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–+ servings

first class mutton curry

The Indian Railways' take on "meat and three vegs" served to First Class passengers. A famous Anglo-Indian recipe..
serving bowl of first class mutton curry, with rice and papadoms in the background
prepare: 15 minutes
cook: 35 minutes
marination: 12 hours
total time: 12 hours 50 minutes
difficulty: moderate
yield: 4 servings
calories: 627 kcal
diet: gluten free
cuisine: anglo-indian, Indian

equipment

  • small frypan
  • pressure cooker

ingredients

  • 600 g mutton - diced (see notes)

for tempering

for the marinade

for the curry

  • 500 g baby potatoes - cut into halves
  • 150 ml tamarind water
  • 2 carrots - cut into pieces (see notes)
  • 1 cup green peas

for serving

instructions

  • Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a small pan on medium heat. Allow to cool, then grind to a fine powder.
  • Heat half the oil in a pan, and add the whole tempering spices until they start to sizzle
  • Now add the chopped onions, ginger, the whole garlic cloves, salt and the jaggery. Fry until the onions and garlic start turning golden brown. Take off the heat, and allow to cool a little
  • Combine the fried onion and spice mix, the ground coriander and cumin seeds, turmeric and a little water, then grind to a thick paste.
  • Place the meat and the paste into a mixing bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight

to cook

  • Heat the remaining oil in the pressure cooker and fry the potatoes, cut side down, until the edges turn crisp and golden. Remove from the cooker and set aside.
  • Add the marinated mutton pieces into the pressure cooker. Cook on high heat for three minutes, stirring continuously, so that all the meat pieces are browned evenly
  • Add the tamarind water and fold in with the mutton. Seal the pressure cooker and cook on low heat for ten minutes.
  • Remove the cooker from the heat and release pressure quickly.
  • Add the fried potatoes, carrots and peas to the mix and add warm water, if required. Close and seal the lid and cook for ten minutes on medium heat
  • Remove from heat, and leave until the pressure comes down. Open the lid and stir. Add the ghee and garam masala. Close the lid and let the flavours seep into the meat properly for 15 minutes. 

to serve

  • Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve.

notes

Mutton can be hard to find, so lamb or hogget can be substituted. Adjust cooking times in accordance with your pressure cooker instructions. We use leg (lamb or mettin) for this recipe.
Dice the meat into pieces suitable for pressure cooking. We cut ours into 1cm (½ inch) pieces.
Cut the carrot into pieces about the same size as the halved baby potatoes.
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, then this dish can be done on the stove top. Adjust cooking times to allow for this. You will have to at least double the times.
 
 

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nutrition

Serving: 250 g | Calories: 627 kcal | Carbohydrates: 47 g | Protein: 37 g | Fat: 33 g | Saturated Fat: 8 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9 g | Trans Fat: 0.1 g | Cholesterol: 107 mg | Sodium: 728 mg | Potassium: 1330 mg | Fiber: 8 g | Sugar: 13 g | Vitamin A: 5616 IU | Vitamin C: 81 mg | Calcium: 102 mg | Iron: 6 mg