December 22, 2006

Erachi Curry/ Mutton Curry


This can be made with mutton or beef as preferred.
Cooking time:3/4hr to 1 hr
You'll need: Serves 4-5
Beef or Muttton -1/2 lb or 250 gm
Onions - 2 large, thinly sliced
Small Green chilies -4
Ginger -1 ½ inch
Garlic -6 cloves
Tomato – 1-2
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Roasted Coriander powder – 2 tbsp
Paprika or Kashmiri Chili Powder- 1 ½ tsp
Red Chili powder -1 tsp
Fennel powder -1 tsp
Cinnamon- 2 inch piece
Cloves-3
Curry leaves, coriander leaves - A handful of each, washed and chopped
Any oil – 2-3 tbsp
Salt to taste

Preparation:
1. Clean and cut the beef or mutton into small pieces. If using mutton, wash it again with 2 tbsp lemon juice to get rid of smells.
2. Slice the onions, chilies and tomatoes finely. Grind ginger, fennel seeds and garlic into a paste. Mix half the dry chili powder and turmeric with the meat and keep aside for a while.
3. Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pan or cooker and fry the cinnamon, cloves and onions on medium heat. Add the green chilies and curry leaves and stir for a minute. Fry till the onions wilt and start turning brown at the edges. This would take about 8-10 minutes. Now add the ground paste and sauté it till the aroma comes from the ginger and garlic. Add the spice powders and the meat and sauté on medium heat for at least 10-12 minutes. This is crucial as this is the time for the spices to get cooked.
4. When all the water is gone from the meat and it starts looking brown, add the tomatoes, and 1 1/2 cup water. Add the salt, taste the spice level and raise the heat. When the liquid boils, cover and cook for 30-40 minutes on very low heat. At this point, you could pressure cook it for just 2 whistles. Take care not to keep stirring in this time. When you agitate it by stirring and tasting, the oil in it will get emulsified and will not rise to the top. Then the texture and the taste of the curry will not come out clear.
5. Check to see if the meat is cooked only after at least 20 minutes. If more quantity of meat is being cooked, more time will be taken, so be patient or use a pressure cooker. When the meat is cooked, add the chopped coriander leaves and check seasoning.
6. If you plan to add potatoes, be careful not to overcook it as it breaks down and makes the curry pasty very fast if it is not watched carefully. Add it in the last 5- 10 minutes of cooking only.
This is my contribution to Feed a Hungry Child campaign - group book project! Hosted by My Dhabha. It is intended to raise the funds for FAHC campaign by a voluntary ‘Group Book Project’ at My Dhaba where food lovers from all around the world participate and contribute to the finished product which is going to be intriguing treasuries of original traditional home cooking recipes.
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37 comments:

LERA said...

Shaheen ,Lovely picture! Happy Holidays to you!!

Bong Mom said...

Gorgeous meat curry. Happy Holidays

FH said...

Excellent and very bright picture!Looks mouthwatering.I will try when I come back.

Have a wonderful New Year Behana!Wish you lots of love and happiness for you for the coming year.

Sri said...

Shaheen...Super!!! That bowl of erachi is sooo delicious and tempting. My hubby loves mutton curry....he is the one who cooks them too..will try your version...Thank You for the recipe.
Happy Holidays to you!!!

Anonymous said...

Looks great shaheen!
Happy holidays.

GBES said...

Hi Shaheen

Your Malabar Erachi Curry looks yummy.

I will treating my friends this weekend with this curry.

Thanks

Venu

Lakshmi said...

wow Shaheen, the picture looks so perfect that i just wanna have a bite of your curry.

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Oh boy does that look good. Certainly one to try out. Shaheen, wish you happy hols, sweetie!

Shah cooks said...

Happy hols to u to Lera!!

Sandeepa, do try and let me know! Happy hols!

Asha, Naye saal ke shubh ashamsaayen.. chalo gale lag jao!!Happy Hols!

Sri, why don't u try and surprise ur hubs?Happy Hols!

Venu, do try . I hope u like it.

indosungod said...

Shaheen a warming curry for the winter time. Looks delicious.

Nabeela said...

Oh Shaheen I'm sorry I didn't see your question in the other post. yes, I played the game...and its awesome!!! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it! Its totally worth the price..and surprisingly they shipped the game within two days while the books I ordered on Amazon two weeks ago(!!!)are still to come!

Nabeela said...

P.S: The meat curry looks good :)

Unknown said...

Wow..looks delicious..perfect picture shaheen..will try soon..
Wishing you Happy and prosperous new year!!!

