Kosha Mangsho

Ingredients

• 1kg bone-in goat or mutton shoulder, cut into 4cm pieces
• 200g thick full-fat yoghurt
• 2 tbsp ginger paste
• 2 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1.5 tsp salt, for the marinade
• 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 4 tbsp mustard oil
• 3 tbsp ghee
• 4 large onions, very finely sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 5cm cinnamon stick
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 6 cloves
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 potatoes, halved (optional but traditional)
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp salt, to adjust
• 300ml hot water

Before you cook

• Mix the mutton with the yoghurt, ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric, chilli powder and salt, and marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight in the fridge.
• Slice the onions as finely as you can manage.
• Take the marinated meat out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.

Steps

1. Heat the mustard oil in a heavy casserole over a high heat until it smokes, then turn it down to medium.
2. Fry the halved potatoes for 5 minutes until golden on all sides, then lift them out and set them aside.
3. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves to the oil and let them swell and perfume the oil for 30 seconds.
4. Add the sliced onions and the sugar and fry for 20 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onions are deep brown and jammy.
5. Tip in the marinated mutton with all its marinade and turn the heat up to high.
6. Fry hard for 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the yoghurt has dried onto the meat and the pieces are browned.
7. Add the ground coriander and cumin and stir for 1 minute.
8. Turn the heat down to medium-low and begin the koshano, the long fry. Cook the meat for 40 to 45 minutes, stirring every few minutes and adding 2 tablespoons of hot water whenever it sticks.
9. Watch for the masala to darken to a deep mahogany and for oil to pool clearly at the edges of the pot. That separation is the sign the frying stage is finished.
10. Pour in the hot water, return the potatoes, and add the remaining salt.
11. Cover the pot and simmer on the lowest heat for 50 minutes, until the meat pulls away from the bone with a spoon.
12. Uncover and boil for 5 minutes if the gravy is looser than you want. It should coat the meat rather than pool around it.
13. Stir in the ghee and the garam masala and take the pot off the heat.
14. Rest the kosha mangsho covered for 15 minutes, then serve with luchi or steamed rice.