There is a town in Jodhpur, Rajasthan known by the name of 'Mathania', a town where many bloody battles were fought for honor. A king apparently obtained seeds of the Mathania chilli from a historical conquest and distributed them amongst farmers who started to grow these chillies in the Marwar region. Mathania chillies have the most beautiful red color and gives a spicy-sweet mouth feel.
Junglee Maas (meaning Jungle Meat), much like its famous cousin Laal Maas, was developed by royal cooks as part of the first meal that the royal hunting party would eat. It was mandatory that the post-hunt meal was lavish with at least one dish made with the kill. This rustic, not-so-authentic Junglee Maas I made was with just a handful of pantry staples and the flavors come from 2 ingredients - the base from the rendering of the meat fat and finishes off with the flavor of chillies.
It was hard to imagine that a meat dish with just a handful of ingredients could have so much flavor, but really it all boils down to the quality of meat and its fat. Bonus points for how easy this dish is to prepare. Your guests will think you slaved for hours in the kitchen when in reality the meat cooked itself for hours! So if you try making this dish, please buy the best quality of mutton there is and make sure there is a decent amount of fat to render and give it flavor.
You can also try it with whatever chillies you have available, the key as I said is good quality meat. Please do let me know if you cook this with any other chillies, I would love to hear from you!
Ingredients
Mutton - 1.2 kgs
Mathania chillies - 20
Kashmiri chillies - 5
Garlic cloves - 10
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Method:
Deseed half the chillies and keep the other half whole. Heat ghee in a vessel, preferably cast iron or a heavy bottom pan. Add the meat pieces and render till it starts to change color (this meat fat is the flavor bomb in this dish).
Next add in the garlic, chillies and salt. Keep stirring till the meat takes on the color of the chillies and you see some char forming. Add 2 cups of boiling water, cover and cook for an hour or more until the water is dried up and the meat is falling off the bone.
Trust me, this dish, without any spice powders or onions or herbs or even a souring agent is so good that this will become a firm favorite amongst your friends & family. Pairs well with hot rice or rotis, some ghee, Dal and/or Raita.
Meat Indian 5ingredient Simplerecipes NorthIndian
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