Mezbani Mangsho

Chittagong earlier known as Chottogram is the trade capital of Bangladesh. It is one of the most important cities in Bangladesh after Dhaka. Chottogram is known for it’s heavenly scenic beauty, rich cultural diversity, and some landmark dishes eg Kala Bhuna and Mezbani Mangsho . Mezbani Mangsho is a heritage of Chottogram.

‘Mezban” is a Persian word which means host. Mezbani means a grand feast arranged by the host to entertain the whole community. So it is a kind of community feasting arranged for some special occasions like Eid, wedding, birth celebration, community gathering, home coming, success, launching of a new business or even death anniversary. The main attraction of this feast is undoubtedly the special meat curry prepared for the program.

While in Bangladesh Mezbani is mostly cooked with beef, you can also cook with mutton or lamb. In spite of the fact that meat takes a long time to cook, I have always learnt from my mother to cook meat without a pressure cooker. She often told me that cooking meat in pressure cooker spoils the texture of the meat. I would suggest you to cook without a cooker. However, if you are in a hurry, you can use one.

Step by step instructions to prepare mezbani mangsho

Dry roast all the spices listed under spice mix except the posto on a low flame stirring continuously. Take care not to burn the spices. Once the dry roasting is done, grind all the spices along with the posto to a fine powder. Strain the mixture to remove all the bigger chunks of the spice. Keep the spice mix aside.

To the meat add salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, ginger garlic paste, groundnut paste, coconut paste, 1 tablespoon of mustard oil, the spice mix that was prepared in step 2, small and big cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, star anise, bay leaves and black pepper corn. Keep the meat aside.

In a kadai, take 1/2 cup of oil and heat it.To the hot oil, add the thinly sliced onions and fry them to golden color.To the kadai, then add the the chopped tomatoes and keep sauteing them till they turn tender.

Now, add the meat to the kadai along with the marinade.Continue cooking the meat on medium flame covered. Do not forget to stir the meat at intervals.The meat soon releases water and you will hardly need to add water to the kadai. (Add water if necessary)

Keep cooking till you see oil leaving the sides of the pan.

Add water to the kadai and continue cooking till the meat is completely cooked and the gravy reaches the needed consistency. Add garam masala and green chilies to the kadai and give the meat a hearty mix.

Turn off the flame and serve mezbani mangsho with polao or rice.

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