Laal Maas

The Desi Jholdaar Maas

Ingredients

•  1 kg goat meat
•  150 ml oil
•  15 whole black peppers
•  10 cloves
•  1 whole black cardamoms
•  1 inch cinnamon
•  3 bay leaves
•  125 g onions, sliced for frying
•  50 g onions, choped for paste
•  40 g garlic
•  1 inch ginger
•  4 tsp red chilli powder (Kashmiri/ Deghi)
•  5 tsp coriander powder
•  1/2 tsp turmeric
•  2 tsp salt/ as per taste
•  100 g curd

Method

In a blender, grind the chopped onions, garlic and ginger.

Whisk the curd well and keep aside.

In a pan, heat and add the whole spices– black pepper, cloves, black cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves. Once they splutter, add the sliced onion and fry them on medium heat till they turn golden brown.

Add the paste of onions, garlic and ginger and fry it for a minute.

Add a glass of water and then add powdered spices followed by the curd.

Stir well and cook on high heat with the lid open. When oil starts to separate and the masala starts to stick at the bottom, add the meat and cook it covered on medium heat stirring regularly.

The meat will start releasing its juices.

Stir at regular intervals ensuring that it does not stick to the bottom.

You will see the gravy forming after a few minutes.

Keep cooking till the juices of the meat dry up completely and the oil separates.

If you are cooking in a pressure cooker, then at this stage add as much water as you would like in the dish when it is served. Ideally, the gravy should be above the level of the meat.

Close the lid cook on high flame till the 1st whistle and then let it simmer on low heat.

After 10-12 minutes, put the flame off.  After putting the flame off, let it rest for 30 minutes before opening the lid.

Garnish with chopped green coriander and close the lid for another 5 minutes.

Alternatively if you are cooking this dish in a degchi or a deep pan then after you roast the meat pieces in the masala, add 3 glasses of water, bring it to a boil and simmer with the lid covered.

Cook on low heat, stirring between intervals. This should take about 1 to 1.15 hours on low heat.

Check consistence of the curry. If you want it thick then evaporate it on high heat with lid open and finally garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

Note: As a souring agent, in place of Curd you can put two medium-sized tomatoes diced at the stage when the masala has been fried well. Cook the tomatoes for 3 minutes, stirring regularly and then add the meat. Also it is important to note that the commercially available dish in most of the restaurants is without gravy like a Bhuna Gosht. Laal Maas is a name that was coined much later. It was always a staple meat/ chicken/ fish/ game meat curry cooked by a peasant and served to the king’s kitchen and had some gravy.

Poor people would add very hot red chillies, less of other masalas and more water to feed a bigger family whereas the more affluent classes or the royal kitchens would make a thicker gravy with less amount of chillies.