Servings: 4 people Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 30 - 40 mins Total Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• 500 grams boneless cubes of beef or mutton (4-5 CMS) OR
• 500 grams medium to big pieces of chicken
• 250 grams sliced onions
• 250 grams medium tomatoes cut into halves
• 1 tablespoon mustard oil for marination
• 12-15 garlic cloves (see note)
• 8-10 mildly hot de-seeded slit green chillies (as per taste)
• 5-6 finely cut green chillies
• 1-1/2” ginger cut into juliennes (save 8-10 juliennes for garnishing)
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• 1 lemon - juice
• 150 grams yogurt
• 1 teaspoon carom seeds
• 1 teaspoon roasted and ground cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 3 tablespoons smoked and cooled mustard oil OR
• neutral oil (do not smoke and cool this)
• 1 tablespoon salt (to taste)
• 2 glasses of water
• 1 tablespoon roughly cut green coriander
• 1 tablespoon mint leaves

Directions

Marinade

Marinate the meat pieces in lemon juice and carom seeds with mustard oil for minimum 2 hrs (preferably over night for Meat)

Steps

Put 2 glasses of water in a pressure cooker along with marinated meat, garlic, salt, and turmeric, cover and cook. After a whistle, reduce heat to lowest, and cook for 15 minutes if cooking beef or mutton. Switch off the stove. If cooking chicken, then cook for 10 minutes on lowest heat, then switch off the stove.

Heat oil until it starts steaming, (if using mustard oil), in a heavy bottom pan preferably (iron wok – cast iron wok). Turn off the flame for a couple of minutes, again turn on the flame add onions and fry till golden brown add the cooked meat along with the stock and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add whisked curd along with cumin powder, ginger garlic paste, cut green chillies and ¾ of the slit green chillies (rest for garnish), add tomatoes cook on high – medium flame and cook covered for 5 mins.

Open, remove the tomato skin, add mint leaves and coriander leaves (leave some for garnish), ginger juliennes (leaving small quantity for garnish) and cook on high flame mixing stirring the gravy vigorously, adjust the consistency to thick gravy coating the pieces.

Garnish with slit green chillies, coriander leaves, ginger juliennes, and lemon wedges, serve with tandoori roti, buns, pav or bakery kulchas.

Alternatively

Even chicken (bone-in) (medium to big) cooked in the same manner turns out delicious.

Tips

Iron cooking on high flame easily reduces the water used and the tomatoes to blend well and yet not loose the flavour of the condiments used.

Tomatoes can be adjusted as per liking, I personally like the pieces just broken down but seen, did not do the same as family members do not like them, hence cooked them to paste.

Secret

In the marination, I used roasted garlic (crushed) and used it in the end also, just before serving. Nice flavour and aroma (1/2 tsp used in total)