Bhuna Ghosht - Mutton Bhuna

Today's recipe is not only one of my favourite mutton curries, but also a favourite amongst all mutton eaters in my family. Some in my family don't enjoy mutton as much as the others do, but this recipe has been making us mutton eaters slurpppp for the last ten years or so. My elder sister - Anita used to cut out recipes from newspapers, magazines, parish bulletins etc, and this recipe is from one of her notebooks, where she diligently pasted these cut outs. This recipe appeared in Times of India many years ago, where many celebrities shared their favourite home cooked recipes and this recipe was shared by Abhishek Bachchan from his kitchen

We've been cooking this for at least ten years and we still can't get enough every time it is cooked. It is spicy and tangy and the mutton is oh so succulent. It is also an easy preparation, and you don't really need any special ingredients. The only thing to be noted is not to use the cooker for cooking the mutton, cook it on slow flame, and this will take some time. So keeping that in mind, let's begin.

Recipe credit: Abhishek Bachchan - courtesy Times of India 

Ingredients:

1. Mutton pieces - 500 gms
2. Onions - 3 medium, sliced
3. Green chillies - 2 to 3, slit
4. Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
5. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
6. Black cardamom - 1 no
7. Green cardamoms - 3 to 4
8. Bay leaves - 2 to 3
9. Thick curd - 250 gms or 1 cup
10. Red chilly powder 2 tsp
11. Coriander powder - 2 and 1/2 tsp
12. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, once they splutter add the sliced onions and green chillies. Fry till the onion turns golden brown, and then toss in all the whole spices. Sauté for a minute or so.
2. Gradually add the beaten curd and continuously stir to prevent curdling.
3. Add the red chilly, coriander and turmeric powder and salt, continue sautéing for the next five minutes on low flame. 
4. Add the mutton pieces and mix well. Saute for the next 8 to 10 minutes or till the oil leaves the sides. 
5. Add 2 cups of water, mix well, and bring to a boil. Lower the flame cook with lid closed till mutton is done, occasionally stirring and checking if the mutton is cooked.
6. Lastly garnish with chopped coriander leaves, slit green chilly and lemon wedges.

Note:

The original recipe calls for saffron strands to be soaked in water and added to the curry after the mutton is cooked. You need to continue cooking for another five minutes and then switch off the flame.

I have never used saffron in this recipe and hence it is not a part of the ingredients.