Mutton Kasha (Spicy Dry Mutton)

Bengalis and Oriyas swear by this dish. Traditionally, this is cooked in a handi or deep pan and is cooked for a good 1 hour with very little water and under low heat - and quite naturally needs patience! For those of us brilliant chefs who suffer from a short-attention-span problem, the pressure cooker approach certainly takes the pressure off standing and stirring the mutton pieces continuously.


Many variations exist, but the essentials pretty much remain the same. A ginger-garlic-green chili paste, thinly sliced onions (blended works too), little bit of curd, whole garam masala, mustard oil and a lot of frying is what will get you there! Steamed rice works well as does roti, but my personal favorite is with light wheat parathas or rumali roti.


You need

400 gm mutton cut into bite sized pieces

Ginger (1 inch) Garlic 95 cloves) and Green chili (2)  - blended to a paste

1 big onion sliced into thin long pieces (you can blend this one too)

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp roasted cumin powder

1 tsp garam masala pwder

1 tsp red chili powder

2 tbsp curd

3-4 pieces of green cardamom

3-4 cloves

1 bay leaf

cinnamon sticks (2 nos of 2 in pieces)

salt to taste

1. Marinate the mutton pieces with the roasted cumin powder, turmeric, garam masala, red chili powder, curd and salt and set aside for 1 hour
2. In a pressure cooker, heat 4 tbsp of mustard oil and temper with bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, cloves and green cardamom
3. Add sliced onions and fry till golden brown
4. Add the ginger-garlic-green chili paste to the onion and fry for 2-3 minutes more (till the raw smell is gone)
5. Add salt to taste
6. Add the marinated mutton pieces and fry on low heat for 15-20 mins
7. Now add 1/2 cup of water and close the lid of the pressure cooker and put the whistle on
8. Switch off after 6 whistles, wait for the pressure to ease off and open
9. Now smell the amazing aroma of mutton kasha and eat to your heart's content!