Goat Curry

The more accesible term, goat curry, is better known in the old homeland by it's Bengali name, kosha mangsho (or less popularly, mangsher kosha). The term 'mangsho' always seems to imply red meat, which in turn always seems to imply succulent goat meat for the mainstream nominally-Hindu Bengali. Consequently, this dish has no equal in popularity in celebratory feasts, festive cooking, or even a grand Sunday lunch, that bastion of non-festive gastronomic luxury and indulgence. My father makes a brilliant kosha mangsho, but since I'm far, far away from that, I cooked a lighter, more artery-friendly version of his recipe.

Ingredients:
Goat meat/beef (but with a little fat on) -- 1 kilo, cleaned but some marrowed bones retained.
Ginger-- two inches, peeled and minced.
Potatoes--1 per person. Peeled and sliced into chunks.
Garlic--8-10 cloves, peeled (or less, if you're faint-hearted).
Red onions--2 small or 1 large, chopped.
Tomatoes--2 if 'deshi', 3-4 medium sized if hybrid or plum. Chopped.
Green chillies--as you like it.
Lemon--1.
Red chilli powder (optional)
Cumin+coriander powder, 2:1.
Garam masala powder -- a teaspoon or two.
Yogurt (optional)

How to:
Put the onions, ginger, green chillies and garlic in the food processor/mixie with a tablespoon or so of water and make a granular paste.
NOTE: My father puts the tomatoes in this paste as well, but the efficient darling met a friend at the supermarket and consequently brought the tomatoes twenty minutes too late, thus relegating them to a later stage. So if you forget to add tomatoes at this stage, no worries. It's still doable.
Marinate the meat in this mixture for at least two hours. The yogurt can also go in at this stage, but this makes properly frying the meat difficult for me later... it chars too quickly.



Heat a generous amount of oil and spread it around the wok/pan. Carefully lift the meat from the marination mixture (which at this point will be liquidy) and drop in the wok. Turn frequently to prevent overcooking/hardening. When the meat is nicely browned, reserve in the marination bowl with the mixture. Add a little more oil to the wok. Rub the potatoes with salt and tumeric and drop them in. Fry them on low till most of them take on a light brown colour.



Add the meat back to the pot, this time *with* the marinating mixture. On medium heat, mix the two thoroughly together. Tomatoes can be added at this stage, chopped into tiny bits and fried thoroughly. OR, add water and then add chopped tomatoes, using a spatula to mix them in completely with the gravy. If you didn't add the yogurt earlier but want to, add it at this stage, diluted with a little water. If using yougurt, adding tomatoes earlier is recommended.

 

Add the cumin and coriander with salt and sugar, and red chili powder if using. Mix well and let the gravy thicken to any consistence desired. When it's done, turn off the flame and add garam masala powder. Mix it in well. Serve over hot rice. Ta da!