Nalli Gosht

Nalli Gosht is a lamb shank curry that is cooked in yoghurt with spice masala. It has a deep and rich flavour that makes it one of my my favourite mutton dish!! The traditional preparation of this delicacy is a time-consuming affair. Here, apart from a few shanks I have mostly used meat from the leg piece although traditionally, only lamb shanks are used as the name of this recipe suggests.(Nalli in Urdu means 'Shanks or Bones'.) And as usual, I have opted for the pressure cooker to speed up the cooking. If the mutton is well-cooked, the meat will be falling off the shanks and that's exactly what I achieved!! As for taste, it was as good as what some of the top restaurants in Bangalore had to offer!!

So, go ahead, try this recipe out when you can cook leisurely!!

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time : 1 hour

Ingredients:

Mutton with some bones with marrow - 1 kg, cut into medium sized pieces

Clarified butter (ghee) - 1 cup

Yoghurt - I cup

Ginger paste - 1 tbsp

Garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder -1/4 tbsp

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Fennel seeds powder (Saunf) - 1 tbsp

Onions-4, big, chopped

Garam Masala Powder- 1 tsp, level

Saffron - a pinch

Lime - 1 tbsp

Salt - 1 tbsp

For the whole garam masala:

Bay leaf - 1

Ginger - 1'' piece

Cumin seeds (Jeera) - a pinch

Black cardamom- 1

Green Cardamom - 4

Cloves - 4-5

Pepper corns - 4-5

For the final seasoning:

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Gram flour - 2 tbsp

Refined flour(Maida) - 1 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Mace and Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp

Keora water - according to taste.

Method:

1. Cut and wash the Mutton into medium-sized pieces. Make sure you have a few shank pieces too as the bone marrow will yield a distinct flavour to this dish. Keep aside.

2. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker. Add the whole garam masala ingredients. When the aroma starts to emanate, add the chopped onions. Saute them till they turn golden brown in colour.

3. Add the ginger and garlic pastes. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Then, add coriander powder, fennel seed powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt.

4. Add the mutton pieces. Stir fry them till they slightly turn brown. Add curds. Keep stirring lightly for a minute. 

5. Now, add garam masala powder, saffron and lime juice. Mix well. Add one cup water. close the cooker. Pressure cook on high flame for  5 whistles and 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

6. In a flat bottomed pan, add ghee, gram flour, refined flour, cardamom powder, mace and nutmeg powder and keora water. Heat on medium flame and keep stirring for 3-4 minutes. Remove from fire. Add this to the cooked meat. Mix well. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring continuously so that the grave doesn't get stuck to the bottom of the pan.

7. Transfer the mutton to a serving dish and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

8. Serve hot with fried rice, rotis or naans.