Ingredients
1 kg goat meat with bones (I prefer the size of the meat pieces to be bigger than curry cut, but smaller than biryani cut)
3 big potatoes, skin peeled and halved
3 green chilies
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp Bengali garam masala powder (a grind of green cardamoms, cinnamon sticks and cloves taken in equal proportions)
1 tsp asafoetida
2 tsp black pepper powder
150 gms ginger, grated finely into a paste
2 tbsp ghee
100 ml mustard oil (only the strong ‘kachi ghani’ or cold pressed mustard oil is used in Bengali cooking)
1/2 tsp white sugar
Salt, as per taste
Method
Wash the meat pieces and marinate them with turmeric, coriander, cumin and black pepper powders, asafoetida, grated ginger, 1 tbsp ghee and 50 ml mustard oil. Leave aside for 1 hour.
In a deep-bottomed vessel, add mustard oil. When the oil heats up, add a pinch of sugar and fry the potatoes lightly until golden brown. Keep aside. (The caramelised sugar adds colour to the potatoes.)
Add 1/2 tbsp ghee to the vessel and stir in the marinated meat. Cook at a high flame initially for 5 minutes. Lower the flame and then cook with a lid covered for ten minutes. Stir occasionally so that the meat pieces don’t burn or are stuck to the bottom of the cooking vessel. Be gentle so that the meat doesn’t come off the bones.
Add fried potatoes, salt and 1/2 tsp sugar. Add water until the meat and potato pieces are adequately covered.
Continue cooking over a slow flame until the meat pieces are soft, tender and cooked. (For me it takes an hour and a half of slow cooking).
Before taking off the flame, add a little water to the garam masala powder and pour this paste on the top of the gravy along with 1/2 tbsp of ghee. Serve hot along with steaming white rice or Mishti Polao.
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