One of the main ingredients for a good mutton kosha is patience. Kosha is a Bengali word which means to sauté or cook for a long time. Mutton kosha or kosha mangsho, is a true Bengali delicacy. It is a slow cooked dish, with a rich, dark gravy and marinated mutton that is guaranteed to melt in your mouth. It is eaten with luchi puris, parathas or palao.
Just like other Bengali dishes, mutton kosha gets its flavour from a mix of mustard oil and a host of other spices. Marination is usually overnight as well, to make sure that the meat soaks up all that delicious flavour. This dish is a special one, cooked usually on celebratory occasions like Jamai Shashti. However, if you’re craving something sumptuous and filling, this is also the way to go.
Mutton Kosha Recipe
For this dish, you will need to marinate your mutton in yogurt and spices. The yogurt needs to be especially thick for the gravy, so you’ll need to extract the water from it. To do this, you can put the yogurt in a sieve over a bowl for an hour in the fridge. Mustard oil is recommended for this recipe because it really intensifies the curry’s flavour. However, if you don’t have it, you can use ghee or vegetable oil.
Bone in and slightly fatty mutton is a must for this dish, especially shoulder or leg meat. This is because of the slow cooking process, without the fat and bones the mutton will become dry. We’ve got a great range of fresh and tender mutton at Licious which will really make your dish spectacular. Feel free to add as much spice as you want. You can also adjust this recipe for larger or smaller groups of people.
Mutton Kosha Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 grams yogurt
- 3 tbsp Garlic paste
- 2 tbsp Ginger Paste
- 2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- Pinch of salt
- 500 grams onions 3 large onions
- 1 cup Mustard Oil
- 2 dried red chillies
- 2 leaves bay
- 4 cardamom pods
- 1 inch Cinnamon
- 4 cloves
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- Salt - to taste
Instructions
- Finely slice your onions. Heat 2 tbsp of mustard oil in your pressure cooker to fry half the onions and 2 dried red chillies. Once fried and cooled, make a paste of this in your grinder.
- Lower the heat and add the remaining mustard oil to the wok. Crush your bay leaves and add them to the oil along with the cloves, cinnamon, cardamon, tsp of sugar and a tsp of salt.
- Add the other half of the sliced onions in, only when the whole spices begin to splutter. Allow the onions to fry until golden brown. Midway through frying the onions, add in the 2 tbsp of Kashmiri chilli powder for colour and 1 tsp regular chilli powder for heat.
- When the sliced onions are almost golden, add in the onion paste you made earlier.
- Once the raw smell of the spices goes away then you can add in your mutton. Brown your mutton evenly then add in a cup of water and pressure cook it for 3-4 whistles.
- Transfer your dish to a wok at this stage to begin the kosha or slow cooking. Cover your wok and on a low flame cook the meat until all the water evaporates, stirring occasionally. Eventually the colour will darken.
- When you are happy with the colour of your curry, and the mutton is cooked, add in a little garam masala powder and check the seasoning.
- Finally serve hot with rice or puris.
Recipe Notes
A lot of people also enjoy adding potatoes to this dish, so that’s something to consider if you’re a big potato fan. A spoonful of ghee, fried onions and garlic or fresh coriander and mint, make for great toppings. The dish really develops a stronger flavour when eaten the next day as well. Tip: If you don’t have time to slow cook your mutton kosha in a wok, after 4 whistles you can lower your heat and cook it for 20 minutes in the pressure cooker or instant pot. What are you waiting for? Try this dish out and you won’t be disappointed!