Anonymous said...

Shaheen, yummy curry!
lovely picture.

Happy Holidays
-JJ

Anonymous said...

YUMMM ! The Erachi Curry looks thick and delicious Shaheen !

Happy Holidays !

sra said...

Hello Shaheen, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to you and family!

Shah cooks said...

Lakshmi, go ahead and have a bite.:)

Meeta, Happy hols to u too!!Hope you have a relaxing weekend!

Indo, u are right abt that. The curry is a heat generating one.

Ok Nabee, i think I will get the game.

Maheshwari,Sra, Priya,Just for fun, Thanks and have a wonderful holiday season!

Sri said...

Hello Shaheen,I used White kabuli chana for the chole..let me know how it turn out. And I am gonna suprise him with your erachi curry tomorrow.Thanks for the recipe once again.

Mamatha said...

Shaheen,
That looks ABSOLUTELY yummy!!!

Happy Holidays and Eid Mubarak in advance.

Anh said...

Shaheen, the curry looks so yummy. I intend to make Kerala Lamb but still haven't gathered enough confidence to make it yet. But I love Indian curry so will try soon!

Anonymous said...

hi shaen,
back from our trip. had a nice trip.
can c u hav cooked up some yummies last week. thanks for pasta recipe.
at my place in traditional irachicurries fried and ground coconut is a must. i'am surprised none of urs hav that....

and today i made ur ullichammandi for kappa. i loved it.convey my thanx to sherin.
and what time does it becom dark there?
lov
ki
merry x mas to u all

Shah cooks said...

Ki,good to see u back! sorely missed u. No fried and ground coconut at all in our meat curries.when i was younger, my mom would add that to this curry in the end as i hated seeing the oil floating up.But mostly our curries are either this way or with coconut milk.

Gattina Cheung said...

Shaheen,
your beautiful erachi curry reminds me the one we had in Singapore, prepared by a very nice Indian mother. My husband's been remembering that wonderful taste ever since! I sure will come back to ask you more questions when I plan to cook it (actually even don't know how to choose the meat).
I got your lovely season's greeting, you too, have a great holiday my friend!

Revathi said...

I was visiting ur blog and waiting for a authentic recipe after the chinese chiken and the pasta and u did not fail to impress me again !!!true military hotel food !!! Have a great new year !!

Anonymous said...

hey shaheen.. oopsie didn't see your question on the previous post.OH yes! i did try out the fennel sphagetti that nite and will tell ya, excellent!
Well this erachi curry reminds me of my mom.:( miss my mom. and my hubby's favourite too. This is exactly how we make too. (I guess this is one of those typical malabar recipee. Lovely picture shaheen :)

Sunitha said...

Hello Shaheen,
It seems really great. I am going to try it this week.Thanks for the wonderful recipe

SCS said...

Wow, this looks and sounds exactly like the curry my mom makes. I'm going to try to make it this weekend for a potluck dinner. Thanks!!

mr boots said...

Hi there, this recipe looks amazing
Is there a particular cut of beef ( stewing steak etc ) that works better than others?

Shah cooks said...

Mr.Boots, stewing beef is good or any beef with a bit of fat and bones is good for this curry. Round roast won't work as well coz its too lean

mr boots said...

Hi there great recipe, tried it out and tasted wonderful! Couple of questions. My local restaurant in Nottingham does a Lamb version of this. I presume I could just substitute the meat? Also the gravy was a little thin in my first attempt. Too much water? I used a cup and a half ( about 12 floz ) that right. If so any suggestions?

mallugirl said...

mr.boots,glad u liked it. u could substitute lamb or mutton for it and it would actually taste better. the gravy is thinner probably due to the cut of the meat..some meat doesn't have any fat in it and they stay seperate from the gravy.try reducing water or add a bit of tomato paste instead of all tomatoes.

Anjana said...

Shaheen,
I made this recipe the past weekend and it turned out great! I didn't stir the curry too much and the oil separated just like you said it would - thanks. :-)

Unknown said...

I am a regular visitor of your blog.I made this curry and it came out really good.Thanks for the recipe.

Anonymous said...

yum yum.....tried it..hubby loved it..thnx..keep up the great work !!!

mallugirl said...

muslim for life, glad to know you liked it!!let me know if u made any modifications!

Shifa Firoz said...

i made mutton after a long time and i followed ur recipe exactly.. it came out great! :)

Unknown said...

Tried it and LOVED it. Thanks for the recipe :)