Mutton Dak Bungalow is prepared with an aromatic blend of specific spices. Another striking feature of this dish is the use of potatoes in the thick mutton gravy.
In Bengali, ‘Dak’ means mail and ‘Bungalow’ used to mean government buildings along the main roads.
The dish got its funny name from the fact that it used to be prepared in dak bungalows.
The dish is spicy and flavourful but not very hot. In fact, you will love its subtle sweetness that comes from onions.
Key Takeaways:
- Mutton Dak Bungalow is a flavorful dish made with a blend of specific spices and potatoes in a thick mutton gravy.
- The dish is not very hot but has a subtle sweetness from onions.
- Dak Bungalows were government buildings and resting places for travelers during the colonial times, and the dish is named after them.
- The recipe includes marinating the mutton, frying potatoes and eggs, and cooking the mutton with spices until tender.
- Mutton Dak Bungalow can be served with accompaniments like paratha, steamed rice, pulao, or bread to enhance the meal. It is spicy, savory, tangy, and fragrant, appealing to meat lovers.
The Ingredients:
- Mutton: 500 gms (cut and cleaned)
- Curd: 2 tablespoons (Properly Whisked)
- Ginger-Garlic Paste: 1-inch ginger and 2 Big Size Garlic Cloves
- Potatoes: 5 (Properly Peeled and Washed)
- Eggs: 4 Boiled
- Onions: 3 (Sliced)
- Turmeric: 1 tablespoon
- Red Chilli Powder: 1 tablespoon
- Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder: 1 tablespoon
- Mustard Oil: 3 tablespoons
- Salt to Taste
Whole Spices:
- Dry Chillies: 2
- Cinnamon: 1 Stick
- Green Cardamoms: 6
- Black Cardamom: 1
- Cloves: 4
- Bay Leaf: 1
- Black Pepper: 15-18
- Whole Coriander Seeds: 1 spoon
- Whole Cumin Seeds: ½ tablespoon
- Nutmeg
- Mace
How to Cook Mutton Dak Bungalow (Step by Step Images)?
1. Add curd, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, 2tbl tablespoons of mustard oil and salt to the mutton.
2. Mix everything, cover the marinated mutton, and leave it for half an hour. Proper marination is important so that flavours of spices penetrate mutton pieces.
3. Dry roast the whole spices and grind them to make a fine and distinctly flavourful blend.
4. Put a cooking pan on the gas stove to heat up.
5. Add oil to the pan and fry the whole potatoes. Make sure the potatoes are forked at different places so that salt easily gets into them.
6. After the potatoes turn red on both sides, take them out of the pan.
7. Now fry the boiled eggs in oil and take them out in a pan.
8. Pour more oil (if needed) into the pan.
9. As soon as the oil is heated up, add onion and fry it until it gets brown.
10. Add marinated mutton to the pan.
11. Mix well in the pan and place a lid on the pan. Make sure to cook the dish on a high flame.
12. After a few minutes, remove the lid and add 1 tablespoon of roasted spices.
13. Mix well and place the lid once again. You don’t need to add water at this stage as marinated mutton will release enough water.
14. Wait for 10-15 minutes and remove the lid. Mutton has already started releasing oil and gravy is getting thick, which means it’s time to turn off the oven.
15. Transfer the mutton into a pressure cooker and pour hot water (as per your requirement) into the cooker.
16. Pressure cook the mutton until meat is enough tender (2-3 whistles).
17. Open the pressure cooker carefully and let the steam go out completely.
18. Add fried potatoes, stir well and cook for a few minutes (3 whistles).
19. Turn off the flame. Carefully open the lid.
20. Retransfer the Button Dak Bungalow to the cooking pan.
21. After the gravy comes to a boil, add fried boiled eggs and give a good stir. Place the lid and let it cook for 5 minutes.
22. Remove the lid and add roasted spices for final flavor and stir.
23. Mutton Dak Bungalow is ready
Pro Tips for Mutton Dak Bungalow
There are pro tips or tricks that actually involve cooking Mutton Dak Bungalow to make the dish perfect, enhanced, and flawless.
Choose the right cut of meat: Select the right portion of meat. It will be best if you choose the leg or shoulder of the goat.
