I remember how it used to be for me and my family at every Sunday lunch. It simply means the fragrance of mutton, mustard oil and whole spices sizzling away in a culinary pot. Bengali Style Mutton Curry is always my mother’s specialty that I can’t seem to get enough of in our home. It perfectly represents a traditional Sunday meal in our house when there are no fancy restaurant-style gravies. The trick is to allow patience to do its work while frying the onions, and let the mutton’s juices evaporate, and finish it with a pinch of nutmeg and garam masala. It is a simple recipe and every bit I prepare disappears instantly.
The Basics:
- Bengali-style mutton curry involves slow-cooking tender mutton with aromatic spices.
- It is a very popular Bengali comfort food.
- Mustard oil gives this curry a deep, earthy, punchy flavor.
- Bengali-style mutton curry is traditionally served with steamed rice, roti or paratha.
- From marination to pressure cooking, I usually spend close to two hours on this.
- Substitutes of this dish can be mutton rogan josh, Chettinad mutton curry or mutton kosha, which I feel are a bit heavier on the spice load, though the base technique is quite similar.
The Ingredients:
- Mutton: 1 kg Cut into Chunky Pieces
- Onion: 5 (Sliced)
- 4 Medium Sized Potatoes (Cut them into halves and shallow fried)
- Ginger-Garlic Paste Made with 2-Inch Ginger & 3 Big Size Cloves of Garlic
- Turmeric Powder: 1 tbsp
- Red Chilli Powder: 1 tbsp
- Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder: 1 tbsp
- Coriander Powder: 1 tbsp
- Cumin Powder: ½ tbsp
- Cumin Seeds: ½ tbsp
- Cloves: 2 pieces
- Green Cardamom: 5 Pieces
- Cinnamon Stick: 3
- Pepper: 10-15
- Bay Leaves: 2
- Half Nutmeg
- Homemade Garam Masala (Prepared with whole cumin seeds, coriander seeds and two pieces of green cardamom)
- Mustard Oil 3 tbsp
- Salt to Taste
How to Cook Bengali Style Mutton Curry (Step by Step Images)?
1. Marinate the mutton pieces with ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt, and 1 tbsp of mustard oil. Leave it for half an hour.
(Pro tip: Longer the marination time, the better is the absorption of spices).
2. Put a pan on the stove and switch it on. Pour oil into the pan.
3. Once the oil gets hot, add sliced onions to the pan and continue stirring.
4. Add ‘whole spices for flavoring’ (except nutmeg) to the pan and continue stirring. Fry the onions until the color changes to brown.
5. Add the mutton and mix well with the fried onions and whole spices. Place a lid on the pan. Reduce the flame and allow the meat to cook for a few minutes.
6. Open the lid, stir, and place the lid back on.
(Pro tip: I make it a point to stir gently rather than vigorously here. Aggressive stirring at this stage tends to break the mutton pieces apart).
7. You need to remove the lid and stir the mutton every few minutes to avoid burning at the bottom. You don’t need to add water at this stage as the mutton will release water. As soon as the mutton starts getting tender, it will release oil.
8. Now it is time to switch off the stove and transfer the curry to a pressure cooker. You can continue cooking in the pan, but it will take a long time as the dish is done in a slow cooking method.
9. Add some hot water to the cooker. Pressure cook the mutton on low heat until it is done. Usually, it will take just half an hour or five whistles to prepare the dish in the pressure cooker.
10. Open the lid and add fried potatoes to the curry. Cover the cooker and pressure cook again. Turn off the stove after two whistles.
11. Transfer the mutton curry to the pan. Cover the lid and let the curry simmer. Give a final touch by adding nutmeg powder and homemade garam masala. Bengali Style Mutton Curry is ready. Serve it with steamed rice, Bengali pulao, luchi, parathas, or pulao.
Be Creative
- I sometimes skip the potatoes and enjoy mutton on its own.
