Dak Bungalow Mutton Curry (Beat the Chills!)
This weekend is certainly not the kind of weather to be running around, in fact, even hunkered down in my corner I cannot help feeling the chills. We often take time to go out on Valentine’s day in the evening. It gives us an opportunity to try something new and catch up on a new place. However this year since it was a weekend we actually went out for a family lunch something the kids were thrilled about. As for the evening, I cooked a relaxing dinner at home.
Among my items was a heavy lamb dish, that I have labelled Lamb Dak Bungalow, in the spirit of the cooking of colonial Dak Bungalows. Now, since we had this with a couple of other light veggie offerings it worked as a perfect balance of indulgence and heaviness.
Mostly, we were out of luck for the evening as Martha our trusted helper and baby sitter was out of town, a rare trip that I think she has more than earned to see her son in North Carolina. He is a marine and is most likely going to be deployed to Afghanistan soon. The thought of that puts fear in my heart, I do not know how many more young men need to be sacrificed or sent away before we stop fighting.
We had lunch at the Twisted Oak, I will share my experience with you soon, and had stepped out for some grocery shopping amidst the most beautiful snow storm, that sprinkled fresh soft snow just the way I like it. Here is a shot of our neighborhood, right outside out house. It was in this deep and shrouded mysterious evening, that my mind turned to Dak Bungalows and old colonial style cooking. Certainly beats going out to watch 50 Shades of Grey, I mean seriously?!
A Dak Bungalow is a outpost or guest house, dating back to British times in India and served as the official stopping points of rest for officers during their travels, and while we have been cobbling up recipes for their dishes, it would be fair to say the general recipe of the Dak Bungalow depended on the cook in the particular Dak Bungalow.
We are now seeing a fair number of these dishes re-surfacing in the menus of Kolkata’s Bengali restaurants. One of the general features of consensus tends to be the addition of both potatoes and eggs to this recipe, again a much loved Bengali addition to fancy dishes, especially the Kolkata style birayani. Now, having said that, odds are this dish was at best prepared with country chicken or goat as it was unlikely that lamb was a part of the culinary universe at that point. In this recipe, the potatoes are essential and the eggs while they are interesting you can leave them out if you really wish, as the dish is plenty rich without that.
In general, with memories of tasting this dish at 6 Ballygunge Place and general folk lore, as this was not one in either Dida (my grandmother) or mothers repertoire, but certainly now in mine when the weather is so cold, and chances are this recipe will be entertaining travelers in this little outpost where many a traveler stops by on the way to NYC. Tomorrow is a day off for me, and possibly one that I shall pay for given how busy the week promises to be with all kinds of craziness involved, but for now there is home and hearth and a warm corner that keeps me sheltered from those insanely cold temperatures out there.
A hearty lamb curry with a generous dose of spice, inspired by the colonial Indian outposts call Dak Bungalows.
Ingredients
- 1 pound of lamb cubed and trimmed
- 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated garlic
- 3/4 tablespoon freshly ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons olive or canola oil
- 2 large onions, diced (about 11/4 cups)
- 1 large stick of cinnamon (2 inches), broken into smaller pieces
- 2 to 3 cloves
- 3 green cardamoms
- 1 black cardamom (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons red cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 3/4 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 medium sized potatoes, quartered
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 hard boiled eggs
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Place the lamb in a mixing bowl, cut and squeeze in the lime juice. Add in the grated ginger and the garlic and salt and set aside for 4 to 6 hours.
- Heat the oil on medium low heat and add in the onions and cook the onions for about 7 minutes stirring occasionally until the onions are a pale toffee color. Add in the cinnamon, cloves, green cardamoms and the black cardamom if using and mix well.
- Add in the lamb and the bay leaves and cook on medium heat for another 6 to 7 minutes, until the lamb is no longer pink.
- Stir in the cayenne, cumin and coriander powder with the salt and sugar and cook the mixture for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the potatoes and the water.
- You can either half the eggs and gently mix in, or cut slits along the sides and add them whole.At this point, cover the mixture and simmer for 1 hour until the lamb is very tender.
- Check for seasonings and stir in the cilantro and serve with rice or chapatis.
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