Aloo Gosht
Aloo gosht is a one pot comfort food from north india. This meat & potato curry combines tender mutton, lamb, or goat meat with potatoes.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb lamb meat or mutton or goat meat
- 2 medium russet potatoes peeled & quatered
- 4 tablespoon mustard oil or any cooking oil of choice
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 1-2 strands mace
- 1 large red onion sliced (about 1 cup)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3 tomatoes chopped, about 1.5 cup
- 1.5 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
For the Fresh Masala
- 10-12 whole dry red chillies adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 8-10 black peppercorn
- 5 green cardamom whole
- 4 cloves
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1.5 inch ginger fresh
- ⅓ cup hot water for soaking
Instructions
Preparation - Make The Spice Paste
- Soak the red chillies and dry spices - cumin, & coriander seeds, cardamom pods, cloves & peppercorns in ¼ -? cup hot water for about 15 minutes to soften.
- Drain & place in a blender. Reserve the soaking liquid. Grind the soaked spices along with garlic & ginger to a smooth paste. Use the soaking liquid if required while grinding.
- Place lamb in a large bowl and add the spice paste over it. Rub all over and let the lamb stand for 15-20 minutes.
- Peel the potatoes. Half them lengthwise, and cut each half into quarters. If you are using small potatoes, just half them. If using baby potatoes, I only peel the skins and leave them whole.
Cook Aloo Gosht
- Heat up mustard oil in a heavy bottomed pot (dutch oven) with lid on medium heat till you see ripples on the surface. If you feel that the oil is quite smoky, take it off the heat and wait for a few minutes.
- Temper the hot oil with bay leaves, mace & cinnamon stick. Wait for 8-10 seconds till you smell the aroma.
- Add the sliced onion & fry on medium heat with intermittent stirring till they turn golden brown.Takes about 8-10 minutes.
- Lower heat & add the marinated lamb. Add ground turmeric & salt. Fry the lamb with browned onions on medium flame for about 5-6 minutes till it appears nicely browned.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and salt. Fry for another 6-8 minutes. You will see water from lamb and tomatoes separating at this point. This will help us in slow cooking the lamb. Add water if needed before covering the pot.
- Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low & let the lamb cook till about 90% cooked. It took me approximately 40 minutes to reach that stage. Adjust the time depending on your meat quality. You will need to check 1-2 times in between to make sure that there is enough liquid. Give the curry a stir and add ½ cup to 1 cup hot water or as needed.
- Open the lid and add the potatoes next along with more water (½ cup hot water). Check the salt. Cover and let cook on low for another 15-20 minutes or so until the lamb is tender & potatoes are cooked through(firm).You will that the oil will separate from the curry. When the oil separates, the curry is ready.
- Switch off the heat. finish with a few pinches of garam masala & let the curry sit covered for at least 20 minutes or till ready to serve. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander if desired & serve warm.
- Serve aloo gosht with warm naan or flaky plain paratha or tandoori roti. You could also serve with steamed plain white basmati rice or cumin rice. Add a refreshing kachumber salad on the side.
Notes
- Choose good quality meat for good flavor and tenderness.
- For the best taste, take time to grind the fresh masala.
- Using fresh onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes are key to flavor in such traditional recipes. You could use ginger-garlic paste, avoid using canned tomatoes. You could add some green chilies while cooking if you wish.
- Adjust the thickness of the gravy by adding water or cooking it down, depending on your preference.
- Rest the curry if possible. This way the flavors get a chance to meld together. And potatoes get a chance to absorb the flavor of the sauce even more.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!