Champaran meat
The pot is sealed with dough and then shaken, not stirred.
Lamb. Not vegetarian — contains lamb.
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg mutton on the bone, in pieces
- 4 tablespoons mustard oil
- 4 tablespoons ghee
- 20 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 onions, sliced
- a 6 cm piece of ginger, grated
- 300 ml plain yoghurt
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 6 green cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 200 g plain flour, for the seal
Method
- THE POT IS SEALED WITH DOUGH AND THEN SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED. Its article is 563 characters and the method is all of it: meat IS MARINATED IN A MIX OF MUSTARD OIL AND GHEE, GARLIC, ONIONS AND GINGER WITH THE PASTE OF SPICES. THE MOUTH OF THE HANDI (EARTHENWARE POT) IS SEALED WITH KNEADED FLOUR. IT IS COOKED SLOWLY ON A LOW FLAME OF A WOOD FIRE AND TOSSED CONTINUOUSLY WHILE COOKING.
- WHICH IS THE SAME SEAL AS A HYDERABADI BIRYANI AND THE OPPOSITE INSTRUCTION. That pot, as on its own page, is sealed so the rice can steam undisturbed; this one is sealed and then lifted and swung every few minutes so the meat turns in its own liquid without the lid ever coming off. Nothing is added after the seal goes on and nothing escapes.
- BOTH FATS GO IN, AND THE ARTICLE NAMES BOTH. A MIX OF MUSTARD OIL AND GHEE. The mustard oil is the sharpness and the ghee is the body, and one without the other makes a lesser dish.
- TWENTY CLOVES OF GARLIC, AND IT IS NOT A MISPRINT EITHER. The article's marinade is garlic, onions and ginger with a spice paste, and in this dish the garlic leads.
- MARINATE IT AT LEAST FOUR HOURS, IN THE POT IT WILL COOK IN. Everything together, including the yoghurt. There is no browning step at all -- nothing is seared, because the lid is never off.
- SEAL THE LID WITH A ROPE OF FLOUR AND WATER. Pressed round the whole rim. An earthenware handi is best and a heavy casserole with a tight lid will do.
- LOWEST POSSIBLE HEAT FOR TWO HOURS, AND TOSS IT EVERY TEN MINUTES. Lift the whole pot and swing it so the contents turn over. That is what the article means by tossed continuously, and it is also the only way to stop the base catching when you cannot see it.
- BREAK THE SEAL AT THE TABLE. There should be very little liquid and a lot of fat, and the meat should come off the bone. Its article notes the dish is also called ahuna, handi meat or batlohi, and that the cooking time depends on the meat -- which, with no lid to look under, is a reason to buy young mutton.
Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.
Filed under India · All recipes