Mutton Matka Gosht
A home-style recipe for Mutton Matka Gosht. Serves 4, ready in about 120 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 kg mutton with bone, in pieces
- 1 cup (250 g) yogurt, whisked
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted and crushed
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ cup ghee or oil
- 1 bay leaf, 4 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 green cardamoms
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tomatoes, sliced into rounds
Missing something?
- No beef or mutton (gosht)? Use chicken (cook for less time).
- No yogurt? Use milk with 1 tsp lemon juice, rested 10 minutes.
- No onion? Use spring onions, or a little onion powder (less depth).
- No tomato? Use 1 tbsp tomato paste per tomato, or 2 tbsp yogurt for tang.
Method
- Mix the yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, salt, chilli, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin and garam masala.
- Mix the meat with the marinade. If you have time, leave it for 4 hours, or overnight in the fridge; if not, cook it right away.
- Pour the ghee into a clay pot (matka or handi) and add the whole spices. Spread half the onions in the bottom, then half the meat, then half the tomatoes. Repeat the layers.
- Cover the pot and seal the edge of the lid with a strip of foil so no steam escapes.
- Put a tawa on the stove under the pot and cook on the lowest heat for 1½–1¾ hours, until the meat is very tender and the ghee rises. Shake the pot gently now and then; don't open it for the first hour.
- Open, stir gently, and if there is too much liquid cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Serve straight from the pot.
Tip: With beef, add ½ cup water before sealing, and cook for 2½–3 hours in step 5. Soak a new clay pot in water for a few hours before its first use so it doesn't crack. No clay pot? Use a heavy pot with a tight lid.