Mutton Curry made with mustard oil and potato is a spicy and lip smacking curry from the state of Odisha where goat meat called Khasi Mansa is slow cooked with Wet ground masala until the meat is juicy and tender. Mutton Curry has always played a significant role in odia non veg platter in defining ones status in the society. This can be clearly seen in any odia marriages where mutton finds its place on top of the menu.
The most important element in this recipe is the #meat and my #sunday memories association with this. Growing up as a child I along with my 3 other siblings would wait for #sundaymornings when Bapa ( as we call our father) would pick up this jute bag meant only to fetch non veg items and start for the market to bring Khasi mansa (goat meat) as he doesnot trust anyone when it comes to choosing the best goat meat for Mansa Tarkari . My mother would then clean and apply turmeric, salt and generous amount of mustard oil to it and my father would cook this meat along with the bata masala( stone grind wet masala) made by Maa . Sunday is the only day when we saw Bapa cooking along with Maa in the kitchen. After my father would finish cooking , we would be served this Mutton Curry in a particular fashion where all would get 2 big pieces of potato in our curry along with the mutton pieces.
We were never allowed to visit a meat market in our childhood , I am yet to master the art of picking the best meat for our mansa tarkari (goat meat curry) even today. Thats the reason why you donot see much meat post in my feed. Even after marriage, my father-in-law would bring the mansa from one of his trusted vendor in Sahidnagar and not from anyone else. Now both my father and father in law is no more and my lack of knowledge in picking up the best meat would restrict me not to cook this often. But this sunday my mother was fondly telling me about how mutton plays a significant role in keeping the families tied with an invisible bond and thanks to @meat.wa , who delivers quality mutton and other meat products to home on short notice in bhubaneswar , I could make my father’s special Mutton Curry (Mansa Tarkari as we call it in Odia) cooked in Mustard oil for our lunch .
Traditionally mutton is cooked in earthen pots (Mati Handi) or aluminium vessels later on , I learnt this method of cooking mutton in a pressure cooker from my mother-in-law . The cooking time reduces a lot making it convenient to cook on working days also. Though the basic preparation of mutton remains the same , every household adopts it as per their taste and make it. In my maternal side, tomatoes are not used in mutton curry where as my inlaws side they use tomatoes in their mutton curry. My mother use bata masala where as my MIL would use powder masala and both have their own distinct taste. So whats your family secret masala in preparing mutton curry, do Share in comments.
How to make Mansa Tarkari (Mutton Curry) Odia Style?
- 500 gms nice & tender mutton
- 4 Medium Sized Potato Cut Into Halves, with skin, fried till brown * 2tbsp green papaya paste
- 1/4 cup mustard oil for cooking
- 1 medium onion sliced
- Wet masala known as Bata masala( 2 medium sized onions,Garlic 8 -10 Cloves,Ginger 1 ½ inch,1 tbsp coriander seeds,1/2 tbsp cumin seeds,4 dry red chilies)
- 1 tsp Garam Masala made of cinnamon, green cardamom and cloves
- Salt
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- Whole spices(1 Bay Leaf,1 black cardamom,2 green Cardamom , 2 to 3 black pepper, 3 cloves and 1/2 inch cinnamon)
- 1/2 tsp Sugar
- 1/4 tsp phutana
- For Marinating
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder , 1 ½ tsp Salt, 2 tbsp papaya paste and 2 tbsp mustard oil for 1 hour
- Method:
- Heat up a pressure cooker or any heavy bottom Pan, Add 2 tbsp mustard oil and Shallow fry the potatoes till they turn golden brown and Keep aside.
- Heat rest of the mustard oil and add sugar to it and once it starts to caramelise , add whole apices and phutana , once it starts to splutter add the bata masala paste prepared along with turmeric powder.
- Saute on medium flame with little water in between to avoid burning of the masala till the oil starts to come out of the masala.
- Now add the marinated mutton at this point and Fry on medium heat with the lid loosely covered till the oil stars to separate . Add fried potatoes and 2 cups of warm water for a medium thick gravy and you can adjust as per your choice of gravy.
- Close the pressure cooker lid and Cook on medium heat for 1 whistle and then cook on low heat for about 10 to 15 mts .
- Open the pressure cooker only after it cools down on its own.Check the tenderness of the mutton. Add 1 tsp of garam masala and cover it till you serve .
- If you like you can add chopped coriander leaves before serving along with some hot steamed rice and cucumbers tomato onion salad with yogurt by side.
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