Hyderabadi Mutton Dalcha
Slow cooked mutton and chana dal in a fragrant stew.
Ingredients
- 500 g mutton brisket or breast meat
- 250 g chana dal (split Bengal gram)
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1½ tsp garlic paste
- 2 fresh green chillies, slit halfway
- 6 cloves
- 4 green cardamoms
- 2 1-inch pieces cinnamon
- 1 bay leaf (tej patta)
- 2 black cardamom
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 1½ tsp coriander seeds, toasted and coarsely ground
- 1 tsp chilli powder (cayenne)
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 10 curry leaves
- A few mint leaves, coarsely chopped
- A handful of fresh coriander, chopped
- Salt
- Water, as needed
Instructions
- Wash and soak the chana dal for 1 hour, pressure cook with a pinch of turmeric powder for 20 minutes and puree to a smooth consistency.
- Take a deep, heavy bottomed pan or Dutch oven and heat 2 tbsps of ghee on a medium flame. Lower the heat, add the whole spices, sauté for 15 secs and add the onions. Keeping the flame low, cook the onions till translucent.
- Now add the ginger and garlic pastes, stir and cook for another 15 seconds, taking care not to burn the pastes. Tip in the meat, add the turmeric powder and mix well. On a low-medium flame, continue to bhuno or brown the meat, periodically scraping the brown bits of masala adhering to the bottom of the pan. This should take about 10-12 minutes.
- Sprinkle the chilli powder and ground coriander over the mutton and cook for 10 more seconds. Now season with salt and a pour in the dal. Mix well, add 100 ml warm water, cover and simmer for 40 minutes (depending on the quality of the meat) to and hour till the meat is fully cooked. You may need to add a little water as it cooks, if the dalcha becomes too thick and the dal starts sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Now add the tamarind paste and curry leaves and cook for a further 5-10 minutes till the sharp, raw taste of tamarind disappears. Add the chopped coriander and mint and turn off the heat. Serve piping hot with rice, jeera pulao, nan or roti.