Marination: Marination is highly important when it comes to mutton. Marinate the mutton with lemon juice, ginger-garlic, curd, and selective spices. Make sure it is kept for at least 2 hours or overnight for the best result. Always keep it in the freezer; otherwise, it will start to diminish in quality.
Usage of aromatic spices: Spices like dry red chili, whole coriander, cumin, cloves, etc., are roasted, crushed, and used to intensify the flavors and richness of the whole recipe.
Adding onions: Caramelization of the onions is highly necessary. Saute a generous amount of onion to achieve the flavor, texture, and depth of the dish, which is mandatory.
Adjusting the heat: You can add spice as per your choice. That means the number of whole chilies or chili powder depends on your preferred taste in heat.
Garnishing: In Mutton Dak Bungalow, there is no need for anything to garnish other than boiled eggs and a fried potato.
Just remember, every time to check the taste for seasoning and tenderness of the mutton, whether it is cooked properly or not.
What to Serve with Mutton Dak Bungalow?
There are many accompaniments that complement the taste and flavor of Mutton Dak Bungalow. It adds balance to the whole meal and takes it to the next level.
Paratha or Luchi: One of the popular choices for Mutton Dak Bungalow is paratha, which is flaky flatbread, and luchi, which is a deep-fried puffed bread. Thegravy is scooped up by these two soft breads, adding an extraordinary flavor. If the paratha is made with “ghee” or fortified butter, it takes the taste to the next level.
Steamed Rice: One of the versatile options for Mutton Dak Bungalow is plain and simple steamed rice. The piping hot mutton, when mixed with fine grains of fluffy rice, makes it highly flavorful and savory.
Pulao: When fragrant basmati rice is cooked with aromatic spices, cashews, nuts, and raisins, it becomes a royal dish served occasionally. This pulao, when paired up with Mutton Dak Bungalow, makes the whole meal complementary to each other.
Bread or naan or roti: Mutton Dak Bungalow recipe is from the British era. During that time, bakery breads were much more prevalent. The bread acts like a sponge, which draws the curry inside it and makes it savory. Indian breads like roti and naan also offer a similar taste when accompanied by the mutton pieces or curried potatoes or the cooked-along egg.
You have all the privilege to add the accompaniments as per your choice to bring variation to the entire meal.
How Does Mutton Dak Bungalow Taste?
Mutton Dak Bungalow has many types of flavors and tastes, which can be best described as:
Spiciness: Mutton Dak Bungalow is full of spicy flavor. Here, the use of spices like turmeric, red chili powder, and aromatic spices raises the heat of the entire recipe. Though you can reduce or accelerate the spiciness as per your preferences.
Savory: Mutton Dak Bungalow has a savory taste as the seared meat meets the caramelized onions along with the spices, creating a warm and deep flavorful taste of its own.
Tangy: Though you will not feel high levels of tanginess in Mutton Dak Bungalow, there is always a hint of tangy curd taste. This adds richness and spices in a balanced way.
Umami: In Mutton Dak Bungalow, you will feel the meaty flavor as the cooking process intensifies the spiciness along with the tenderness of the meat. The eggs here also enhance the overall taste.
Fragrant: Mutton Dak Bungalow is a highly fragrant dish. The aromatic spices like cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, etc., spread warmth with their aroma, accelerating the sensory experience of the entire dish.
Overall, Mutton Dak Bungalow is a combination of spiciness, fragrance, a twist of tanginess, and full of umami flavors, creating an outstanding aroma for all the meat lovers.
Mutton Dak Bungalow Alternatives
Bengali Style Mutton Curry: Bengali style mutton curry is simply an authentic and traditional dish of Bengal, which is seared in spices. This recipe involves a slow cooking procedure known for its spiciness, richness, and aromatic flavors.
Railway Mutton Curry: During the British Raj, there was a traditional mutton curry that originated in railway kitchens. The mutton curry is cooked with regular spices, ginger, garlic, and onions. It is cooked in an old-fashioned way with the available ingredients.
Mutton Rogan Josh: This is a Kashmiri dish with a highly flavorful and aromatic gravy. It is made with aromatic ingredients, yogurt, garlic, ginger, and Kashmiri red chili powder in a slow-cooked process.
