be careful not to burn them — reduce the heat slightly if they are colouring too quickly. This will take around 8–10 minutes.
4Add the prepared spice paste to the pot with the browned onions. If you are using pepper and cumin, add them now along with the other paste ingredients. Also add the curd (plain yoghurt) and salt. Note: if you plan to add milk at the end instead of finishing dry, do not add curd — use one or the other, not both. Stir everything together well to combine.
5Cook the spice paste and curd mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. You will see the ghee beginning to separate from the spices at the edges — this is a good sign that the raw spice taste has cooked out. The mixture will deepen in colour and become very fragrant.
6Add the pieces of meat to the pot and stir well to coat them in the spice mixture. Increase the heat slightly to medium-high. Brown the meat for approximately 30 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent sticking. Every few minutes, add a small splash of water (2–3 tablespoons at a time) and stir it in. Allow the water to evaporate before adding the next splash. This slow browning process, adding water little by little, is key to developing a deep, rich flavour and tender meat.
7Once the meat is properly browned (the pieces should be well coloured and the spices should cling to the meat without excess moisture), add a small amount of water or milk to the pot along with the cassia leaves (Indian bay leaves / tej patta). Stir to combine. If you are using coconut milk instead of cow's milk, you may use it here in the same way.
8Remove the pot from the heat or reduce to very low. Sprinkle the powdered garam masala evenly over the curry and stir it in gently. If you used coconut milk, squeeze in a little lemon juice now and stir to combine. Taste for salt and adjust if needed. The finished curry should be nearly dry with very little sauce if you used curd and water. If you added milk, keep just a small amount of sauce (soup) in the pot. Serve hot.