We have just started the Coronavirus lockdown in Singapore. Today is the third day. Life, as we know it has changed unrecognizably. We cannot say hello to our neighbors anymore, children cannot go on playdates, people are exercising with masks on–a strange silence and melancholy has descended on the universe.
I feel guilty starting a food blog at this time. Millions of people are not earning enough to afford two square meals a day. My parents in Guwahati have no way to buy fish or chicken or his time. Can I in my right conscience, start writing recipes about food that most people are unable to buy?
But this is also the time that I need to give myself a project. I have been delaying writing a food blog for years. When something of the magnitude of a worldwide plague happens, when you realize that life as we know it is thoroughly and utterly fragile, then the question arises– should I postpone the project of my dreams?
I want to curate a food blog for recipes from my part of the world for several reasons: a) I left home when I was 17 and never learnt to cook our traditional food. So as I pick up the pieces decades later and try to figure out my way through my kitchen, I would like to curate my journey. Maybe others like me will learn to cook the food of our region. Cooking the food of our ancestors is perhaps the only way for many of us to stay in touch with our roots, especially for many of us who left home. b) Food from the Northeast region of India is largely hidden from the world. Barring food bloggers, Northeast food festivals, food pop-ups in metros, what people in our part of the world eat is a mystery to many. In fact, the indigenous tribes in our region are so diverse, food habits so different that a comprehensive understanding of the diet of our region is elusive. There are some accounts in local languages, but rarely anything in English that would be readily available to a global audience. So I thought this was a journey worth documenting.
One of the challenges in documenting the food from the Northeast is that many of the ingredients used in our cooking–especially rice, freshwater fish, herbs and greens are not available outside the region.
The Assamese mutton curry uses simple ingredients. The main cause of debate is the quality of the meat. Mutton refers to goat meat, but there is a huge debate between the khashi or the patha. Meat from khashi, a castrated goat with a richer taste but a milder, less gamey flavor. Usually every household swears by their own personal butcher who will give just the right cut of meat, know exactly how to chop the pieces.
The Assamese mutton curry is mostly a runny curry that we eat with joha rice. There are two stars in the curry–the meat of course, but also large pieces of potatoes that go in the gravy. The gravy just seeps into the potatoes and on the next day when there’s just a little gravy and potatoes left for leftovers, the potatoes truly shine in the limelight.
Every household has a different way of cooking mutton curry. At my grandmom’s they used to make a paste of the whole cumin seeds and red chillies in the xilpota. You can make a paste of that if you so want, but I just make it using the powder.
Ingredients
- Mutton 1/2 kg/ 1 lb
- Large red onions, 2 chopped
- Tomato, 1 chopped
- Ginger paste 2 tbsp
- Garlic paste 2 tbsp
- Green chilli 1, chopped
- Bayleaf 1
- Dry red chilli 1
- Green cardamom, 2
- Clove, 2
- Cinnamon, 1″ piece
- Kashmiri chilli powder 1/2 tbsp
- Cumin powder, 1 tbsp
- Garam masala powder, 1 tsp
- Mustard oil, 4 tbsp
- Salt, 1 tsp
- Turmeric, 1/2tsp
- Potatoes 2, cut breadthwise into 4 big pieces
Marinate the mutton with 1 tbsp mustard oil, 1/2tsp turmeric 1 tbsp ginger, 1 tbsp garlic paste and 1 tsp salt. Cover and let it sit in the marinade for couple of hours (atleast 4 hours), preferably overnight.
Rub turmeric and salt on the potatoes. Fry them in medium flame for ____ minutes and set aside.
In a skillet, add 3 tbsp mustard oil and let it heat until it just reaches smoking point. Add half a tsp of sugar until it caramelizes. Then add the bay leaf, dry red chilli, cardamom, cinnamon and clove. Immediately add the sliced onions and fry on high heat for _____ minutes. Next tip in the chopped tomatoes and the ginger-garlic paste. Fry for _____minutes until the tomatoes loses it raw taste. Now add the meat and fry on high heat for ______ minutes until the meat gets a _______ color.
Mix the cumin powder, Kashmiri chilli powder and garam masala in a bowl with one tbsp water to make a paste. Add the paste to the meat. Fry with the meat for ____ minutes on ______ heat.
If you are using pressure cooker: Add ____ cups of water to the pressure cooker. Tip in the meat and let it cook on high heat for _____ whistles. Let the cooker stand and open the cover. It will open by itself once the steam emits. Cover it and cook on low heat for ____ minutes until oil starts floating on the surface. Once done, add garam masala and one last stir and boil.
If you are cooking on the pan: Add ___ cups water, cover and cook for _____minutes. Once done add garam masala and one last stir and boil.
Recent Comments