Super Smooth Mutton Curry

Ingredients

1. Mutton - 500 gm (Curry cut, Large pieces)

2. Cloves - 4

3. Peppercorns - 10

4. Black Cardamom - 1

5. Green Cardamom - 2

6. Cumin Seeds - 1 Tbs

7. Fennel Seeds - 1 Tsp

8. Javitri Flower (Mace) - 1

9. Coriander Seeds - 1 Tbs

10. Long Pepper - 1

11. Dry Red Chillies - 3

12. Star Anise - 1

13. Salt - 1 Tsp

14. Red Chilli Powder - 1 Tsp

15. Coriander Powder - 2 Tbs

16. Garam Masala - 1 Tsp

17. Sour Cream (or Yogurt) - 1 Tbs

18. Unsalted Butter - 1 Tbs

19. Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 Tbs

20. Red Onion - 1 Large (Chopped)

21. Canned Tomatoes - 1/3 Cup (Can be replaced with Fresh Tomato puree)

22. Green Chillies - 3-4 (Split lengthwise in halves)

23. Bay Leaf - 1

24. Desi Ghee - 3 Tbs

25. Demi Glace - 1 Inch Cube (or 1 Cups of stock)

26. Red Wine - 1 Cup

Take the ingredients form no. 2 to 12 in the list above and lightly roast them in a pan. Grind these spices into a powder. Season Mutton with some Salt and Pepper and keep aside for 10 minutes. Heat the mix of Ghee and Cooking Oil in a Kadhai and let it come to heat. Add Bay leaf and Dry Red Chillies. After about a minute, add Mutton and brown well on high heat. You are basically shallow- frying the Mutton here. Keep turning the Mutton pieces continuously Until Golden Brown. This should take some 10 minutes on high heat. At this point, the Mutton is about 40-50% cooked. You will see a beautiful Golden Brown Fond in the Kadhai. Remove the Mutton pieces from the Kadhai and reserve for later. Now, add your Onions and cook Until Golden Brown. The Fond would have become even darker and flavourful by now. Add Ginger-Garlic paste. Once that is cooked for 2 minutes, add in the Ground Whole Spices. Cook for 1 minute. Be careful not to burn your ground spices. They only need a minute or so. Add Tomato Puree and Green Chillies. Some of the Fond will be released by the Tomato Puree. That's good. Add in the Mutton that has been resting and turn it well in Kadhai to make sure that all Masala is thoroughly coated on every Mutton piece and roast the Mutton for 5-7 minutes in Masala. What will happen is that the Fond that was released by the Tomato Puree will start developing again at this stage. The whole mix of Mutton and Masala will be pretty dry at this point, Roasting nicely in the Ghee that must have separated from the Tomato Puree by now. Now add in the Chilli Powder, Salt , Garam Masala and Coriander Powder. Stir that in throughly and cook for 2-3 minutes. You have to manage the temperature in a way that you get nice, dark brown Fond but nothing should burn. Now add water so that the whole mix is completely under water. Roughly 2 cups. With the help of a spatula, make sure you scrape off all the bits and pieces from all parts of Kadhai and bring them into the liquid. Let this cook for at-least 30 minutes with lid on. Keep stirring occasionally. Make sure that you liquify the Sour Cream with a Tsp of hot water, before you add it to the mixture. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and cook open for 15 minutes. Depending on how thick or runny you like your curry, add water if you need to. Once the curry has reduced to the consistency of your liking, check for seasoning and adjust if required. Turn off the heat and let the curry rest. Lastly, add in the Butter and fold it in. Your curry is ready. Let it cool down for 15 minutes and then Enjoy!

One optional thing that you can do to make your curry look like in the picture. Take the pieces of Mutton out from the curry and then strain the liquid through sieve. This will remove any grit from the curry and give it a super fine and luxurious mouth-feel. Once strained, add the Mutton pieces back to the liquid and you are done!