Mutton curry over Sunday lunch is the dearest thing on earth for the Bengali. It features right on top of their list of coveted foods for years. However, outside India, mutton is not the easiest meat to get and one has no choice but to replace it by lamb while following the same recipe. Here I am sharing the traditional mutton recipe which my mother used to follow, that I watched while growing up and still vivid in memory.

Ingredients to serve 4 to 5 :

1. Lamb (cut into medium size pieces) – 500 gm.
2. Potato (medium size) – 4
3. Finely chopped tomato (large) – ½
4. Onion (large) – 2
5. Garlic – 2 to 3 big cloves
6. Ginger paste – 1 teaspoon
7. Plain yogurt – 2 tbspoon
8. Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
9. Chilli powder – ½ teaspoon
10. Garam masala powder – ½ teaspoon
11. Nutmeg powder –  ½ teaspoon
12. Whole garam masala
13. Mace or Javitri – ¼ teaspoon
14. Bay leaf – 2
15. Salt to taste
16. Cooking oil (preferably mustard oil)

Procedure :

Marinate the meat with salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder, nutmeg powder, bay leaves, tomato, yogurt, ginger paste and 1½ tbspoon of oil for at least 2 hours (for best result marinate it overnight).

Peel the skin of the potatoes and cut them each into 2 halves. Finely slice the onions and crush the garlic. Take the whole garam masala as shown in the picture below or look for the ingredients of garam masala under “Useful Supplementary” tab.

Slightly fry the potatoes with salt and a pinch of turmeric powder.

Heat 2 tbspoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add mace, whole garam masala spices and saute them till nice aroma comes out. Then add crushed garlic and fry till light brown. Throw the onions into it and fry till it becomes brown. Now add the marinated lamb and cook very well until oil comes out from the mixture, add the half fried potatoes in mid way. Now pour water as needed, also add salt if needed. Let the mixture boil. Now cover it with the lid on and cook over medium heat till the meat becomes tender. Lamb takes longer time to cook, often more than one and half hour, so keep patience. After the wait, long but worthy, you are ready to serve the delicious lamb curry. Serve it with rice or chapati.

Note : I follow the same recipe with chicken. You can do as well. 🙂