Mutton Varutharacha Curry (Goat meat in a fried Coconut Gravy)

Mutton Varutharacha Curry (Goat meat in a fried Coconut Gravy)

Ingredients

    2lbs Goat Meat
    2 tbsp coriander powder
    1 tbsp red chili powder
    1/8 tsp turmeric powder
    salt to taste
    1tbsp oil
    2 tbsp shallots, thinly sliced
    A few curry leaves
    2 tbsp vinegar

For the fried coconut paste

    1 tsp oil
    1/2 cup fresh/frozen grated coconut
    2 tbsp shallots, thinly sliced
    1 tsp garlic slices
    a few curry leaves
    1 tsp black peppercorns
    3 cardamom pods
    1/2" stick of cinnamon

Method

Clean and cut the meat into small bite sized cubes. Place the meat in a pressure cooker and add the chili, coriander and turmeric powders and salt to taste along with 1/4 cup of water. Mix well. Close the pressure cooker and cook for 6 minutes on medium heat after it reaches maximum pressure.  Once the pressure cooker is cool enough, open it check the amount of liquid in the meat. If there is a lot of gravy, cook it down till there is just enough liquid to coat the meat pieces.

While the mutton is getting cooked, heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, and sauté the shallots, garlic and curry leaves. Once the shallots are softened, add the coconut and sauté on medium heat till the coconut starts to brown. Add the peppercorns, cardamom and cinnamon and sauté for one more minute till coconut is well-browned, but not burned. Remove from the heat and let it cool. Once it is cool enough to handle, transfer the coconut mixture to a spice grinder and process to powder the ingredients. Now add some water to make a smooth paste.

In a large saucepan, add 1 tbsp oil and sauté the shallots and curry leaves. Once the shallots are softened, add the cooked meat and sauté for 3-4 minutes on high heat so that the spices sticking on the meat gets browned a bit. Now add the coconut paste and mix well and sauté for another couple of minutes. Add 3 cups of hot water and the vinegar and mix well. Bring this to a boil and reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, reduce the heat to low, mix well and cover and let it simmer for 10 more minutes to combine all the flavors.

Serve hot with rice, rotis or appams.