The cuisine of India is not circumscribed to its physical boundaries. It has its influences from the royal dynasties, explorers and the families that made it their homes. Likewise, Rajasthani cuisine is a gastronomic journey of the legacy that is buried in the sand dunes of Thar and hidden in the nooks and crannies of the old palace windows.
“O Kesariya Balom Aaonee, Padharo Maarhe Des”
There is more to Rajasthan’s desert town, Jodhpur than the picturesque indigo-painted, ink-spilled buildings and its legendary fables and folklore – its cuisine. The confluence of Mughal and Rajput cultures post the marriage of Jodha and Akbar led to the influence of non-vegetarian (especially mutton) food in Rajasthan and gave us a 100-year old world-famous dish – Laal Maas.
I first had Laal Maas on my solo trip to Jaipur at Handi Restaurant and have been intrigued since. I made this dish a week back on A’s birthday and wanted to get it right and perfect. So I started researching on Laal Maas (and the rest of the Rajasthani cuisine) through food documentaries, vlogs, legacy tales and recipes from the kings the royal palaces of Rajasthan.
Did you know that the women were never allowed to cook meat in their Janana Kitchen? It was only the men in the house who cooked meat until the Queen Mother of Jaipur, Maharani Gayatri Devi originally hailing from Cooch Behar in West Bengal brought her staff and inaugurated a Bengali Kitchen in the palace where they incorporated women cooking meat.
I have also rummaged through the recipes of Laal Maas from the cook of a famous roadside restaurant to the royal chefs from the palaces and concluded that everyone claims their recipe to be authentic. I have incorporated the best of all worlds in my recipe and decided to make it with the best of preparation with a 24-hour marination, slow cooked tender goat meat in ghee with home-made yogurt, Mathania chilies brought all the way from Jaipur and smoked with charcoal.
Ingredients:
- Mutton: 500 gms
- Mathania chilies: 10 nos (Boiled for 20 mins and blended into a smooth paste)
- Degi mirch: 4 nos (Boiled for 20 mins and blended into a smooth paste)
- Garlic paste: 4 tbsp
- Ginger paste: 3 tbsp
- Ghee: 1 cup
- Garam Masala Powder: 4 tbsp (Roasted cloves, cardamon, cinnamon, cumin, pepper, coriander seeds, kabab chini dry-roasted in a pan and coarsely grounded)
- Bay Leaves: 2 nos.
- Cardamon: 2 nos.
- Cinnamon: 2 nos.
- Onions: 2 nos. (Thinly Sliced)
- Garlic: 5-6 pods
- Yogurt: 1 cup (Whisked until smooth)
- Kashmiri Chili Powder: 2 tbsp (Originally not used, optional)
- Turmeric Powder: 1 tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Charcoal: 1 nos.
- Mustard Oil: 2 tbsp (For marinating)
Recipe:
- Marinate the mutton pieces with ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, garam masala powder and mustard oil and keep it in the fridge overnight. I kept in for for 24 hours and the mutton turned out to be really tender after cooking but it is absolutely optional. Do not forget to massage the meat pieces thoroughly with the marinade.
- Place a clay pot over the stove under a wired grill (usually used for making roti) and add ghee in it.
- Once it is hot, add bay leaves, cardamon and cinnamon and let it sputter.
- Remove the excess marinade from the mutton and fry them in ghee for 10 mins.
- Add the onions and garlic and fry everything for another 15 mins in medium flame until it is lightly browned.
- Add ginger garlic paste, turmeric, red chili and garam masala powder and fry everything together until the raw smell disappears.
- Add all the blended chili paste and cook until the oil start separating from the sides.
- Add the water in which you boiled the chilies if the masalas dry out.
- Cook the mutton until it is 95% cooked and tender. This might take up to 30 mins more.
- Add the beaten yogurt and mix it in a low flame to prevent it from curdling.
- Add warm water or warm mutton stock to your desired consistency and let it cook until the meat is completely tender.
- Served hot with Khameeri/Khooba/Rumali Roti or Steamed Basmati Rice.
If you liked this recipe and want to see more of this mother-daughter duo, don’t forget to reach out to us at rannabaati00@gmail.com and our Instagram Handle @rannabaati by Oliva Das. We look forward to your requests and feedback!
Ranna Baati 