Kadai Gosht

Mutton off the wok!!!...
For a while, I have been thinking of doing something with mutton that I had never done before. Though a few ideas were floating in my mind, nothing solidified until a few days back.

I still remember, back in India, there was a little fast-food joint near our house. They used to sell a mutton-roll which was absolutely beyond this world:). The tender yet crispy meat wrapped in soft bread, the sauce, the crunchy onions – all of these together used to create such an effect on the cerebrum that taste used to be the only sense left in the body. This “zzzing…” was not an effect of just chilli peppers, instead it was the effect of some unknown combination of spices. The last bite always used to be filled with the sadness of the end of this heavenly journey. In an attempt to reproduce that “zzzing…”, I have combined certain spices, the result of which is what I have to share with you today. It is what I call “Kadai Gosht “, that is, boneless goat meat cooked with bell peppers and onions with a combination of various spices. As the name suggests, this would be cooked in a kadai or wok with very little or no water. As mentioned, this would be a drier dish where the predominant gravy-maker would be oil and spices.

Kadai Gosht/Mutton (Goat meat with bell peppers in a dry and spicy gravy)

Ingredients
• Boneless goat meat (mutton) – 1 ½ lb
• Onions- 1 ¼ cup Julienned
• Bell-peppers - green, yellow & red (2:1:1); 2 cups julienned
• Garlic- 2-3 cloves finely chopped
• Garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Ginger - ½ ” piece, finely chopped
• Shajeera (popularly known as kala jeera in the Indian stores) - ½ tsp
• Cumin powder - ½ tsp
• Coriander seeds - ½ tsp dry roasted and pounded coarsely
• Kasoori Methi – 1 tbsp (one could get this in Indian stores-it looks like dried leaves, green in color)
• Mace powder - ¼ tsp
• Cardamom seeds (ground) – ¼ tsp
• Cloves (ground) - ¼ tsp
• Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
• Red chilli flakes – ½ tsp
• Black pepper (ground) - ½ tsp
• Tomato paste - 1 tbsp
• Yogurt – ½ cup
• Turmeric – ¼ tsp
• Garam Masala - 1 pinch
• Salt to taste
• Ghee (clarified butter) - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves – ½ cup finely chopped

Method:

• Marinade the boneless pieces in a mixture of yogurt and garlic paste. Keep aside for 2 hrs.
• Heat oil in a pressure cooker and fry the marinated meat.
• Once it gets charred a little here and there, add a little salt (about ½ tsp) and enough water to cover the meat and cook through.
• Heat oil in a pan or wok. Add the shajeera in it.
• When the shajeera starts to splutter, add the onions to it and fry for 1 min.
• Add the chopped garlic followed by chopped ginger.
• Let them fry along with the onions. Make sure that the garlic does not get burnt.
• Add the tomato paste and cook till it disintegrates.
• Add in the turmeric, red chilli powder, red chilli flakes, salt and sauté briefly
• Add in the meat pieces and stir fry till they are evenly coated with the spices (about 2 min).
• Now, add the cumin powder, coriander seeds, cardamom powder, cloves powder and mace powder and mix.

• Add the bell peppers to the above mixture and fry until the point where the bell peppers are cooked but have not lost the crunch. It could take about 5 minutes.
• Now add the kasoori methi, garam masala and give it a quick stir.
• Turn off the heat and add the ghee and the coriander leaves.
• Now take it off the wok and serve with white rice or chappati or paratha or even Naan.

Notes:

1. I had used goat meat from Costco which was easy to de-bone. You may use any other variety. Also, I have heard many complaints regarding the Costco meat being too tough. Fortunately, I never had that problem yet. I guess I was just lucky. The pieces could be cut into ½” cubes. You may also use any other red meat for this dish.
2. I have mentioned about pressure cooking the meat. You may cook it by any other means. Also, in the beginning, a lot of water would surface up in the pressure cooker. Let it evaporate to enable the charring procedure of the meat.
3. Chappati, paratha and Naan are all Indian style breads. This could be served with any other bread as well.
4. Garam Masala is a combination of Cinnamon, Cardamom and Cloves. You may get this powder very commonly in Indian stores.