Sunday, September 26, 2010

Waltzing to Mutton Rezala

The mutton trip continues. This time to the delicately-infused, silken taste of Mutton Rezala. Now, I am pretty fuzzy about the origin and history of this dish. Absolutely unsure if it has Mughlai or a North Indian roots. Or Bengali. Guessing by the way it is eaten with a lot of gusto by pandal-hopping Bengalis during Durga Puja. That reminds me to check with you if you have sent your entries for Beyond Five Days of Durga Puja?

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The aromatic Mutton Rezala does not let me drift much and I am back to writing how I made this great, Indian mutton dish.

I did the marinating last night. I had almost forgotten to add the pureed onions and then a few minutes into a Skype chat with Mum to re-check on the recipe and I realized my culinary boo-boo.

Ingredients for Mutton Rezala are:

IMG_1668 1 kg goat meat, bone in, cut into two inch pieces, as usual I opted for the shoulder portion of a baby goat
1 large red onion, pureed
1 cup plain yogurt (Balkan style)
5-6 fat cloves of garlic
A thumb-size piece of root ginger
10-12 cashew nuts
1 tablespoon poppy seeds/posto
2+2 green and black cardamoms
1 inch stick of cinnamon
Half teaspoon mace powder
1 tablespoon pepper powder
10-12 whole dry red chilies
3-4 green chilies, slit
2 tablespoons milk (you can use warm water too)
Few strands of saffron
Few drops of kewra
Quarter cup heavy cream
Half teaspoon sugar
Salt
Ghee

Wet grind together ginger, garlic, cashew nuts, poppy seeds, and cardamoms. Marinade the meat with yogurt, pureed onion, all of the wet masala, mace powder, sugar, and salt for about eight hours or overnight.

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Heat the ghee – about 2-3 tablespoons in a pressure cooker. Add the stick of cinnamon. Immediately add the pieces of mutton, shaking the marinade off. Mix well. If you are worried that the yogurt from the marinade will curdle on contact with the heat, turn the gas mark to the lowest and gradually crank it up.

IMG_1679 Slowly add the leftover marinade and mix well. Add the whole dry red chilies and pepper powder and cook covered for 30-40 minutes or pressure cook till 3-4 whistles go off. (Depending on the meat.)

IMG_1680 While the meat is being cooked, dissolve some strands of saffron in warm milk and keep covered.

Once the pressure has released and the meat has become tender, add the dissolved saffron and few drops of kewra. Cook on high for 5-7 minutes to infuse the flavor of saffron and kewra into the meat.

The flavor of Kewra is the hallmark in Mutton Rezala and it is important you add it. Check the seasoning now and add salt if necessary.

IMG_1682 Finish the Mutton Rezala with some slit green chilies and a little drizzle of heavy / whipping cream.

IMG_1686IMG_1692 My Mother would have served the Mutton Rezala with some Lachcha Parathas, just like during Durga Puja. But I am the lazy one, I chose to serve it with Naan. And no, I did not make them.

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19 comments:

Satya said...

mutton rezala looks very delicious ..heard a lot about this dish ...yummy ...
hey dear i want to be a part of ur contest as i want to sharing alot of childhood memories regarding the celebration but unfortunately i don't have a any pic ..so can i be the part of ur event ??

Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

PreeOccupied said...

Of course Satya! Sometimes its best to read something and paint your own pictures, no?

Now get to work. :-)

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Pree
This one is wonderful Rezala. I have total 12 recipes of rezala . I am adding this one to my list and will make it , next weekend.
But I generally cook the one which is closest to the one of Sabir's of Calcutta.
Thanks for sharing
Ghosh kaku

PreeOccupied said...

Kaku, when I come to Delhi, will you make Mutton Rezala for me? All the 12 recipes? :-)

*12 Days of Mutton Rezala*. I have another event idea!

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Pree
Of course yes , any time ,come and we will cook together ....In the mean time taste the Rezala I have posted long back both Veg and non veg option.
But cant sleep without cooking the one you have posted..awesome ...
I am going to try 2 Rezala recipes of Maharaja of Sailana soon.
Bhalo theko
Kaku

GB said...

Drool. again. Now I might have to brave a trip to the neighborhood butcher for mutton. (I've been spoilt by the neatly packaged meat we get here and don't have the guts to go into the butcher shop. :-( ) sadly that is the only option....I hate the lamb we get here, the smell of fat makes me want to throw up, so I usually stick with chicken or turkey.

Now you're posting these mouth-watering recipes and I'm itching to try some...nothing like good tender mutton!

Let me think of what to put up for your event. We don't really do durga-pujo, but I might dig up a recipe or two to post. I'll send you an email soon, once I've figured out what i'm leaning toward....

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

wondeful reala Pree. ami ak bondhur kache akta recipe shikhechi....ebare baniechilam barite. ebare tomar recipe ta try korbo. byapok dekhte hoche.

Sulagna said...

This looks absolutely delicious..Ma aar didama'r haather rezala'r kotha mone pore gelo.Baniye dekhbo tomar recipe ta !!

Btw,did you get my email about the new post ?

Satrupa said...

Mutton Rezala looks absolutely delish ..... Don'y worry about where it came from. Just njoy the rich mutton curry.

Cheers n Happy Cooking,
Satrupa

http://satrupa-foodforthought.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Your recipe is making me crazy....lunch kore utheo kidhe ta arekbar peye galo.....I am gonna make it soon....achha pree tomar event e ki kobita cholbe???story lekhar cheshta korchhi..amar kachhe na aktao ei muhurte pics nei pujo related.....give me some idea.....

Priya Suresh said...

Wat a droolworthy,fingerlicking and rich looking mutton rezala..yumm!

PreeOccupied said...

@Silence Sings, yes of course. Kobitar moton shundor jinish kichu aache na ki! Bring it on girl!

Unknown said...

Thanks dear..shanti pelam....:)

MY LIFE, MY PETS said...

Pree, the Mutton Rezala sold at Shiraz & other such restaurants have a watery gravy into which one can dip the naan & eat it. What do you think would be the difference between your recipe & theirs?

PreeOccupied said...

@MY LIFE, MY PETS, I have no idea what or who Shiraz is. A Calcutta restaurant? Sorry, but I have never lived in Calcutta/WB and do not know about them. But I am sure their Mutton Rezala is good since you mention it. :-)

Sam said...

Blimey!! Just when I was looking for a rezala recipe...
Anyhoo, not really fond of mutton, so am going to substitute it with chicken.

Unknown said...

Best with tandoori roti...
Tandoori Rezala

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