Morich Mutton (Lamb in Black Pepper Sauce)

Updated: With new photos

In the Bengali movie Charulata 2011 there is a scene where the lady of the house was served “morich mangso” and caramel pudding. Being a fan of black pepper I instantly decided to try that the next day. Since the movie didn’t hand out the recipe I experimented with what I think should go into it, and here is my version of Morich Mangso.

Since it’s pretty cold around here I served it with saffron rice. Saffron is known to keep you warm and is used across the coldest parts of India (Kashmir) for that.

Ingredients

1. 2lb. mutton
2. 2 medium onions finely chopped 
3. 1tbsp. chopped garlic
4. 2 tsp. garlic paste
5. 1 tbsp. ginger paste
6. 1 lime juice 
7. 1 cup thick yogurt (Curd)
8. 2tsp. black pepper paste
9. 10-12 black pepper corn 
10. 2,3 green chilies 
11. Dry roast and grind the following
    1. 1tbsp. black pepper corn
    2. 1tbsp. whole cumin seeds (jeera)
12. Salt
13. 1tbsp. sugar
14. 4-5 tsp. canola or any refined oil
15. 1tsp. ghee (clarified butter)

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take the meat pieces and marinate with yogurt, lime juice and half black pepper paste . Let it rest for about 2-3hrs.

Heat oil in a pan and temper the oil with black pepper corn and green chilies. Wait till they stop sputtering. Add onion and chopped garlic and sauté on medium heat. Add ginger, garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes away.

Add the marinated meat and sear them on high heat till the oil gets separated from the spices. Now lower the heat and season it with salt and sugar according to your taste. Mix well and cook it covered on low heat till the meat is just done. It takes almost 45 minutes to an hour to get the cooking done. You can use pressure cooker to speed things up.

Once the meat is done crank up the heat and cook it on high flame till the excess moisture is all dried up. Sprinkle dry roasted spice powder and rest of the black pepper paste to it. A spoonful of ghee at this point of time will enhance the flavor. Turn off the heat and keep it covered.

Serve with jeera rice or peas pulao.