Mutton Rara … the name makes you think, doesn’t it? Why Ra-ra? Why not Ba-ba? Or Fa-fa? There’s definitely got to be a story behind it. And so the legend goes … The Chhota Nawab of Awadh, and the Rajkumari of Jaipur were madly in love with each other. They wished to be together but life had other plans. They had a clandestine love affair and their families found out. The princess was whisked away to a fortress surrounded by deep waters and guarded by an evil witch. The prince yearned for his ladylove, but was unable to get in. The witch was clever and unforgiving, but she had one weakness: mutton. The prince called down the finest bawarchis of his great empire for one task only: to create a mutton dish so delicious that it would render the witch powerless. And so the dish was prepared near the moat of the bewitched castle … Cooked slowly and patiently in whole spices – spices that had made Hindustan famous all over the world – black cardamom, green cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cloves, whole black peppercorns, star anise, cumin seeds and Kashmiri red chillis. They cooked and they stirred and as the masalas roasted the deep sensuous aromas arose and wafted through to the fortress. The meat simmered and began to tenderize, and the witch could not control herself and magically transported the pot to her chamber. She loved the preparation so much, that she actually gave the Rajkumari away to the Chhota Nawab and blessed them with eternal happiness. The magnanimous prince named the magical preparation after the witch, whose name was Rara … hence Mutton Rara.
Or so I’d like to believe. But the truth is, it’s most probably a concoction some North Indian dhaba-wala created for customers trudging across the Grand Trunk Road. No princely love story! The dish, however, is royal and extravagant in every way. It is a double whammy of meat – chopped up mutton leg and minced mutton, and needs to be made with a lot of love and a little bit of effort.
Ingredients
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 whole black cardamom
- 4 green cardamoms
- 4-5 whole black peppercorns
- 2-3 cloves
- 1 star anise
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 7-8 dry whole red kashmiri chillis – deseeded, soaked in hot water and ground to a paste
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 250 gms Mutton mince
- 500 gms leg of lamb cut into cubes (with bone n all)
- 2 onions finely chopped
- 3-4 tomatos finely chopped
- 2 tbps thick curd
- 1?2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp corriander powder
- 1?2 tsp garam masala
- salt to taste
- 3 tbs olive oil
- corriander to garnish
Take a kadai with a heavy base, pour in the olive oil. As the oil begins to smoke, fry all the whole spices till fragrant, and add the onion, ginger and garlic. Sautee till soft and add in the mince, frying it well and continuously, till you can see each grain of the mince. Add the tomatoes and keep frying the mixture. You can very lightly beat the mutton pieces with a kitchen hammer if they are too big and the meat tough. Since a little mini kitchen makeover I did using kitchen ideas from My Hammer, I have all these wonderful new tools for tenderizing. Now add the mutton pieces as well as the remaining spices, and give it a good stir. Keep stirring till you see the tomatoes break in, absorb the spices, and start to form the gravy. Cover with a lid and let it simmer slowly for about 40 minutes, adding water when necessary. When the meat is tender and you begin to see the oil separating from the gravy, add the thick curd, stir, and turn off the heat after 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander and serve hot with Tandoori Rotis.
) .The one on the left is called Yellow Moong Dal and is smaller in size.The one to the right is called Tuwar Dal and is slightly larger in size…though both are just called yellow dal !
