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A mutton curry which is bright red in colour, rich and fruity in taste, and has a richer history than you might know—that's what the name Chukandari Gosht immediately evokes. The dish is made with the stunning blend of beetroot and mutton, and it’s surely a non-vegetarian delight that will brighten up your dinner table on a weeknight or weekend. Chukandari Gosht is popularly known as a Pakistani-origin dish around the world, but here’s something you didn’t know.
Chukandari Gosht was born in the region of Punjab, where winters were the season for freshly grown beetroots which are bright red in colour and turn anything you cook with the veggie into the vibrant colour too. Mutton, which is a rich red meat, is often elevated with the addition of naturally sweet and rich veggies, whether it’s the humble potato or the bright-red beetroot. Indian chefs like Vikas Khanna, whose family shifted to India around the time of Partition, have revealed that the dish was as popular in Lahore as it was in Amritsar. The dish, therefore, is more pre-Partition rather than Pakistani in origin.
Given this popularity in pre-Independence Punjab, it is but natural that the dish is still cooked in the Indian state of Punjab. In fact, many restaurants in Delhi, where refugee families settled after Partition, also serve the dish as a winter favourite. Nowadays, with beetroots available in good condition all year through, making Chukandari Gosht doesn’t have to be just a winter affair. If you have fresh beetroots and even fresher mutton, then you can easily cook up this dish at home tonight.
Facebook/Vikrant Rai
Ingredients:
250 g mutton
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 large beetroots, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
10 black peppercorns
2 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
3 cloves
½ tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala
Salt, to taste
Water, as required
3 tbsp ghee
Method:
1. Heat ghee in a large cooker. Add the cumin seeds, cinnamon, peppercorns, cardamoms, cloves, and let them splutter.
2. Once the whole spices stop spluttering, add the onions and saute for 5 minutes.
3. When the onions start turning brown, add the ginger-garlic paste and mutton.
4. Saute everything for 10 minutes, then add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and salt.
5. Mix well, then add the tomatoes. Saute and cover the cooker, but don’t seal it. Keep sauteeing the mix every 5 minutes for around 20 minutes.
6. Now add the beetroot, give everything a good mix, then add 2 cups of water.
7. Seal the pressure cooker and cook the meat for 2-3 whistles until done.
8. Check the salt before serving the Chukandari Gosht hot with rice, roti or parathas.
