Aalu Gosht

 

 Wajid Ali Shah’s cooks proved the genius pairing of potatoes and meat in Awadhi biriyani. But they were by no means the first. In the 17th Century, in the last mushaira of the Mughals, cooks in the court of Shahjahanabad struck upon a meticulous pairing of potatoes and goat’s meat that suspended time and cast a spell. Aloo gosht is still made, but only a few are equal to a feat that demands dedicated insight into flavours and textures.

 It was distinguished enough to be deemed a worthy volume pairing for meat in Wajid Ali Shah’s royal kitchen-in-exile. With such patronage, the potato gained fast following among gourmands in the erstwhile Nawab’s city of refuge. Yet, Indians had and continue to have a good number of other starchy produce to choose from. Long before and well after the arrival of Solanum tuberosum, we tucked into sweet potatoes, yam, arvi, and a diverse array of other tubers and root vegetables.

I was thinking of preparing this iconic meat dish since long, but somehow, it continued to be postponed. Usually, hubby does not eat his Non-veg mixed with any vegetable. May be Mom-in-Law did not cook such mutton gravy. His Chachi used to cook aalu gosht and he was very fond of her preparation too. Now Chachi is not alive so I can't ask her recipe. I searched the internet and decided to cook this way combining two recipes and to my sheer happiness, it turned out super delicious!

 

Let's see the recipe....

Ingredients:

1. Mutton-Curry cut 1/2 Kg.. 
2. Small potatoes -3
3. Fried onion or barista-3/4 cup
4. Tomato puree-2 tbsp. or 1 small tomato chopped
5. Curd-1/2 cup
6. Ginger-garlic paste-2 tsp.
7. Whole coriander-2 tsp.
8. Poppy seeds or Khaskhas-1 tsp.
9. Desiccated coconut-1 tsp.
10. Red chilli powder-1 1/2 tsp.
11. Kashmiri or degi mirch-1 tsp.
12. Garam masala powder-1 heaped tsp.
13. Roasted cumin powder-1/2 tsp.
14. Crushed black pepper-1/4 tsp.
15. Bay leaf-2
16. Cinnamon stick-1"
17. Mace-Half blade
18. Cumin-1/2 tsp.
19. Black cardamon--2-3
20. Cloves-3
21. Shahi Jeera-1/4 tsp.
22. Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp.
23. Salt
24. Water-1 1/2 cup
25. Mustard oil-2 tbsp.
26. Refined oil- for frying potatoes and onion
27. Desi ghee-2 tsp.
28. Slit green chilies-3-4
29. Green cardamom powder-1/2 tsp.
    

Procedure:

• Peel,prick and fry potatoes till golden.
• Fry onions (about 3,Thinly sliced) to make barista, onions should not be burnt.
• Heat a tawa or pan and first dry roast whole coriander, when a nice aroma starts coming, transfer it in a plate and roast coconut and poppy seeds together.
• It would be burnt quickly, so after a couple of moments, turn off the heat, when cools down, blend roasted spices with fried onion and tomato puree.
• Heat mustard oil and when smoky hot, add bay leaf and whole spices and then add half sliced onions, when light brown, add mutton pices and stir on high heat.
• When slight brown, add ginger garlic paste and stir for couple of minutes.
• Add blended barista and powdered spices ( half garam masala, reserve half for later) and stir on low medium flame.
• After 3-4 minutes, add curd and bhuno further.
• Put the lid and pressure cook till one whistle or till your mutton is cooked.
• Depressurize and open the lid, continue cooking on slow medium flame and at this point, add fried potatoes.
• Add desi ghee and cook till masala is well fried and it separates oil.
• Add rest of garam masala and 1/2 tsp. green cardamom powder and water and again pressure cook till one whistle.
• Garnish with cut cilantro and serve with chapatis or rice.