Saoji is a cuisine that is famous on the lines of Nagpur . It is basically spicy and uses a lot of Kashmiri mirch and garam masalas .
This recipe is a spicy mutton curry with yogurt and dried fenugreek , that is Kasuri methi .
The gravy shouldn’t be very thick and it shoud be eaten with white steamed rice and jawari bhakri .
You need :
1 kg Mutton, on bone , cut into 5” pieces
250 gm Yogurt, whisked
Salt to taste
5 tbsp oil
1 cup of Browned onion paste
{Fry 2 cups of onions until golden and process them in a mixer till u get a fine paste . This should yield I cup of paste}
2 tbsp Hirwa watan
{Grind 1 cup of coriander leaves , 4-5 green chillies, 20 garlic cloves and 5” piece of ginger to a fine paste. This would yield around ½ cup and you can store this in refrigerator for upto 5 days }
1 tsp Turmeric powder
2 tsp Red chilli powder
1 ½ tsp Kasuri Methi ( Dried Fenugreek leaves )
1 tbsp Coconut oil
Chopped Fresh Coriander for garnish
Spice Paste :
2 Black cardamom
2 Bay leaves
10 Kashmiri chillies
1 tbsp Khus khus ( Poppy seeds )
1 tbsp Coriander seeds
10 Cloves
1 ½ tsp jeera ( Cumin seeds )
4 cinnamon pieces (2 “)
How to :
In a large bowl, marinate the mutton with the yogurt and some salt . Leave it for atleast 2 hrs , preferably in the refrigerator .
For the spice paste , dry roast all the ingredients slightly . Then put them to boil with 1 cup of water for approx. 10 mins and set aside to cool. Grind to a fine paste.
Heat oil in a pan, add the browned onion paste and then the hirwa watan and sauté for a minute .
Add in rest of the ingredients including the coconut oil. sauté till the oil seperates.
Add in the mutton and sauté for few mins till the meat is coated with the masala .
Add in 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook covered till the mutton is tender and gravy is thick.
Garnish with coriander leaves .
Serve with Steamed white rice and bhakri / roti .
P.s : If you prefer less of garam masala in your food , don’t use all the spice paste . use accordingly .
Bon Appetit !