Mutton Do Pyaza: Mutton Do Pyaza is an elite North Indian dish where “do” means double and “Pyaza” stands for onion. It is made with a generous amount of onions and selective spices.
Mutton Korma: Mutton Korma is a royal dish that involves tenderly cooked mutton in an aromatic and creamy gravy. This dish requires the mutton to be cooked with a variety of spices, along with onion, ginger, garlic, and yogurt, to make it a rich and flavorful dish.
Why is It Called Mutton Dak Bungalow?
The Dak Bungalows used to be resting places for the travelers apart from functioning as the post office during the colonial times.
In Bengali, ‘Dak’ means mail and ‘Bungalow’ used to mean government buildings along the main roads.
These dak bungalows were used to be taken care of by a guard (darwan) or house-steward (Khansamah) who used to prepare meals for the travelers who stayed there.
The dish got its funny name from the fact that it used to be prepared in dak bungalows.
There is a wider variety of Mutton Dak Bungalows, depending on the location of the bungalow and availability of ingredients.
Recipe Card
Mutton Dak Bungalow
Ingredients
- 500 grams Mutton (cut and cleaned properly)
- 2 tablespoons Curd
- 5 pieces Potatoes (peeled and cleaned properly)
- 4 pieces Eggs (boiled)
- 3 pieces Onions (sliced thinly)
- 1 tablespoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 tablespoon Red Chili Powder
- 1 tablespoon Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- 3 tablespoon Mustard Oil
- Salt to Taste
Whole Spices:
- 2 pieces Dry Chilies
- 1 piece Cinnamon
- 6 pieces Green Cardamom
- 1 piece Black Cardamom
- 4 pieces Cloves
- 1 piece Bay Leaf
- 15 pieces Black Pepper
- 1 tablespoon Whole Coriander Seeds
- ½ tablespoon Whole Cumin Seeds
- ¼ piece Nutmeg
- ¼ piece Mace
For Paste:
- 1 inch Ginger
- 2 pieces Garlic
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine mutton with curd, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, 2 tablespoons of mustard oil, and salt.
- Mix everything well, ensuring the mutton is evenly coated. Cover the bowl and let the mutton marinate for at least half an hour. This step allows the flavors of the spices to penetrate the meat.
- Dry roast the whole spices until fragrant, then grind them into a fine and flavorful blend. Set aside.
- Heat a cooking pan on the stove over medium heat and add oil. Fry the whole potatoes, ensuring they are forked at different places to allow salt to penetrate. Cook the potatoes until they turn golden brown on both sides. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, fry the boiled eggs until they develop a light golden color. Transfer the eggs to a separate dish.
- If needed, add more oil to the pan. Once the oil is heated, add onions and fry them until they turn brown.
- Add the marinated mutton to the pan and mix well. Cook the dish on high heat, stirring occasionally.
- After a few minutes, remove the lid and add 1 tablespoon of the roasted spice blend. Mix well and cover the pan again. No water is needed at this stage, as the marinated mutton will release enough moisture.
- Allow the dish to cook for 10-15 minutes, then remove the lid. The mutton will start releasing oil, and the gravy will thicken. This indicates that it's time to turn off the heat.
- Transfer the mutton to a pressure cooker and add hot water as required. Pressure cook the mutton until it reaches the desired tenderness (2-3 whistles).
- Carefully open the pressure cooker and let the steam escape completely.
- Add the fried potatoes to the mutton and stir well. Cook for a few more minutes under pressure (3 whistles).
- Turn off the flame and carefully open the lid.
- Transfer the cooked Mutton Dak Bungalow back to the cooking pan.
- Once the gravy comes to a boil, add the fried boiled eggs and stir gently. Cover the pan and let it cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid and add the remaining roasted spice blend for a final burst of flavor. Stir well to incorporate the spices.
- Mutton Dak Bungalow is now ready to be served.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Info (Estimation Only)
Conclusion
Mutton Dak Bungalow is a rich mutton dish that is highly flavorful and perfectly slow-cooked.
By following the aforementioned pro-tips, you can elevate the dish and ensure a delightful outcome.
You can serve it with roti, steamed rice, naan, paratha, or even your favorite bread, accelerating the pleasure of this delightful and highly flavourful Mutton Dak Bungalow.
