Chattogram’er Kala Bhuna

Kala Bhuna is a delicacy from the Port City of Bangladesh called Chattogram (Chittagong). The secret to this recipe is how long you stew the mutton in its own juices: The Infamous Bhuna to achieve the “Kalo rong” (Black colour). I rummaged through numerous blogs and (insert One Eternity Later meme), came up with my own concoction of the recipe for the contest today morning. Maa added, “Use an iron wok! It will help you with the blackish colour. And no matter what they say, N.E.V.E.R add soya sauce to the recipe. It is NOT authentic!”

What do we do without mothers really?

So after 2 hours of hard work and patience, here it was. Tender juicy mutton falling off the bones, cooked in its own juices, crispy onions meeting your taste buds, lovely aroma. Heaven is this!

Ingredients:

1. Mustard Oil: 5 tbsp
2. Mutton: 500 gms
3. Beresta (Crispy deep-fried onions): 1 cup
4. Crispy fried garlic: 2 tbsp
5. Onion (cubed): 2 nos.
6. Ginger paste: 2 tsp
7. Garlic paste: 2 tsp
8. Cumin powder (Roasted): 1 tbsp
9. Coriander powder: 1 tsp
10. Garam Masala powder (Roasted): 2 tsp
11. Nutmeg-Mace-Black Cardamom powder: 2 tsp
12. Radhuni powder (Crushed): 1 tsp
13. Red Chili powder: 1 tsp
14. Black pepper powder: 1 tsp
15. Red chili: 3 nos
16. Curd: 1 tbsp (Optional)
17. Salt to taste

Recipe:

1. Wash the mutton pieces thoroughly and take out the excess water.
2. Add the beresta, fried garlic (keep some for garnish), ginger-garlic paste, cubed onions (keep some for later), red chili powder, roasted cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, black pepper powder, 2 tbsp mustard oil and smear the mutton with the marinade. Use your hands to marinate, it works the best!
3. Add mustard oil to the iron wok and let it heat till the oil gets translucent in colour.
4. Add the marinated mutton and cook it over a medium flame for 45 mins or till oil starts releasing from the sides with occasional stirring in between.
5. Once the mutton is 80% cooked, in a pan, add mustard oil and heat it till it is smoking hot. Add rest of the cubed onions, garam masala powder, nutmeg-mace-black cardamom powder and fry for 2 mins. Add this to the mutton with the oil and mix them.
6. Add 1 tbsp of curd and splashes of water only if required or is dry. Cover it with lid and cook for another 15-20 mins. Stir in between.
7. Once the mutton is properly cooked, add freshly crushed radhuni and give it a hearty mix. Cook with lid on for another 10 mins.
8. Garnish with fried onions and garlic.
9. Serve it hot with luchi (Deep-fried puffed bread), Paratha, Basanti Pulao (Bengali-style Pulao) or Steamed Rice. Or just eat it directly from the wok and it would still taste great!