Such a comfort food this is!!

After 5 years we finally took a two week long vacation. Spending time with our parents was the purpose and that we did! Kids enjoyed, we ate well, travelled with family, and time flew. Two weeks passed by so quickly and we came back home only to realize I am home sick and wanted to be back with my parents. On the weekend we reached back, my husband brought some fresh mutton and my post this time is about mutton roast that I prepared. 

Well, it has been two weeks since then but I am writing about it only now. I am a mother of two kids now. Newest member is my daughter who is 6 months old. I am not about to say I am busy because of that. It is a hectic schedule but I do have my time every day. Just that I never got to the laptop to start typing something. You always need a trigger to start writing, even if it is a recipe you prepared. Today my trigger is a diverted mind. An oxymoron that could be, considering you need to focus on what you are doing. May be the distraction I need is not from writing but from the standard schedule. 

Whatever be the reason, I am happy that I finally got to do this. For a long time, I never used to eat mutton except for the curry that my mom prepared. So the dish itself brings back a lot of memories and reminds me of childhood and my parents’ place. 

Recipe

Ingredients

• Mutton – 1/2 kg (cut into cube sized pieces) 
• Onion – 3 medium sized nos. (finely chopped)
• Onion – 1 big no. (sliced)
• Tomato – 1 no. (finely chopped)
• Ginger – a small piece (finely chopped)
• Garlic – 1 pod (finely chopped)
• Peppercorns – 6 – 8 nos.
• Red Chilli – 2 nos.
• Green Chilli – 1 no. (finely chopped)
• Shallots – 6 nos.
• Fennel seeds – 1 tsp.
• Cumin powder – ½ tbsp
• Coriander powder – 2 tbsp
• Pepper powder – 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tbsp
• Lemon – 1 no.
• Coriander leaves – a few sprigs (I love this herb and am usually generous with the usage of coriander leaves in my cooking)
• Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

Preparation

• Marinade the washed mutton pieces with salt, turmeric, pepper powder, lemon juice extract and keep aside for an hour. 
• Tip: Best is if the meat is marinated and kept overnight.
• Heat oil (1 tbsp) in a pan. 
• Add ginger and garlic (half). 
• Once the color starts turning brown, add red chilli, pepper corns, fennel seeds and fry for a minute. 
• Add the chopped onions and shallots and fry till translucent. Tip: Known to all is the fact that adding a pinch of salt while sautéing onions quickens the process. 
• Add cumin powder and roast till the raw smell vanishes.
• Add tomato and sauté till oil starts separating from it. 
• Switch off the stove and let it cool. 
• Grind this to a fine paste and keep aside.  

• In the same pan, add the remaining oil. 
• Once hot, add sliced onions and sauté well. 
• Add the remaining garlic and fry it. 
• Add green chilli and curry leaves and sauté for a minute
• Add coriander powder and mix well. Let it cook well for about 2-3 minutes. 
• Once the coriander powder is roasted well, add the mutton pieces and stir.
• Tip: I always prefer small cube sized mutton pieces as they absorb the marinade well. 
• At this stage, add the masala paste prepared earlier and mix well with mutton.
• Add salt.
• Keep stirring for some time and then let the mutton cook in this (do not add water now). 
• After about 5 minutes, add ¼ cup water and cook.
• Tip: When adding water, add hot water and in small measures. You can always add more when needed. 
• Once the mutton is cooked to your perfection (at this stage, water added also should have reduced), add finely chopped coriander leaves. You can also add a little lemon juice extract for that extra tangy taste if you prefer. 

Garnishing note: Served with hot rice, this is such a comfort food and one that converts old memories into refreshing energizers J

A vacation to enjoy the rain :-)

Hey you guys…….

I am back J Like most of you, I have also been through a very hectic schedule at work and at home. At home, we have a canine family member now – her name is Mickey – a cute little puppy who loves to run around everywhere. We took her to our hometown this time when we took our vacation. Needless to say, she just loved all that extra space to run around, in the yard.

So the vacation was really to enjoy the monsoon season in Kerala. In my school days, every year, come June 1^st, the monsoon shower never failed to show up. But this year, though we were there till June 6^th, except for a day where it rained about 2-3 hours, the dark clouds and the rain Gods didn’t bless us with their presence L

Thankfully we enjoyed that single rain we got. But the depressing weather afterwards pulled us down the mood elevator.  And as you can imagine, we decided to cheer us up with food. Hot bajjis, pazham pori, cutlet, various fish available locally, traditional cuisines took up most of our time - we ate, ate and ate. A gastronomical treat from the good old days – food does have a way of transporting you to your past. That reminded me of a quote – ‘’good old days; when beer foamed and water didn’t ’’ ;)

I know my mom must have mentally sent a thank you note up when we all finally left ;)

One of those days, with the traditional cuisine – Aappam, I made mutton stew. Aappam is a soft lacy hopper made from a batter of rice, cooked rice, grated coconut, yeast, salt and sugar. Once the batter is fermented, it is made in an aappachatti which is a deep bottom wok. So when you pour the batter, you get a thick fluffy center and a thin layer on the sides. Since my intention here is to post the mutton stew recipe, without further ado, let me get onto that.

The stew served with aappam is a curry made with coconut milk and not the western style stew. You can prepare a vegetable or a mutton stew. Both go well with aappam.  

Recipe

Ingredients

Mutton – 1 kg (I was serving 8 adults and a 3 year old).

Carrot – 2 Nos (cut into small blocks).

Potato – 1 No (cut into medium sized blocks).

Onion (big) – 2 Nos (slice).

Green Chillies – 3 Nos.

Ginger – piece of 1 inch size.

Peppercorns – about 10 to 12.

Pepper powder – 1 teaspoon

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs.

Coconut milk – thick 1 cup, thin 2 cups.

Green cardamom – 2 nos.

Clove – 2 nos.

Cinnamon – 1 small piece.

Coconut oil -1 teaspoon.

Salt to taste

Preparation

• Cook mutton, potato, pepper powder and salt in a pressure cooker for about 3 whistles. Set this aside.
• In a pan, add oil. When the oil is hot, add the spices – green cardamom, clove, cinnamon, crushed peppercorns.
• Once they start giving the aroma, add ginger, green chillies, sliced onions. Saute till the onions become translucent.
• Add the carrot now (you can also include other veggies like beans, peas).
• Pour the thin coconut milk extract and let the veggies and spices cook in it. Ensure the stove is only in a medium heat.
• Tip: Cover the pan but do not forget to stir occasionally.
• Once the veggies are almost cooked, add the cooked mutton and potato and let the entire mix simmer for another 5 min. 
• Tip: If you get really tender mutton, you can add it and potato along with other veggies and cook in the pan itself (no need to use the pressure cooker then). I use pressure cooker to reduce the cooking time.
• You will notice that the thin coconut milk has reduced a lot. Add the thick coconut milk at this stage.
• Keep stirring it and when it is about to boil, switch off the stove.
• Add curry leaves and the coconut oil.

Cover the pan and let it rest for 5 min. Serve hot with aappam or cooked rice.

Garnishing note: A vacation to enjoy the rain - only there was no rain - ended up being a vacation to relish the good old cuisines J