Goat meat has been an eternal favourite with me. It was the only red meat cooked at home and has always been associated with sundays and festivities. Even though I hated cooking, I learnt to cook it since I couldnt do without it. When working and living alone in Kolkata, I would sacrifice my morning sleep and get up at 6:00 am to get the choicest pieces. What I used to cook then was the inevitable mangshor jhol, the homely preparation with garam masala, onion, ginger and garlic. Since then I have progressed slightly in the way of cooking and that brought me to experiment with my most favourite food ever. So, with the blessings of Mr. Sanjeev Kapoor and my own instinct I bring you the recipe of

Mutton Achari 

For 5 

Ingredients

Mutton                             600 gms

Mustard Oil                       6 table spoons

Onion                               3 medium (cubed)

Ginger                              2 inch piece (chopped)

Garlic                               15 cloves (chopped)

Tomato                             3 medium (chopped)

Salt                                   to taste

Sugar                               1/2 teaspoon

Lime Juice                        1 tablespoon

Coriander Leaves               to garnish

Spices

( all spices to be dry roasted and coarsely ground together)

Whole Dried Red Chillies                    8

Mustard seeds (sarson)                      1 teaspoon

Fennel seeds (saunf)                          1 teaspoon

Onion seeds (Kalaunji/ Kala jeera)        1 teaspoon 

Coriander seeds (jeera)                       1/2 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds (methi dana)             1/2 teaspoon

Cloves                                              6-7

Method

In a pressure cooker, heat the oil. When hot, add the sugar. Allow it to burn completely. The oil now has a dark brown color. ( I love the rich color the caramalised sugar gives to the gravy. Alternately, forget the sugar and add turmeric with the spices to get a nice yellow colour). Add the onions and saute them till they are golden brown. Now, add the finely chopped ginger and garlic ( you may also use a paste). When they are well fried, add the ground spice mixture. Fry on medium heat for half a minute. Add the mutton pieces. Fry till the mutton is well coated with the spices and has turned brown. Add the tomatoes. and fry for another minute or two. Add salt. Depending on the amount of gravy you want, add 2-3 cups of water. This dish tastes better when the gravy is thick and not very watery. Close the cooker lid and pressure cook the mutton till done (see your cooker specifications). 

When done, take the cooker off heat. Add lime juice and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Yum- Khai- Dao (A Fried Egg Salad from Thailand)

For 2

In a deep bottom pan, heat oil. When the oil is hot, break open an egg and empty contents (yolk n albumen) directly in the pan. It may splutter a bit. When the edges start getting dark brown, take it out n let the oil drain. Similarly fry the other egg. You may like your yolk fully cooked or slightly creamy.

For the salad:

2 kaffir lemon leaves

2 lemon grass stems, only the bottom part where the leaves are joined, thinly sliced. U may retain the upper stalks for any soup.

2 teaspoon lemon juice

4 teaspoon fish oil

Half a tomato cut into small cubes

1/4^th of a cucumber, diced

Few Coriander leaves

2 green chillies

A large pinch of chicken powder

Salt to taste

Cut the fried eggs in small squares. Toss together all the above ingredients. And your salad is ready. Feel free to add onions, spring onions, lettuce and any other vegetable u fancy in your salad, just slice them thinly. Have it on your toast or as a full meal. Njoy!

Lemon juice may be adjusted to taste. 

An Intro

I never thought that I would be doing a food blog. But then I think this is one of the most  natural things to happen, what with me n hubby , both being food lovers. I learnt cooking at a very old age. I am one of those people who endure living on Maggi n Knorr soups just so they don’t have to cook. But wedding and moving in with hubby changed things. I am off work, have nothing to do, love my hubby and hence love to cook for him. Being self- admittedly amazed by my successful experiments (I am not elaborating on  the not- so- successful ones) I post pix on FB. The over- whelming demand for recipes is compelling me to put it down for every one’s reference. Right now, I don’t even know if I will continue posting, but then if you respond well… maybe I will . J So, encourage me.. plzz..

Disclaimer: I am not a chef, nor do I aspire to be one. I am a lazy bum, hence you will find only easy recipes in my blog. I often cut corners when I feel like it, instead of doing things elaborately. At the end of the day what matters is that the food should be well- cooked and taste good, whether it looks good is immaterial. :P