Bags packed, shoes tied and we were all set to spend a long weekend in the hills. The journey from Chandigarh-Chail-Shimla was quite a long and adventurous one. We spent a night in Chandigarh and then travelled our way up towards the mountains. Chail was a quite and peaceful hill station in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. Away from the hustle-bustle of the city, immersing myself in the calmness of nature, Chail turned out to be a fresh breath of air in the tourist-packed state of Himachali. The pahadi stories, the mall and the ridge were the main attractions in Shimla and we loved it.
Although I had prepared a long list of delicacies that I would try once I reached the hills, it was on a late Sunday afternoon that I came across this popular restaurant housed inside a beautiful hotel on the Mall Road. The mall road, for the unversed, is the hub of any hill station, with small and big shops selling clothes, footwear, souvenirs and lots of food too. After hogging on a plate full of mutton momos from the famous Krishna Bakery, we headed towards our next stop for lunch. Scanning the menu, I found plenty of Indian, Chinese and Continental delicacies but my heart stopped at one.
The Khamod meat, it was. Described as a well-known mutton curry from the region, this Himachali curry sounded appetizing. My inquisitiveness led me to inquire more about the dish and the server told us that it isn’t spicy at all. Instead, it has a tender sweetness and hints of tanginess. The yoghurt-based curry, he said, would be yellow in colour and that tempted me even more. While we were looking at Malabari paratha to pair with this mutton curry (although it’s a South Indian delicacy), the server pointed us toward a lighter naan or tandoori roti.
As soon as the dish arrived, the bright yellow coloured popped from the bowl and glittered my eyes. Boneless pieces of tender meat are dunked into a pool of thick and tangy yoghurt gravy. My first instinct after tasting the dish was that it tastes like kadhi, another Indian curry. The simple Khamod meat preparation involves a few ingredients but a whole lot of taste.
This specialty from the Chamba region of Himachal Pradesh is prepared by cooking mutton with ghee. The richness of the ghee along with the creaminess of curd is what makes this dish a delight to the taste buds. The souring agent is the curd and the yellow colour is usually obtained by adding turmeric to the gravy. It is garnished with cashew nuts and raisins.
We tried the dish at Eighteen 71, a restaurant by Hotel Willow Banks located on the further end of the Mall road, near The Embassy. Here’s what the dish looks like.
Source: Eenjay Kitchen/Instagram
If you wish to try a Himachali mutton curry at home, we have got Chha gosht as well.