Mutton Stew

This mutton stew is sure to keep you warm in the upcoming winter. Its got a rustic character to it because of the way the ingredients are cut. I love this stew with some freshly baked bread or Kaiser roll.

The earthy flavours of this Mutton Stew make it a household favourite of ours. I add big pieces of goat meat, whole baby potatoes and shallots and chunks of carrots for it to cook slowly and some of it to disintegrate into the liquid creating a great balance of the natural sweetness from the ingredients.

You can make this stew with chicken, but goat meat beats the chicken variation any day!

Ingredients for Mutton Stew are:

500 grams baby goat meat, cut into 4 inch pieces, fat and bone in (you can add a couple of pieces of liver too)
7-8 baby potatoes
1 large carrot, cut into big chunks
6-7 shallots or baby onions, peeled
1 medium size tomato, roughly chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons atta/whole wheat flour + extra if needed
15-20 whole black peppercorns + extra black pepper powder for seasoning
2 black cardamoms
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil
Salt

Heat the oil and the butter in a pan or pressure cooker. Add the meat pieces and sear them on both sides on high heat. Make sure you do not crowd or cover the pan, that way the meat will not sear and will start releasing moisture. The idea behind searing the meat is that it will trap all the juices and flavour right inside the meat without releasing them.

Remove the meat from the pan and keep aside. In the same oil, add the black cardamoms, bay and peppercorns. Sauté for a minute and toss in the potatoes, onion (or shallots) carrot and garlic.
Mix everything together without moving them around too much. Let them brown a bit on all sides.

Now add the atta or the whole wheat flour directly to the vegetables and lower the heat. Mix well. This will create a rue for the stew which will help to thicken it when it cooks.

Add the seared meat to the vegetables. Give it a good mix and add salt and enough water to cover all the vegetables and meat. Now add the chopped tomatoes.

Pressure cook till the meat is done. I let 3-4 whistles go off for my stew. (If the liquid of the stew is still too runny, add some more atta mixed in a little water and add to the stew.) Season with black pepper powder and serve hot with your favourite bread.

December’s Favorite – Clear Tomato Soup

December is one month we should all take advantage of Nature's bounty in baskets of red tomatoes everywhere.

But you will need only four large hothouse tomatoes for four cups of this Clear Tomato Soup. A delightful soul food I have grown up on. I don’t garnish the clear broth of tomato with croutons or elaborate herbs if I am drinking it straight from a cup, but if you do want to dress it up, I suggest herbs like fresh basil or even the humble coriander to be added only when you turn the heat off on the soup.

Ingredients for Clear Tomato Soup are:

4 large vine-ripened tomatoes, washed and quartered
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
2 beets (optional), halved
3-4 fat cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt

In a pressure cooker, toss in the tomatoes, garlic, beets, onion, pepper powder, sugar and salt. Add four-five cups of water. (I add the beets for an extra red color to my broth, if you don’t have them, omit them from your recipe.)

Cook till three-four whistles go off. Don’t rush opening the pressure cooker, let all the steam release on its own. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, cook the tomatoes in a stockpot with a tight lid on medium heat for about 20 minutes till the tomatoes are mushy.

Sieve the broth on a larger bowl, mashing the tomato mixture with a ladle to strain all the juices out. Check the seasoning, and adjust accordingly. Stir in a little butter and pour into mugs or soup bowls. Serve hot.

These mugs of Clear Tomato Soup are perfect for a cold snap. Let it snow then, my hands and soul will remain warm thus.

Chire-Koraishuti, Unbeatable Bowl of Beaten Rice and Green Peas

There is nothing fashionable about a bowl of Chire-Koraishurti. Even if you dress it up in a crystal bowl, it cannot make it to a food magazine. But it does have a reputation of making a sneaky entry to your tummy through the doorway of your heart. So here I am writing about something so mundane like fried beaten rice (chire) and sautéed green peas (koraishuti) with an out-of-this-world enthusiasm.

Mention the two words Chire and Koraishuti in the same sentence, and you will have three generations of women in my family melting to the sights and sounds of beaten rice and green peas in the middle of winter. My 82-year-old Grandmother thinks it is so good, she can take it intravenously.

 
Ingredients for Chire-Koraishuti are:

One and half cups beaten rice/ chire/chura/poha
500 grams green peas, frozen or fresh
2-3 green chilies, broken from the center
2 tablespoons mustard oil (for the peas)
Canola oil for deep frying (the beaten rice)
Pinch of black pepper powder
Some finely chopped red onion
Sugar
Salt

Heat the mustard oil in a sauté pan, add the green chilies, let them splutter for a few seconds and then add the green peas. Season with sugar, salt and the pinch of black pepper.

Mix well, and cook covered till the peas are done. Do not overcook or dehydrate the peas. It doesn't take much time for the tender peas to become hard, inedible pellets.

Now for the Chire/ beaten rice. Heat Canola (or vegetable) oil to almost smoking, its best to use a wok. Scatter a handful of the beaten rice evenly in the oil. Do not overcrowd the wok. The beaten rice will immediately rise to the occasion, they will fluff up and become snow white in color. Almost within seconds.

Remove immediately with a slotted spoon and drain excess oil on paper towels. If you want, season with a pinch of salt.

Serve the koraishuti bhaja on a bed or chire bhaja and top it with some finely chopped onions. Eat immediately.

I like to have my Chire-Koraishuti in silence, listening to the crunch of the beaten rice. I also like to squish the green chilies which were cooked with peas with the back of my spoon into the peas, they add a whole lot of flavor in my mouth. A hot mug of chai is purely optional but extremely necessary on a cold winter day.

P.S. If you want bowls, mugs, tableware, etc. from CSN Stores, participate in the giveaway I am hosting this month. Hurry, the Holidays are almost here.