Mutton or Chicken with Cluster Beans
A traditional Parsi-style stew combining tender meat with earthy cluster beans (guar) in a mild, creamy coconut gravy. This comforting dish features whole pearl onions and beans simmered with ginger and garlic, finished with rich coconut milk to balance the vegetable's natural bite. The recipe can be prepared with either mutton or chicken and is best served with crusty bread or rice.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Mutton or Chicken (cut into pieces) (Originally '1 ratal tender male meat'. Can use lamb or chicken.)
- 1 pound Cluster beans (Guar) (Originally '1 sher'.)
- 1 pound Pearl onions (small onions) (Originally '1 sher small onions'.)
- 1/2 cup Ghee (Originally '0.5 sher' (approx 1 cup), but recipe notes 'if less ghee is preferred, take 1 pasher less' (approx 1/2 cup).)
- 1 large Large onion (finely sliced) (Originally '1.5 pasher' (approx 6 oz).)
- 1 tablespoon Salt (Originally '1.5 tola'. Adjust to taste.)
- 1 teaspoon Ginger paste (Originally '0.5 tola'.)
- 1 teaspoon Garlic paste (Originally '0.5 tola'.)
- 3/4 cup Thick coconut milk (Originally '1.5 pasher' extracted from 1 large coconut.)
- 2 cups Water (Originally '1 sher'.)
Instructions
- 1Clean the meat and cut into pieces; wash twice in cold water. Peel the pearl onions and keep them in cold water. Peel and crush the ginger and garlic into a paste. Grate the coconut and extract thick milk (or use prepared coconut milk).
- 2Boil the cluster beans until tender. Once they are cool enough to handle, remove the fibrous strings (vakh) from the sides.
- 3Heat the ghee in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the finely sliced large onion and fry until red. Add the ginger and garlic paste and fry until the raw aroma disappears.
- 4Add the meat, salt, whole pearl onions, and the prepared cluster beans to the pot. Mix well with a spoon. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the mixture sizzles and the liquid evaporates, pour in the water.
- 5Simmer until the meat is tender and the beans have softened and merged with the sauce. Pour in the coconut milk and place on low heat (or embers). Cook gently until the ghee rises to the surface. Remove from heat and serve.