Light Indian Mutton/Lamb Stew
We are just back from Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu, India. This was our first trip outside Mumbai, after relocating from Hong Kong a few months back. I must say, this was a much-awaited break and we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of being so close to nature. The weather was perfect there and we loved the greenery. When we saw the beautiful pine forests, the trees reminded me of old Bollywood movie songs: singing and dancing around the trees was a common sight in the Hindi movies of the yesteryears. Kodaikanal was amazing in its own right. There was a sense of space and freshness everywhere, which we really miss in a metropolitan like Mumbai. The Berijam lake near Kodaikanal was particularly serene.
While driving back from the Berijam lake, we had a homely mutton stew at a local restaurant and that was something which was so warm and satisfying in the evening when it was so cold outside. Nothing better would have suited our palate that evening. That moment itself, I decided to replicate this simple South-Indian stew at my home kitchen, with reduced amount of spices, so that it suits my family’s taste. As I sit in my Mumbai home and write for this post, the warm aroma of fresh curry leaves being infused into the stew and the waft of flavours arising out of cooking succulent pieces of meat and fresh winter vegetables together, made me nostalgic of my Kodaikanal trip. It was truly memorable.
Light Indian Mutton/Lamb Stew
[Choosing the right meat is very important. Never compromise on the quality of the meat. For tender meat, it must be derived from a very young goat or lamb. A pressure cooker is very convenient for making mutton stews.]
Ingredients:
- Mutton or lamb pieces with bones (front thigh meat with bones preferred): 500 g
- Fresh curry leaves: 15
- Spring onion leaves’ paste: 2 tbsp
- Salt for marination: 1.5 tsp
- Salt for the stew: 1 tsp (adjustable)
- Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
- Red carrots (roughly chopped): 2
- French beans (roughly chopped): 15
- Medium-sized potatoes (de-skinned and halved): 2
- Dried bay leaves: 2
- Green cardamoms: 3
- Black cardamom: 1
- Spring onions: 7
- Spring onion stems (around 2-inch size): 7
- Purple onions (small; quartered): 2.5
- Ginger paste: ½ tsp
- Lime juice: 4 tsp
- Sugar: ¾ tsp
- Freshly ground black pepper powder: 1 tsp (adjustable)
- Medium-sized tomatoes (each quartered): 3
- Warm water: 4.5 cups
- Oil: 3 tbsp
Method:
Marinate the meat with the spring onion leaves’ paste and 1.5 tsp salt for 3 hours.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add the bay leaves and the cardamoms. When these start sputtering, add the quartered purple onions. Sauté for 5–7 min.
Add the tomatoes, potatoes and the curry leaves, along with the salt, ginger paste, lime juice and turmeric powder. Mix the contents in the cooker well.
Add the carrots, beans and the spring onion stems and continue cooking for 5 min.
Now add the marinated meat and give the mixture a good stir. Cook for 10 min, stirring after every 2 min. Add the water, sugar and the ground pepper.
Secure the lid of the cooker tightly and simmer. Let it have two pressures. Open the lid and give the stew a gentle stir. Remove the vegetables into a bowl (so as to prevent over-cooking) and transfer the meat and the soup once again to the cooker. Secure the lid and simmer once again. Pressure-cook until the meat is tender (around five cooker whistles). Switch off the gas and open the lid after 15 min. Check for the tenderness: if you are not satisfied with it yet, pressure cook for some more time.
Once the meat is cooked thoroughly, transfer the cooked vegetables back to the cooker and cook everything together (with lid open) on a slow flame for just 10 min more. Serve hot with appams, chapatti, paratha or steamed rice.
January 31, 2013 @ 7:50 pm
This looks delicious! I love reading your posts and hearing about life in India.
January 31, 2013 @ 8:12 pm
What a comforting dish with lots of spices! This is my kind of food especially during the cold season! Nice pictures of your trip with your children! 😉
February 1, 2013 @ 12:36 am
Love this mutton stew, new recipe to me… hope u had a great vacation enjoy
February 1, 2013 @ 1:53 am
I love lamb, and this looks terrific. Love the flavors. I’ve never cooked with a pressure cooker before, and it’s something I definitely need to try someday. I know it’s a time saver, and it can be a pretty healthy cooking method, too. Anyway, good post – thanks so much.
February 1, 2013 @ 2:07 am
yummy stew,looks divine!!
February 1, 2013 @ 2:19 am
Lovely stew!
February 1, 2013 @ 2:49 am
How lovely! What a great trip – I need to come visit you!!
February 1, 2013 @ 3:50 am
Very healthy stew..nice trip with delicious stew…interesting!
February 1, 2013 @ 3:54 am
Delicious and lovely mutton stew.
Deepa
February 1, 2013 @ 5:03 am
How’s your adjustment back in Mumbai? How about your children? Was it hard to get adjusted back again? It sounds like you had a nice trip. I just saw another mutton stew/soup. Now I’m the mood of having this. Looks so delicious!
February 1, 2013 @ 8:15 am
That sounds like a great trip! The children must have really enjoyed it 🙂
The stew looks and sounds very wholesome and comforting!
February 1, 2013 @ 9:28 am
What I like about this is that its with less spice.
There are some real good places in the south and Koadaikanal is one of them.
February 1, 2013 @ 9:32 am
Looks great & delicious… 🙂
February 1, 2013 @ 11:41 am
You made the stew so perfect…make my mouth watery! Cute kids…beautiful mum 🙂
February 1, 2013 @ 12:30 pm
hi purabi, wow! how delicious looking …love the bony parts of mutton… the sweetness of meat is incomplete without flavor from the bones huh.
bookmarked with thanks. you always have outstanding recipes 🙂 and glad you enjoy your holidays.
February 1, 2013 @ 3:37 pm
I am not a big fan of lamb but the way you made and presented this stew sooo beautifully is very tempting. It is definitely changing my mind on lamb. Have a good weekend! 🙂
February 1, 2013 @ 4:59 pm
looks gr8 and delicious….loved the stew….sooper with a hot bowl of it in chilly weather….well done
February 1, 2013 @ 6:03 pm
Stew sounds so comforting. It is so cold here, I know it would be a welcome dinner. The photos from your trip are great!
February 2, 2013 @ 12:51 am
Your trip sounded like just what the doctor ordered. And the lamb-well I wish I could get just one sniff. I bet it tastes awesome!
February 3, 2013 @ 9:55 pm
Lovely scenery – always good for the soul. Delicious-looking stew too. I agree, the pressure cooker is great for dishes like this. Mouthwatering as always, Purabi!
February 4, 2013 @ 3:28 pm
Sounds like a great getaway to spend time in nature. And, what a great meal to make back at home. It must have smelled fantastic while cooking!
February 6, 2013 @ 5:02 am
I rarely eat lamb…and never cooked with it…but I Iike the way you prepared it….sounds and looks very tasty and a nice comforting dish especially for the cold weather.
Like your pictures Purabi…have a wonderful week!
February 6, 2013 @ 2:52 pm
Luce muy rico es una delicia al paladar me encanta este plato saludable y muy bonito,abrazos y abrazos
February 6, 2013 @ 3:08 pm
I have been thinking of making lamb stew for about a week now, just not got around to the butcher’s. I must make this lovely Indian version, I suppose a handful of lentils would work too?