Maunika Gowardhan

Bengali Kosha Mangsho

Dry Fry Lamb cooked with whole spices & chillies

Serves
4
From
Indian Kitchen
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Bengali Kosha Mangsho

The recipe

Ingredients

  • 800gms leg of lamb cut into 4cm pieces on the bone
  • 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp mustard oil (optional)
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1” piece of ginger
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 4 green cardamom pods
  • 4 cloves
  • ½ “piece of cinnamon
  • 2 dried mild kashmiri chillies
  • 1 medium onion finely sliced
  • 1 heaped tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder (or mild paprika)
  • 1 medium potato cut into chunks
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp coriander leaves roughly chopped
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. Add the Greek yoghurt, mustard oil, turmeric powder and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk lightly. Add the lamb to it and marinate for 1 hour or preferably overnight. Blend together the garlic & ginger with a splash of water (2 tbsp) to a fine puree. Set aside.

  2. In a heavy bottom sauce pan heat the vegetable oil and add the cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon stick. Also add the dried chillies. Let them sizzle and infuse the oil for a minute. Add the sliced onions and fry on medium heat for 7-10 minutes. As they soften and start to change colour add the ginger garlic paste. Sauté the paste for a couple of minutes and turn the heat to low. Followed by the tomato puree frying for a further couple of minutes.

    Bengali Kosha Mangsho (2)

  3. At this stage add all the lamb pieces along with the marinade and stirring well, seal the pieces for 2-3 minutes. Add the powdered spices and stir well frying for 3-4 minutes. As the lamb cooks it starts to release its moisture. Now add the potato chunks. Season to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer cooking with the lid on for an hour on a low heat until the meat is moist & cooked all the way through. Make sure to check half way through the cooking process, stir the lamb adding a splash of water if it gets too dry.

    Add lemon juice, salt and garnish with fresh coriander. Serve warm with luchis or puris.

From the book

Indian Kitchen

Secrets of Indian home cooking

Growing up in Mumbai, Maunika learned the secrets of home cooking, Indian-style. The chapters follow your mood: Hungry for when you’re short of time, Lazy for something slower and comforting, Indulgent for weekend feasting, and Celebratory for when friends and family come over.

About the book Buy the book (opens in a new tab)

The story

About this recipe.

An authentic Bengali meat dish and one of my favourites. In India it is cooked with mutton though I have swapped lamb for it; marinated in a yoghurt mix, tossed in spices and cooked until the meat is moist & tender. A note to remember is that there is no additional water added to this dish. The end result isn’t quite a gravy dish but one with a thick masala that coats all the chunks of lamb. For this dish this it is crucial that the onions are fried well until soft & caramelly also that the ginger & garlic paste is blended to a fine puree to yield that thick masala base.

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