del-ico-so

Howdy !?! I did not know what to start writing about. So, after a lot of thought (which probably was not more than a couple of minutes) I decided to share a cooking recipe.

It was a Saturday morning and I was entrusted the task of making some non-vegetarian dish. I did not want to make one of em standard-by-the-book-recipe things. So I pondered on what I wanted it to taste like. Well the very thought of it made my mouth drool and I began savoring the meat in my vivid imagination. That was it .. I knew (somehow) what it had to be ..

A quick errand to a few shops and I had the necessary ingredients .. 1 Kg of goat meat, some dried red chillies,green chilles, onion, sour cream, yogurt, lemons, the usual masalas and a special ingredient that you will see as you read along :)

The meat was already cut to shape by the butcher, so all I had to do was clean and dry the meat. Then some lemons squeezed onto the meat and some salt too. I wanted it to be tangy so I let it sit for an hour with just that while I prepared the rest of the marinade.

The marinade started with some curd and sour cream, to it a good tablespoon (or two) of fresh minced ginger garlic, some turmeric (and by the way check out Penzeys Spices .. I purchased a few Indian spices from this place .. you can really smell the aroma .. ), red chilli powder, teaspoon of garam masala, and some meat masala. Mix all of that together and start chopping the onions thin and long.

In a big pot start with some ghee/butter/oil and shallow fry/sautee the onions. I mean I want them brown .. not black .. not golden .. just brown. So you know what that means. You can't go off to watch TV while it changes color. Enjoy cooking people. If you want it to brown faster .. add salt .. :)

Oh, and by the way while all this was going on you had to get the meat out and spread your marinade with your hands all around the meat. Make sure its covered completely and then let it sit for some more time.

Once you have the onions in the right shape and color, pour all of the meat into the pot and continue cooking in high flame for about 10-15 mins. This is where most of the meat gets cooked and starts to change color. After that, lower the heat, cover the pot and let it cook for about 45 minutes. You do need to keep tossing and turning the meat about 3-4 times in this duration. This slow cooking is what makes the meat tender and easy to eat, while it absorbs all of the yummy flavorings.

Now it still aint ready and you would be like, whats so special about this recipe. :) Its just like any other meat korma. But it aint. Its actually a dry appetizer. Well if you look into your pot there is still quite a bit of gravy and it does not look dry. You must think I've lost it. :)

All right. In a separate tava/pan/whatever's lying around .. get a couple of spoons of coconut oil. Add to it the secret - ingredient. Dried coconut powder !! And heat it on low flame so that it turns a very light brown. During this process you will smell an aroma that will .. hhhhhhmmmmmmmmm .. well I will let you relish it yourself.

Add to it the dried red chillies and green chilles and give it a quick saute. Dont let the coconut burn. Add all of this to your pot and mix all of it well. Let it cook in the mix for a couple of minutes for the coconut to absorb all of the gravy and kinda stick to the meat.

Voila !! I tasted the first piece from the pot and it was precisely what I had imagined.

Garnish with some more dry white coconut or corriander and serve. When asked what it was called I just said it was MADRASSY-GHOSHT-Tikka ..

Enjoy !!