Ingredients:

• 1 kg – Mutton (tender or lamb), cubed, cleaned and washed
• 1/2 kg -ash gourd, cleaned, cubed and washed
• 2 – medium Onions (sliced finely)
• oil for tempering
• salt to taste
• 1 – Coconut (grated for Coconut milk)
• For wet ground masala: (all ingredients to be dry roasted on tawa or girdle)
• Method:
• 1 tbsp – Coconut
• 1 tsp – Cumin seeds
• 1 tsp – Mustard Seeds
• 1 small – Onion chopped
• 1 – marble-sized ball of Tamarind
• 3/4 tsp – Turmeric powder
• 8 Garlic Cloves
• 4 – Cloves
• 6-7 – peppercorns
• 1.5 inch – Cinnamon stick
• 8 – madras chillies
• 10 – Kashmir chillies
• 1/2 tsp – aniseed
• 1 tsp – Poppy Seeds
• For Coconut milk:
• 4 cups -grated fresh Coconut
• 2 cups – warm water

Method:

1. Grind the coconut in 2 cups of warm water.
2. Strain in muslin cloth and extract 1.5 cups of thick coconut milk.
3. Take the remains of the coconut and add 4 cups of warm water and grind once again.
4. Strain in muslin cloth to extract 3 cups of thin coconut milk.
5. Set aside thick and thin coconut milk separately.
6. Heat oil. Add sliced onions and fry till they turn golden brown.
7. Add wet ground masala and fry till oil separates from the sides of the fried masala. This will take approximately 10 minutes.
8. Add mutton pieces and stir-fry with the masala.
9. Add the thin coconut milk, cover and simmer on medium flame for 15 mins.
10. Add the ash gourd and simmer once again for 15 mins or to just about when the meat is cooked and the ash gourd is almost cooked.
11. Add the thick coconut milk and simmer on low flame for 20 mins more.
12. Serve hot with neer dosas or rice.

Recipe courtesy of Mariena Dsouza