I walk outside
And nature kisses me
Where it hurts,
Her wet lips...
Electrifying
Like a lost lover
Returned to my arms.
I've stopped believing in a God.
I believe in a universe.
The stars are my scripture and the wind
through my hair is the truth,
I throw my hands in embrace
As my broken bones swallow the moon.
- Christopher Poindexter
Like a michelin star chef rightly said " Creativity is a product of your experience". Who ever you are, whatever you do (excluding your daily money making job) - you do it with a passion driven by your past experiences. I like cooking, but not everyday though . So no, I am not a passionate cook, but can surely whip up a lovely meal! I quite enjoy the warmth on my cheeks, tiredness, a few blisters/cuts sometimes whilst cooking - which goes puffff !! When someone tastes what I've made and says "This is yum!!" Apart from availability of ingredients, time etc I am someone driven by her moods. When I am happy - I bake. When I want to sooth my senses, I make a bread from the scratch. Trust me, there is nothing as therapeutic as working with dough, moulding it, watching it rise with time and then have a house filled with that heady baked aroma. Very few can comprehend that joy, it's not for the boring, practical lot fingering their cellphones/ newspapers on a pot (pun intended)_!! Eventually my camera tries to capture this beauty , penning down my thoughts about it is Step # 2 and another blog post goes live. Unlike some people, I am fine sharing my recipes :)
Food to me is an amalgamation of memories - mostly good ones, I would say. Sweet rice pudding cooked on festivals, tandoori chicken on a Sunday, fresh home made batter for a dosa which I compare with the one I eat out, cakes for a birthday, fruit salad that mom made for our relatives ... the list goes on. Every Indian dish that is up on this blog, has a memory in itself. That's how most of my blog posts begin :) So this dish is no different. As a kid , my mom would repeat a few of her dishes rarely . But Sundays were different, an exception rather because it would either be minced meat & peas with dosa or a mutton curry with idli.
Fresh homemade idli, steamed in a specific cooker, soft and spongy - trust me you can easily eat 4-5 of these and still not be full. That's how well my mom can make her batter for idlis, and its no comparison to the ID packets of the world.
We use very less packaged stuff at home - be it spice powders, flours, rice, its all bought directly from vendors who deal with farmers and then ground in an old style mill. I hope I continue to keep this tradition alive. After all, I am a sucker when it comes to good taste and quality ingredients. Even meat is picked fresh from the family butcher, no real good packs here. Unless its a total emergency or the recipe demands it. All you need to make this curry, is a handful of spices, pressure cooker and a bread/rice to soak it in. It't that simple :)
INGREDIENTS :
250 grams - Goat /lamb meat
1 large onion, chopped
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
1 Cup - Fenugreek/Methi leaves
1 tsp - Turmeric powder
1tbsp - Red Chilli powder (adjust as per your preferred spice levels)
1/2 tbsp - Coriander powder
4-5 tbsp - Cooking oil
Salt to taste
For the masala (ground to a fine paste, by using water):
1 inch - Ginger
4-6 Garlic pods
1 inch - Cinnamon stick
3-4 Cloves
5-6 sprigs of Coriander leaves
5 big chunks of coconut
PROCEDURE
1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add chopped onions ,fenugreek leaves and fry them on medium simmer for 3-5mins.
2. Add the pieces of meat and cook with occasional stirring for 6-8 mins on a low flame. Until the raw smell disappears.
3.Once the meat it is cooked, it'll start to leave its own water. Add the dry spice powders and salt at this stage, stir well to coat all the pieces.
4. Finally add tomatoes and cook till they turn mushy. If the mixture is drying up & sticking to the bottom you may add half a cup of water and let it cook for 5mins.
5. Finally add sufficient amount of water (about 1 glass) to submerge all the meat. Check for spice/salt levels and adjust accordingly. Put on the lid and let it cook on slow flame for upto 3 whistles.
6. After the pressure is gone, add the ground masala, turn on the flame. Let it cook for another 10 mins.
Serve hot :) Bon Appetite!!