Smoky Wok

This was my first time cooking mutton.  It was not as difficult as I thought and I didn't even use a pressure cooker for tenderising of the meat.  Apparently, this was because the boyfriend said he picked a good cut of mutton :O.  We used the leg portion and if you like you can keep the fats but we discarded the fats to be more in sync with our 'dieting' plan.  Anyway, this is rather a hybrid style of mutton curry - a mix between Indian and Malay style, hence I think it's quite fair to probably label it Malaysian style.



The result was a delicious and spicy dish of quite tender and succulent mutton curry.  It's really quite easy but if you don't like the rather gamey scent of mutton, you can use lamb or even beef in this recipe.  This dish will be even more delicious overnight provided you keep it well in a tighly sealed container in the fridge.  This recipe also calls for natural yoghurt instead of the fattier coconut milk.  We eschewed ghee in favour of a little butter but it's entirely up to you, ghee feels a tad heavy for our palates in general.  For a tang in the dish, we added tomatoes but if you like, you can use asam jawa in your dish instead.  I hope you will give this a try and have a great weekend!



This post is part of my Yuen Chun Recipes.  What does mutton curry have to do with light soy sauce or vice versa you might ask.  I cooked this again and found that just a dash or two of light soy sauce really brings out more depth in the flavours...maybe it's just me :).
Ingredients:

1 kg mutton leg portion, cut into bite sized chunks
4 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon cardamons
1/2 tablespoon cloves
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 red onion, sliced
4 tablespoons curry powder + 1 tablespoon red chili powder, mixed into a paste with water
3 potatoes, halved or quartered
4 tomatoes, quartered
2 green chili peppers, sliced
1 cup natural plain yoghurt
1/2 cup water or more, as required
1 tablespoon salt, add more as desired
2 tablespoons butter

Update: I cooked this again but this time with a dash of my favourite brand's light soy sauce (www.yuenchun.com), the flavours are deeper which we prefer.

Method:

Firstly, heat up 4 tablespoons cooking oil in a heavy bottomed casserole pot.  Add butter.  Add in the garlic, onions, stir fry till aromatic.  Add in the spices and mutton and curry paste. Cook until the oil separates. 

Add the water and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, turn heat to low and cover to cook for about 30 minutes.  Lift the cover and give the mutton a quick stir to make sure it's not sticking to the bottom of the pot.  Add more water if needed.  Cover and cook again for another 30 minutes. 

Give everything a quick stir and add the yoghurt.  Stir to mix well.  Add the potatoes.  After 5 minutes, add in the tomatoes.  Season with salt.  Do a taste test.  Once it is to your liking, add in the sliced green chili pepper if using.  Add a dash or two of light soy sauce.

Allow to cook for another 15 minutes.  The mixture should thicken by now.  Serve hot with some rice or Indian breads like chapati or paratha.