Ethnic Bengali Mutton Curry with Bengali Style Flat Bread- Kosha Mangso and Luchi

 

Kosha Mangso/Mutton Kosha or sautéed meat  is a very popular weekend (Sunday Lunch) dish in Bengal. Mutton Kosha always lures Bengalis with its soft and smooth gravy, tender and spicy meat pieces and lenient potatoes.  With the fear of heart attacks, cholesterol, Mutton Kasha capable to maintain its permanent status in heart of Bengalis and it’s still one of the most popular Bengali’s Sunday lunch item. This dish absolutely perfect match with Rice, Pulao, Roti and also inevitably flawless mingle with Luchi (Luchi is a deep-fried flatbread, originating possibly Bengal region, made of Maida / White flour.

Today I am sharing the recipe of Kosha Mangso and Luchi

This combination always reminds me of the days of my childhood when any special guest came to our house my mother had prepared the dish for them. On another side, if we went to someone’s house for an invitation they served the dish. At that point, so much junk food is not available. So, this is a very special dish for us. It always lures me and us (me and my sisters) and still does so. With these recipes, I am sharing my nostalgia with you.

Ingredients

·         1 KG mutton

·         1 cup Yogurt

·         2/3 tablespoon Turmeric powder

·         2/2.5 cup mustard oil

·         Salt as required

·         2 tablespoon of Kashmiri Mirch Powder

·         2 onion sliced

·         2 onion paste

·         2/3 tablespoon ginger garlic paste

·         1 teaspoon Cumin Powder

·         1 teaspoon of Coriander powder

·         2-1 inch of Cinnamon Stick

·         4/5 cloves

·         2 big cardamoms

·         4/5 small green cardamom

·         2 tablespoon of Ghee (clarified butter)

·         3/4  green chili ( Put chili as per your choice)

·         2/3 Bay leaves

·         1 tablespoon Garam Masala Powder

·         1/2 dry Red chili

·         1 teaspoon chili powder

·         1 teaspoon of sugar

·         1 Nutmeg

·         2/3 Mace slice

·         5/6 potatoes sliced in big pieces (peel must be off)

Preparation:

Rinse the meat with hot water and pat it dry.  Take a big bowl and put mutton in it and now put ingredients one after another-oil, yogurt, turmeric powder, chili powder, ginger garlic paste, onion paste. Whisk all ingredients for the marinade and let it sit for at least 1 hour.

Take the sliced potatoes, sprinkle salt and 1 teaspoon turmeric powder on them. Toss the potatoes with salt and the turmeric. Heat about 2/3 tablespoon oil in a deep pan and fry the potatoes on high heat until they start browning on the edges – about 2-3 minutes and set aside.

Now put in Karai or in a Pressure cooker  and add  2 teaspoons of ghee and when ghee comes to splutter add sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 big cardamom and 2/3 small, 2/3 cloves. When the aroma of ghee and these spices comes out then add rest of the oil and add the red dry chili pepper and the bay leaves. When the pepper turns dark, add all the sliced onions and fry them until brown.

Special Masala Powder -Get a pan roast the Nutmeg, Mace, remaining cloves and cardamoms, Cinnamon, dry red chili. Now make a powder of them and Set aside.

Time has come to add the marinated meat to the Karai/ Pan/ Pressure Cooker and add the rest of the turmeric, salt, chili powder, coriander and cumin powder, Kashmiri Mirch Powder and of course special masala powder. Now, this is the time of continuous whisk and toss otherwise it will stick to the pan/pressure cooker. It will take about 30 to 45 minutes for the meat to be semi-tender and all ingredients mixed and melt and dry up and oil comes out from the mutton.

Add 5 cups of warm water cover the Karai/Pan/Pressure Cooker with a tight fitting lid (or pressure cooker). Cook till meat is almost done and tender. Now add potatoes and Garam masala powder and remaining ghee and cover it again and cook until potatoes are tender, meat falling off the bones and gravy remains in a small amount. Check the salt and now cover it again until serving.

Other than Flat Bread this dish will be very much mingling with rice, Pulao and roti/Nan and others

Luchi

Initiate with kneading the dough. Mix the flour & salt together in a large bowl. Make a space in the center of the flour and pour oil/clarified butter (ghee) in it. Blend everything with your hand in such a way that it looks like a fine powder. Again make a space in the center of the mixture pour Lukewarm water as required and add as needed. Make the perfect dough and leave it for 30 mins. 

Make small balls from the dough.  Sprinkle slight amount of flour on the rolling board. Take one ball at a time and roll it with a rolling pin evenly; the moderate size of Luchi should be 4”-5” measured by diameter. Luchi should not be thick, neither very thin and try to make a

perfect round in shape flatbread and be careful don’t make cracks otherwise Luchi won’t be puffy.

Take a deep Pan/ Karai, add 3/4 cups refined oil and heat it on high flame. Once the oil turns hot, simmer the flame. Add one Luchi slowly in the hot oil. It will go down to the bottom of the Karai and immediately will float on the top. The oil should be smoky hot .When the oil becomes very hot reduce the flame a little bit. But don’t fry them on low flame; otherwise they wouldn’t be puffed up. It will take less than a minute to fry one Luchi.

Once you can spot the one side of Luchi is changing its color to golden, immediately turn over the Luchi and keep doing the same way on the opposite side too.  Within few seconds this side will also change the colour and it will turn to pale red. This is the time to remove your Luchi from oil. 

Now enjoy it with Mutton Kosha.