SUNDAYWALA MUTTON

Cooking mutton on Sunday was almost a ritual in most Kayastha homes. The focus was on having mutton – be it mutton kofta, nargisi kofta, mutton do pyaza or any other mutton dish. But undoubtedly, in our house the most popular dish was ‘Mutton Sundaywala,’ which was prepared in thin gravy and tasted divine with rice. Actually cooking is an art. If you cook anything with love and dedication, it will come out very delicious and tasty. This is especially true of non-veg dishes.

Cooking needs lots of hard work, preparation and patience.  If you cook mutton slowly on a slow flame it takes taste to the next level. I, distinctly remember my mother cooking mutton on an Angithi (a charcoal stove - I am sure most of new generation kids won’t even know what an Angithi is?), in a brass vessel or a degchi. She used masala, which was freshly ground on a mortar and pestle, out of soaked whole coriander seeds, whole red chillies, dried turmeric, onion, garlic, and ginger. You definitely cannot get the same taste, if you use masala ground in an electric mixer grinder. Grinding masala on a mortar and pestle, was a daily ritual – part of the work of a Mummy’s maid. My mother used freshly ground masala for all her recipes - whether veg or non-veg. The love she poured for us in all her dishes, made the dishes doubly delicious and scrumptious. I also made the same mutton for my kids. Everyone loved it. But I missed “mummy ke hath ka taste”.  My children had been asking for this recipe for a long time, so here it is – for my children as well as all youngsters fond of non-veg food. Please let me know, if you liked my recipe.

PREP TIME: 25 minutes

COOKING TIME: 15 minutes                   

TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes

SERVES: 4 persons

INGREDIENTS FOR SUNDAY MUTTON:

1.     Mutton – 1kg ( gol boti+ chap+ nalli)

2.    Ginger garlic paste - 2tbsp

3.    Onion – 3 big, sliced and fried(barista)

4.    Tomatoes – 2 medium (pureed)

5.    Curd – 2 tbsp

6.    Turmeric powder - 1/2th tsp

7.    Red chilli powder - 1th tsp

8.    Kashmiri lal mirch - ½ tsp

9.    Coriander powder – 2 tsp

10. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

11.  Cloves – 5-6

12. Black pepper – 8-10

13. Green cardamom- 3-4

14. Cinnamon -1 ½ stick

15. Javitri – 2-3 strand

16. Jaifal – 1/4th inch

17. Salt- to taste

18. Oil – 3 tbsp

19. Ghee -1 tbsp

20.       Oil for fry onion

    HOW TO MAKE SUNDAY MUTTON:

1.     Clean mutton well with water.

2.     Take 4, green cardamom, 5-6 cloves, 10-12 black pepper, and a small stick of cinnamon.

3.     Heat oil for frying in a kadhai/pan. Add sliced onions.

4.    Fry onions until they become golden brown. Remove from pan. Keep aside.

5.    Remove oil from the kadahi, leaving only three tbsp oil in the kadhai. Add one tbsp ghee. Add green cardamom, cloves, black pepper, one cinnamon stick.

6.    Now add mutton in it. Fry mutton until it changes colour.

7.    Now add ginger garlic paste. Fry again for 7-8 minutes.

8.   Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and salt. Mix them well.

9.    Crush javitri, jaiphal( nutmeg) and cinnamon. Put this crushed masala into mutton.

10.    Fry until water dries.  Add tomato paste.

11. Mix well and cook, until oil starts to separate.

12.    Add beaten curd.

13.    Now fry it again, till oil separates.

14.    Add required water (approx. 1 ½ -2 cups) and let it cook for five minutes.

15.    When it starts boiling, add fried onion(barista).

16.    Mix it well. Now cook the mutton on low flame until it is cooked well.

17.    When oil comes up, add a few drops of kewra essence.

18.    Now garnish with coriander leaves.

19.    Sunday mutton is now ready. Serve with roti, rumali roti or rice.