Garlicky Mutton Ribs Curry

Garlicky Mutton Ribs Curry

Mutton Ribs Curry

A Mutton dish boiling with strong fervour,immense aroma and lingering taste and something which only we have inherited from our erstwhile nawabs is how I would like to describe this piece.Like the Biryani, mutton too is in a class of its own.

I plan to come up with another post sometime soon which I have decided to call "A Moveable Feast" which we(the wife and mostly me) had prepared some time back for some guests who arrived home last weekend for a dinner.Feasts bring along a lot of memories for most of us. The Indian may still not indulge in a barbecue in the backyard of the home in full bloom, but still a decent collection of tandooris,kebabs, biryani and dishes cooked with a lot of passion constitutes something that can very well match,if not surpass a Western Barbecue.The occassion was a long gone one - my birthday - but the treat for the same was due.After quite a few weekends all of us were able to zero in on last Saturday and boy, did we enjoy!

The menus from "The Moveable Feast" as said before will feature in a different post, but for the time being, heres presenting the recipe of the menu that was the pinnacle of all the others cooked that day - Garlicky Mutton Ribs cooked in a Korma style. The cut is one of the defining factors for the dish: Only Mutton Ribs. Asked the butcher for "Chops"("Chaanp" in Bengali) amounting to 1 kilo. The Chops are meat on the bone and will be just great for this dish. Incase you need to know what a mutton chop looks like, drop me a comment/email I will let you know.

Preparing the Marinade:

• Mutton Chops: 1 kg
• Vegetable Oil: 5 table spoon.
• Green Papaya Paste: 3 tablespoon.Just enough to smear the mutton pieces with the paste.Donot use the skin.
• Salt: To taste.

Mutton Ribs Curry

Mix all the ingredients together and put them in a refrigerator for 24 hours. Always remember to take the marinade out atleast 2 hours before starting to cook so that it attains room temperature.

Cooking Ingredients:

• Fried Brown Onions: 750 gms. Made into a fine paste.
• Garlic: 50 gms.Made into a fine paste. 
• Ginger: 25 gms.Made into a fine paste. 
• Whisked Curd: 150 gms.
• Vegetable Oil: 100 ml
• Desi Ghee: 50 gms. Melted.Divide into two equal parts.

Whole Spices:

• Green Cardamon - 5
• Black Cardamon - 2
• Cloves - 6-8
• Cinnamon Stick - One 3inch stick
• Black Pepper - Crushed: 10-12
• Mace - 1
• Nutmeg - 1  
• White Pepper(Sa marich)- 3-4.Crushed.
• Shahi jeera - 1.5 tsp.

Powdered Spices:

• Garam Masala Powder: 2 tsp.
• Turmeric Powder: 1.5 table spoon.
• Coriander Powder: 2 table spoon.
• Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder: 2.5 table spoon. The end result should be Red and so not for the healthy hearted!

Procedure:

• Heat the 100 ml of vegetable oil and approximately 25 gms of ghee in a deep heavy bottomed pan or wok.
• Once hot, add all the Whole Spices in it
• Let the spices start to crackle and release the scent at which point the ginger and garlic pastes need to be added. Let it cook for 3 mins.
• Add the mutton pieces along with the marinade at this point.Shower the powdered spices (excepting the garam masala, which needs to be added at the end)
• Taste the salt amount and add if required.
• Stir and roast thoroughly for 20-25 mins under medium high heat. Gradually the meat will acquire a reddish colour from the Kashmiri Mirch Masala.
• Turn the heat to low and here from the heat will continue to remain low till the mutton is done.
• Add the fried onion paste into the curry and the whisked curd. Let it cook on the sim till the moisture has evaporated.
• From here on, add some(100 ml) warm water into the curry. Cover it with a lid and let it cook. Check the water levels every 15 mins and give the curry a light stir so that the spices dont settle at the bottom of the pan.Repeat this process till the mutton has become soft and buttery.  It should require around 1.5 hours for the mutton so soft and tender that it melts in the mouth.
• Add the remaining ghee and garam masala powder at the end.

The mutton should have a thick red gravy with a flavour of garlic and the spices and the ribs should stand out in it. Its a revelation if cooked correctly I daresay!
Serve with ghee smeared paranthas.