Mutton Kosha/Bengali Kosha Mangsho

Mutton Kosha is a dish popular in Bengalis during Durga Puja, Poilabaisakh, Kali Puja and many other occasions. All you need to prepare good mutton Kosha is patience. I have heard many popular chefs saying that the texture of mutton degrades on pressure cooking, which I agree with to certain extent. Therefore, I have not pressure cooked the mutton. However, if you are short of time, you can pressure cook the mutton. You can serve kosha mangsho with luchi, porotta or basanti pulao.

Certain food joints in Kolkata are popular for amazing Mutton Kosha. Being born and brought up in Jalpaiguri, Nort-East of West Bengal, I did not have an opportunity to try their mutton Kosha. Well!! this is on my bucket list. Will make it soon, hopefully.

My passion of cooking is actually in my blood. I have inherited this from my “baba” who was an excellent cook. When I was a kid, I use to see him often trying different recipes in the kitchen. Mutton Kosha was a dish which was then prepared at our house on frequent Sundays. Baba use to involve me and my sister often in preparing the marinade i.e. peeling the garlic specially. I used to observe that he always used thinly sliced onions to prepare kosha mangsho. I asked him, one day “why do you not paste it when you are already pasting ginger and garlic?” He told me ” the onions when melts in the kadai adds to the taste of the kosha mangsho” ……..This was how I learnt to make kosha mangsho.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: (Bengali)Indian

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cook time: 70 mins

Servings: 5

Ingredients

• 1 Kg of mutton
• 2 onions thinly sliced
• 1 onion roughly chopped
• 1 tomato roughly chopped
• 1 inch of ginger
• 6-7 cloves of garlic
• 5-6 green chilies slit
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons of finely grated papaya or papaya paste
• 100 grams of yogurt
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon of cumin powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon of coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon of red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of garam masala powder
• 5 tablespoons of mustard oil/ cooking oil
• 3-4 bay leaves
• ¼ teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1 inch cinnamon stick broken into pieces
• 4-5 cardamom pods
• 5-6 cloves

Directions

1. Make a paste of roughly chopped onion, tomato, ginger and garlic.
2. Marinade the mutton with papaya, yogurt, paste of onion garlic, green chilies, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, salt and one tablespoon of oil and leave it covered for at least 3 hours to overnight.
3. Taka a kadai and add the remaining oil. Once the oil is hot, add bay leaves, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cardamom and cloves.
4. As the spices turn aromatic add the sliced onions and sauté them till they turn translucent.
5. Add the marinated mutton and mix it properly with the remaining elements in the kadai.
6. Now, cook the mutton covered. You can also pressure cook it if you want.
7. The mutton gets cooked in its own juices. It took me one hour for the mutton to cook properly i.e. the mutton becomes tender. Add water if necessary.
8. Now as you see oil leaving the sides of the pan, add about ½ cup of water and let it simmer till you achieve the “makha makha”/ semi-dry consistency.
9. Serve the kosha mangso hot with porotta, luchi, or basanti pulao.

Step by step instructions to prepare Mutton Kosha

Make a paste of roughly chopped onion, tomato, ginger and garlic.

Marinade the mutton with papaya, yogurt, paste of onion garlic, green chilies, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, salt and one tablespoon of oil and leave it covered for at least 3 hours to overnight.

Taka a kadai and add the remaining oil. Once the oil is hot, add bay leaves, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cardamom and cloves.

As the spices turn aromatic add the sliced onions.

Sauté them till they turn translucent.

Add the marinated mutton and mix it properly with the remaining elements in the kadai.

Now, cook the mutton covered. You can also pressure cook it if you want.

The mutton gets cooked in its own juices. It took me one hour for the mutton to cook properly i.e. the mutton becomes tender and you see oil leaving the sides of the pan. Add water if necessary.

Add about ½ cup of water and let it simmer till you achieve the “makha makha”/ semi-dry consistency.

Serve the kosha mangso hot with porotta, luchi or basanti pulao.

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