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Why only the great Indian goat gets my gut

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Sandip Ghose
Sandip GhoseJan 26, 2016 | 15:34

Why only the great Indian goat gets my gut

Every meat connoisseur knows – mutton is the real thing. Beef, buff(alo) and pork are all good and have their own character - but none have the enduring appeal of the great Indian goat. Chicken was relegated way down in the non-vegetarian list of honour - once the hormone-injected broilers replaced the good old free-range “Desi” or “Gauti” on the dining table.

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Sure – there is a cultural history behind this – but let’s not get into gastronomical anthropology and concentrate purely on matters of taste and gut. And, mutton strikes the perfect balance between palate and stomach. 

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Laal Maas - a Rajasthani preparation

Going down to the basics – as most meat preparations mutton can be cooked in three essential forms – grilled or roasted (kebabs), dry gravies and curries. While the first and the last (kebabs and curries) get a lot of attention – the second is the neglected art – probably because it is more difficult to prepare – requiring far more time and patience - than the other two.

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Kosha Mangsho - a Bengali preparation

Take for instance – the case of Rajasthani “Jungli Maas”. While everyone raves about "Lal-Maas" – the ubiquitous red curry with loads of chilly-powder – it is Jungli Maas – cooked in slow fire for hours in pure ghee and minimal spices (whole Kashmiri pepper) that few know of and even more difficult to find in a commercial restaurant (try Handi on MI Road in Jaipur). Same is the fate of Kabargah or Tabak-Maaz from Kashmir – a Wazwan delicacy not known to the regular Rogan Josh gluttons. Similarly, the authentic Bengali Kosha Mangsho (a patent of North-Calcutta’s Shyam Bazar Gol-Bari) and it’s Mughlai cousin "Chaamp" cooked without a drop of water (the latter shallow fried) hasn’t got their due on the national food map. 

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For those who think Bihari cuisine begins and ends with Litti-Chokha - at best supplemented by rich Mutton Curry in a mustard oil and turmeric base – have to be initiated to the heavy-duty mutton preparations from Champaran (once made famous by Gandhi – now has nothing Gandhian left about it).

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'Ahuna' at Champaran Meat House in Bihar.

While Taas – a type of basic bar-be-cued Mutton (an import from the neighbouring Terai region of Nepal) with Chivda (beaten rice) is a staple snack of the region – the real hero is “Ahuna” – simmered for hours over charcoal in sealed earthen pots (matka) to even tenderise the bones. Whole pods of garlic and red-chillies and the collusion of marinade (turmeric, red-pepper mixed in mustard-oil) mutton fat and ghee give it that sinful – ready to die for – character. Had with Chapatti – quarters of onions and gree-chillies – it is God’s creation to overcome guilt of all the misdeeds of the day – which is par for the course in the bad-lands of North Bihar. 

But, "Ahuna" has a more spiritually evolved cousin – "Atthey" cooked by the Pandas of the Baidyanath Dham Temple in Deoghar (once a part of Bihar – but now Jharkhand). The Atthey has practically no spices – just the aroma of ghee invading every pore of the melt-in-the-mouth mutton to be enjoyed with the special Paratha – sold by weight in the narrow by-lanes leading to the temple. The Pandas, far from being vegetarian, are known to polish off more than a kilo of Atthey in one sitting. 

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Mutton Sukka, a Chettinad preparation.

Further down South there is Mutton Sukka. But, the spices are too strong and addition of kari-patta and grated coconut overpower the natural flavor of the mutton. But, if fire in the belly is what one is longing for– then there’s nothing to beat the Guntur Mutton Fry. 

Finally, every meat-eating family has its own signature dry mutton dish handed down over generations. Ours is mutton "Bawli-Handi". Only spice that goes into it is whole methi (fenugreek) seed and onions. Marinated in curd it can be made only in pure ghee till the meat is tender to the bones. Thereafter, it is a virtual ride to paradise.

Last updated: February 05, 2016 | 17:34
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