February 12, 2010

Mutton Stew My Style

Its Feb already and there is hardly any signs of the great winter letting up.. The schools closed in preparation for the great storm that assailed the East coast and now will open only mid next week... now at least I can sleep in on these cold cold days without gearing up to confront the icy winds seeping in from the windows. I guess I am going into hibernation, putting on more padding to keep warm as well as turning indoors to avoid battling the cold. Though once we are dressed in clothes, well, layers and layers of them, the cold is not so bad, but the body is just stiff and unbending.


Just kidding.. I love the snow  and the white beauty all around..it is so picturesque and calm..They say its a "storm"..to me storm means lightning and thunder, floods of water and general mayhem.. the Kerala Monsoons. Well, the mayhem and floods of snow are there on the roads as is evident in the news, but the glamorous sound and light show is missing and the "storm" is a day filled with an eerie unnatural silence with a steady stream of cotton candy floating down covering the roof and trees with "frosting".


I even love trudging in the snow, something thats's right outside my balcony now..its so icy when it melts into the shoes..deceptively soft...and I still marvel at all the hindi movies shot in the snow slopes, with the hero dressed warmly in heavy jackets and the poor heroine singing in a sheer chiffon sari.. Brrr..was she cold blooded?
Anyway, my DH is accusing me of being a book junkie now.can you blame me.. don't you want to be curled up in a blanket with a book? I do it any free time I get... if my little ones let me..... so I thought I should post something to regain my sanity.:) I have a ton of posts to catch up on but am too lazy.

This is a light stew that that goes well with any rice based item such as idiappam, puttu, appam or pathiri.


You Will Need:
Mutton/Goat- 1kg or 2 pound
Shallots-10-12 sliced plus 1 small onion sliced
Tomato-2 chopped into cubes
Tiny Hot Green Chilies-5-6 slit vertically
Ginger-1 inch piece
Garlic-6 US garlic(read giant ones)
Fenugreek seeds-1/2 tsp
Fennel- 1/2 tsp
Pepper- 1 tsp

Coconut milk- 2 cup thick first milk and 1-cup second milk
Curry Leaves-One sprig
Whole Spices-2 cardamon, 2 cloves, 1 piece of cinnamon bark

Preparation:
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in pressure cooker and add the whole spices and sliced onions and shallots. Reserve 4 shallots for tempering. Saute for just 2-3 minutes till the onions are transparent.

Crush the ginger and garlic into a paste. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute on medium heat. Add the tomatoes, green chilies and fry it for a minute till it starts breaking down and then add the mutton. Saute that for a minute too and then add 1 cup of the second milk. Add the fenugreek seeds and mutton. Let it come to a boil and pressure cook it for about 6-7 minutes after the first whistle.
Open and cook more if needed. The time depends on the mutton's quality.  Or cook on slow heat till the mutton is tender. Let the cooker cool and then open and add the thick coconut milk and salt. You could reduce the pressure cooking time for 2 minutes and open and add 1 or 2 white potatoes cut into big cubes into the curry. Pressure cook for only 2 minutes after the whistle after you add the potatoes..else it will break down too much. Open and adjust taste and add more milk if needed.

Tempering: Heat 2 tsp coconut oil in a pan and add the fennel seeds and curry leaves and the remaining shallots. Fry on low heat till the shallots turn brownish and then pour over the curry. Since it has coconut milk, the curry tastes best fresh and does not have too much shelf or refrigerator life.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

February here in the UK makes me want to stay at home with a good book or two! It's horrid. But I'm sure your lovely stew will cheer us up. It looks amazing. I've had, and cooked similar stews, and will definitely try this, too.

FH said...

Snow is beautiful to look as long as it is manageable. We had plenty this year and is all gone now.

Mutton stew, yum. Don't get Mutton here but bookmarked it anyway!:)

Vineetha Sush said...

Looks yummy and tempting..
Beautiful photos of snow..

indosungod said...

Lovely mutton stew. I hate the winter and everything associated with it. The snow does add a certain charm but that wears off the minute I have to step out of the house.

Geeta said...

What a great recipe for a cold day.
The aroma of the stew wafting through the house, while I curl up book in hand on the couch. The colder it gets, the more I crave dishes like this.

Bong Mom said...

How Lucky, next week. Schools reopened today in my town :( and we had to go to work too.

sra said...

Yeah, chiffon sari and pencil heels and a duet/dancing to boot! This looks lovely - I'm imagining crushing the chilli and getting at all the gravied chilli-ness inside!

AdukalaVishesham said...

first 2 days of snow is good but when it starts melting it makes so much mess.... hot and spicy mutton stew on a winter day what a perfect dish...

Myra said...

What more can we ask for,
eating a bowl full of Stew, in front of this fabulous scenery,and then just curling up in a chair with a book......
Pure bliss;" La vie et Belle" :)
yours Myra x

lan said...

i loved the mutton stew served with appams as first course for wedding receptions. i could never find that taste elsewhere. this will be one to try.

reshmi said...

here we have 13.8 inches..waiting for it to melt...thanks for the stew recipe.

Anita said...

Ummm...I have these dishes to look forward to in two weeks time! I am headed to Cochin!

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Mutton stew, oh slurrp slurrp.. looks very creamy and rich... Some rice or dosa will good!!!

http://memoryarchieved.blogspot.com

s said...

lucky u...its hot hot here in Goa...the mutton stew looks really tempting..bookmarked for later..

Shah cooks said...

Maninas, ah!! UK.. so u know the cold toe feeling.. stay warm.

Asha, i bet u had a lot of snow this yr. how did u manage the clean up?u don't get mutton there?

vineetha, where are u located? uk?

indo, i don't hate winter but sometimes come so close to that emotion..especially when my outdoor life gets limited to grocery shopping.

Shah cooks said...

geeta, i can get thru the whole winter with just soups.. not terribly healthy to drinks only soups, but at least u will stay warm!

sandeepa..lucky me!!:)) i just wish it wasn't so cold and i could do something with the kids.

sra,, u like spicy stuff!! i thot u were milder in taste.

myra, life is indeed beautiful!!:)) do u eat mutton? or else u could make this with just potato as a potato stew.

Ian, i think its to do with the fresh coconut milk used back home..and even the meat tastes different. aw!

Reshmi..13.2 and counting i guess. did u have office?it must be unusual for u to have so much snow, right?

Shah cooks said...

ramya.. hmm.. dosa with stew.. new combination for me.. but sounds good.

S, i will parcel you some snow, if you can parcel me some of Goa's sultry sunshine. i will take that anyday now!!

Miri said...

The stew is my favourite - I even made a version of it last week where I baked fish in a stew which was almost reduced to a thin sauce - heaven! This one Im going to try too - never used methi in stew