“Goat Curry” or “Mutton curry” or “Curry Goat” as it is referred to in India is a flavorful dish made with goat meat with a lot of spices. It is packed with flavors with the earthy fragrance of cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves, nutmeg, and mace flower mixed with the spicy punch from black peppers and clove. The dish is elevated with the sweetness and tanginess of onions and tomatoes. The aftertaste of the lingering garam masala gives you the warmth of the family dining together.
Emotions behind it: Mutton curry is a relaxed Sunday afternoon lunch where the whole family sits together and enjoys the warmth of togetherness and hot spicy goat curry. It is mostly served in households in Eastern India. Usually one of the male members of the family is responsible for going early in the morning to the butcher shop and procuring fresh goat meat. The women in the family then get together and start preparing for lunch once the morning chores are over. The dish is then prepared with a lot of patience and diligence. The emotion and feeling behind the dish is that after a long tiring week, the whole family has a relaxed lunch together, smiling, laughing, and sharing stories as they gobble down and slurping on the scrumptious curry goat (mutton curry) and rice with their hands.
We were a family of four and my parents are from Eastern India (Odisha). This was a regular Sunday ritual in our household where my dad would go out to the butcher shop and procure the goat meat and then I would help my mom with preparing the lunch. The usual Sunday lunch would be mutton curry with rice and baigan bharta (eggplant roasted on flame). With all our busy schedules of the week, this was one lunch meal that the whole family would sit together and eat. Me and my brother would share our weekly fun updates (or not-so-fun updates :P) with Mom and Dad. I still remember if we tried skipping/hiding something my mom would prompt ” Aren’t you forgetting something to say to Dad”. This meal brings in all those cherished memories together and now I am trying to give the same to my son so he remembers the same as I do.
A little nugget of history: Mutton curry originates from Eastern India and more specifically Odisha. The inspiration for the dish is said to be derived from its counterparts of fish and crab curry which has prominence for Odisha being a coastal state. It was then made famous as Railway mutton curry during the British colonial period when it was served in long-distance trains across the country. Every state then derived its versions of the dish based on the spices and availability of tools for that particular state. Also, the variation of the dish got it’s derived name from the culture. The same dish got even further prominence when it started being served as an end of a festival in Bengal (Durga Puja). The dish was introduced to Bengali households by chefs from Odisha, who cooked it for them. History also indicates that the Caribbean dish called “Curry Goat” was influenced by East Indian indentured laborers who were brought in there in the 19th century by the British Colonials (East India Company).
How to make the easy and tasty mutton curry from Odisha?
Description: This an immensely flavorful dish originated from Eastern India. The flavor profile of the dish has the sweetness and tanginess of the onions and tomatoes fried in mustard oil with whole spices like clove, peppercorn, black cardamom, and bay leaves. The second layer of flavors of hot spiciness and earthiness comes from powdered spices like red chilies, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and gram masala. All these flavors are blended with and slow-cooked to make the goat meat more tender and flavorful.
Yield: Serves 4-6 persons
Ingredient List:
For Marination:
- Goat meat (Mutton): 2lbs mixed cubes with bones (Note: you can use bones less also but bones add more flavor)
- Ginger Paste: 1tsp
- Garlic Paste: 1tsp
- Lemon Juice: 1 lemon (Note: I used this for my friend who is lactose intolerant I would recommend plain yogurt beaten 2 Tbsp for a better flavor)
- Cumin powder: 1tsp
- Turmeric Powder: 1tsp
- Red Chillie Powder: 1tsp
- Coriander Powder: 1tsp
- Salt: 1tsp
For disgorging and shallow frying potato:
- Mustard Oil: 1/2 cup
- Potatoes: 3 large (each cut in 4-8 pieces) (Note: I prefer skin on it is a personal choice)
- Salt: 2 pinches to just sprinkle
- Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
For Cooking:
- Sugar: 1 Tbsp
- Clove: 5
- Black Peppercorn: 10
- Bay Leaves: 2 leaves
- Black Cardamom: 2
- Cinnamon Stick: 1 inch 2 pieces
- Red onion paste: 1 ½ cups
- Red Onion finely chopped: ½ cup
- Thai green chilies: 3 – 4 (Note: depending on how spicy you like you can add more)
- Ginger Paste: 1tsp
- Garlic Paste: 1tsp
- Cumin powder: 1tsp
- Turmeric Powder: 1tsp
- Red Chillie Powder: 1tsp (Note: for fiery hot sweaty burning sensation of the heat you can add an additional 2 tsp of this 😊)
- Coriander Powder: 1tsp
- Tomato puree: 1 cup
- Garam Masala: 2 tsp
Instructions:
- Marinate the goat meat by mixing all the ingredients mentioned in the list. Leave it for at least 1 hour in the fridge. (Note: I usually do this as the first thing while I prepare the rest of the things)
- Disgorge (toss the potato in 2 pinches of salt and turmeric powder) the potato.
- Shallow fry the potatoes in the heated mustard until they get a slightly light brown tinge. (Note: I usually do it in the pressure cooker itself so I can continue cooking the goat meat in it)
- Remove the fried potatoes and set them aside.
- In the hot oil add the sugar and let it caramelize.
- Add all the whole spices (clove, black peppercorn, bay leaves, black cardamom, cinnamon stick) and sauté till the whole spices release their fragrance.
- Add the chopped onions. The onion will quickly take the brown color from the caramelized sugar. (Note: It is said that sugar enhances the flavors and spiciness of hot dishes)
- Add the onion paste and sauté the onion till it turns brown caramelizing the onion. (Note: I usually sprinkle a little salt to help release water and make the onion fry much better and thoroughly. Make sure to control the temperature to medium-low else it might burn the onion)
- Add the ginger and garlic paste to the fried onion and sauté until it loses its ginger and garlic smell. (Note: add water if you feel the heat is high and it is getting stuck in the base of the pressure cooker)
- Add all the powdered spices and sauté with the paste. (Note: add a little water because the powdered spices quickly start burning)
- Keep frying the mixture of spices till the oil separates. That is the indication that the onion with spices is well cooked.
- Add the marinated goat meat and cook fry with the spices in the same low-medium heat for another 10 mins.
- Add the tomato puree and stir it to mix. Let it cook for 5 min.
- Add the potatoes and cook everything for 5 min in the same low-medium heat.
- Add one cup of water and lock the lid to the pressure cooker. (Note: if the pressure cooker has a whistle give 3-4 whistles, then leave it for 10 min on low flame to cook further) Switch off after cooking.
- Once the pressure is released, remove the lid switch on the gas on high flame, and add garam masala.
- Give it one boil and switch it off.
Note: The dish doesn’t need to be made in a pressure cooker with a whistle. This is just to reduce the cooking time. You can easily make the dish in a heavy base vessel or an Instapot. It just takes a little longer. Also, when you are cooking the dish in an open vessel (not a pressure cooker) i highly suggest adding raw papaya as the meat tenderizer during marination.
Nutrition Information: Serving 4-6 people
Calories: 3275 Kcal; Protein: 240.51g; Fat: 136.29 g; Carbohydrate: 279.32 g