Musawadi Curry
A rich and luxurious Parsi mutton curry distinguished by its unique creamy thickener made from fresh milk curds, almonds, and heavy cream. This 'Musawadi' preparation involves slow-cooking tender meat with aromatic spices like cardamom and cloves before enriching the gravy with a homemade dairy-nut blend. The result is a deeply savory, nutty, and velvety dish that is traditionally served with rice or flatbreads.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Mutton or goat meat (tender, cut into small pieces) (Originally '1 ratal' (approx 1 lb).)
- 1/2 pound Onions (finely sliced) (Originally '0.5 sher'.)
- 1 cup Ghee (Originally '0.5 sher' (approx 1/2 lb). Can be reduced for modern preference.)
- 1/4 pound Almonds (blanched and peeled) (Originally '0.25 sher'.)
- 1/4 pound Thick yogurt (curd) (Originally '0.25 sher'.)
- 1/4 pound Heavy cream (Originally '1 pasher' (approx 1/4 lb).)
- 8 cloves Garlic cloves (Originally '2 tola' (approx 22g).)
- 1 piece Fresh ginger (Originally '1 tola' (approx 11g). Use about a 1-inch piece.)
- 2 teaspoons Salt (Originally '2 tola' (approx 22g), which is very salty. Adjusted to 2 tsp, add more to taste.)
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder (Originally '0.5 tola'.)
- 2 cups Fresh whole milk (Originally '1 sher' (approx 1 lb).)
- 15 whole Black peppercorns
- 15 whole Green cardamom pods
- 10 whole Cloves
- 1 1/2 inch Cinnamon stick
- 1 1/2 cups Water (Originally '0.75 sher'.)
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice (Optional, for acidity.)
- 5 whole Dried red chilies (Optional, for heat. Grind with spices if using.)
Instructions
- 1Peel and crush the ginger and garlic into a paste. Grind the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, and peppercorns (and dried chilies if using) into a very fine powder using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Mix the salt into this ground spice mixture.
- 2Wash the meat pieces once in cold water. In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat the ghee and fry the finely sliced onions until they turn red/golden brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté briefly. Then, add the ground spice mixture and the meat pieces. Pour in the water (approx 1.5 cups), cover the pot, and cook over low heat (traditionally on charcoal embers). Place some water on the lid to create steam and prevent burning. Cook until the meat is tender and the water has evaporated, leaving the meat frying in the ghee.
- 3While the meat is cooking, blanch, peel, and finely grind the almonds. In a separate pot, pour the milk and mix in the yogurt. Heat this mixture on the stove uncovered until the milk curdles and the water (whey) separates completely. Remove from heat and strain through a clean cloth to remove all the water, keeping only the milk solids. Mix the heavy cream and the ground almond paste thoroughly into these milk solids.
- 4Once the meat is tender and the ghee has separated in the main pot, add the prepared almond-cream-curd mixture. Stir well to combine. Cook uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the ghee separates from the gravy again. If more sourness is desired, squeeze in some lemon juice before serving.