- I use paprika sometimes instead of Kashmiri chili powder. It does not affect the taste or color.
- I sometimes add a tablespoon of yogurt when marinating the meat to tenderize the mutton further.
- If I want it drier and like kosha mangsho, I reduce the amount of water.
- I have also tried cooking it dum style, sealing the pot with dough, and the aroma that comes out when I open the pot is worth the effort.
- Sometimes I skip the pressure cooker and just cook the mutton on the stove. It takes longer but is worth it.
Bengali Style Mutton Curry Recipe Fail-Proof Tips
Q: The onions started to burn instead of getting a golden hue. What should I do now?
A: I would reduce the flame when I notice them getting brown in step 4.
Q: The mutton is still hard even after pressure cooking. Is there a way to make it tender?
A: Yes. Let the mutton cook for a few more whistles in step 9.
Q: I forgot to shallow fry the potatoes before adding them in the recipe. Is it salvageable?
A: Add directly in step 10. The curry however will taste little mushy.
Q: The curry tastes too spicy. Is there a way to remedy it?
A: I would usually add bit more hot water in step 11.
Q: The gravy looks oily. Did I err somewhere?
A: No, it is supposed to look that way. In fact, I would rather be satisfied that the masala has cooked well to the desired consistency.
Q: The nutmeg aroma was too strong. Can I do something about it?
A: Add half the quantity next time in step 11.
Recipe Card
Bengali Style Mutton Curry
Ingredients
- 1 kg Mutton (cut and cleaned properly)
- 5 pieces Onion (sliced)
- 4 pieces Medium Sized Potatoes (cut into halves and shallow fried)
- 1 tablespoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 tablespoon Red Chilli Powder
- 1 tablespoon Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1 tablespoon Coriander Powder
- ½ tablespoon Cumin Powder
- ½ tablespoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 pieces Cloves
- 5 pieces Green Cardamom
- 3 pieces Cinnamon Stick
- 10 pieces Black Pepper
- 2 pieces Bay Leaves
- ½ piece Nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon Homemade Garam Masala (prepared with whole cumin seeds, coriander seeds and two pieces of green cardamom)
- 3 tablespoons Mustard Oil
- Salt to Taste
For Ginger Garlic Paste
- 2 inch Ginger
- 3 tablespoons Garlic
Instructions
- Marinate the mutton pieces with ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chili powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt, and 1 tbsp of mustard oil. Leave it for half an hour. (Pro tip: Longer the marination time, the better is the absorption of spices).
- Put a kadai on the stove and switch it on. Pour oil into it.
- Once the oil gets hot, add sliced onions and continue stirring.
- Add ‘whole spices for flavoring’ (except nutmeg) and continue stirring. Fry the onions until the color changes to brown.
- Add the mutton and mix well with the fried onions and whole spices. Place a lid. Reduce the flame and allow the meat to cook for a few minutes.
- Open the lid, stir, and place the lid back on. (Pro tip: I make it a point to stir gently rather than vigorously here. Aggressive stirring at this stage tends to break the mutton pieces apart).
- You need to remove the lid and stir the mutton every few minutes to avoid burning at the bottom. You don’t need to add water at this stage as the mutton will release water. As soon as the mutton starts getting tender, it will release oil.
- Now it is time to switch off the stove and transfer the curry to a pressure cooker. You can continue cooking in the kadai, but it will take a long time as the dish is done in a slow cooking method.
- Add some hot water to the cooker. Pressure cook the mutton on low heat until it is done. Usually, it will take just half an hour or five whistles to prepare the dish in the pressure cooker.
- Open the lid and add fried potatoes to the curry. Cover the cooker and pressure cook again. Turn off the stove after two whistles.
- Transfer the mutton curry to the kadai. Cover the lid and let the curry simmer. Give a final touch by adding nutmeg powder and homemade garam masala. Bengali Style Mutton Curry is ready.
