Mutton Sukka Varuval - Pan roasted goat South Indian style

 I know what you are thinking - who would eat mutton, right? Well, let me tell you, my friends.  If a South Indian person calls you over for Mutton, never say no!  

What you call mutton is old sheep meat.  What South Indians call mutton is young goat meat.  Confusing, right?

Try it just once and you will get hooked.  You can get beautiful goat meat in Preston Market - you can either buy it chopped or you can get a leg of goat and request it to be chopped.  I always buy it with the bone as it adds a lot of flavour to the gravy.

A sunny winter afternoon, drink in hand, story book and some beautiful mutton sukka varuval.  What more can you ask for?  That is heaven in a plate right there!

In my University days in the hostel, my roommates and I used to bribe the watchman to buy this for us from the local tea stall.  We called him watchman thatha (watchman grandpa) and he treated us like his children, indulging us even if we asked for it late at night. We relished it with parotta (layered Indian flat bread).  Mmmm - it is a marriage made in heaven!  This was the equivalent to HSP in our youth, kids, if you are reading this! :-)

Ingredients:

1 kilo goat meat ( like mine with the bone, but boneless is fine too)

2 teaspoons Kashmiri chilli powder

2 teaspoons coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste

1 tablespoon black pepper corns, freshly powdered

2 Indian bay leaves

3-4 cloves , ground

1inch piece cinnamon, ground

4 onions, thinly sliced

2 ripe tomatoes, chopped

2 green chillies, sliced (optional)

2 sprigs curry leaves

1 tablespoon oil

salt to taste

Method:

Wash goat meat, drain water. Add turmeric to the meat, massage in well.  Leave aside.

In a heavy, flat pan, add a tablespoon of oil.  When the oil gets hot, add the onions and chillies, if using and sauté.  

When the onions start getting caramelised, add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté well. 

Next add the chilli powder and coriander powder and cook for a couple of minutes and then add the tomatoes.

Keep cooking till the tomatoes go mushy.  Now add the marinated meat and brown it.  

Add 1 cup water, and bay leaves and close the lid and cook in a low flame. Every now and again check to make sure there is enough liquid - and if there isn't, add half a cup at a time.

Eventually, the meat gets well cooked and starts to ooze out oil from the fat.  At this stage add the curry leaves, black pepper powder and cinnamon and clove powders.  Mix well.

Continue to brown the meat till the sauces are almost dry.  This is meant to be a dry curry with a very thick gravy.  You should be able to pick up the pieces with a skewer - it should be soft and falling off the bone.

Enjoy with parotta, chappaties or any other flat bread or rice.