Mutton Curry by Zarnak Sidhwa

Ingredients:
Mutton 1/2 kg
Finely chopped onions 2
Tomatoes pureed 3
Potatoes 2
Black cardamoms 2
Green cardamoms 4
Cinnamon 1-1/2 inch piece
Cloves 5-6
Bay leaves 2
Mace few strands
Dried red chillies 4
Peppercorns 6
Coriander seeds 1 tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Aniseed 1 tsp
Kashmiri red chilli powder 2 tsp
Sugar a pinch
Turmeric powder 1-1/2 tsp
Green chillies 2
Oil as required
Salt to taste
Garam masala powder 1 tsp
Garlic 10 cloves
Ginger 2-inch piece

Method:
In a pan, add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, aniseed, 4 dried red chillies, 6 peppercorns and roast till fragrant. Once roasted, add the above to a blender along with 5 cloves of garlic and one inch of ginger, roughly chopped. Add 2 tsp of Kashmiri red chilli powder. Add 1-½ tsp of turmeric powder, 1 tsp of salt and a pinch of sugar.

Add about one tablespoon of oil and half a cup of water and grind to a fine paste. Crush the rest of the 5 large garlic pods roughly and julienne the 1 inch ginger. Heat the oil. Fry the potatoes in the oil. The potatoes should be seared, evenly browned but not cooked. Remove and keep aside. Now add black cardamoms, green cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves and the mace. Add the crushed garlic and the juliennes of ginger to the oil. Fry them for about a minute. Now add the finely chopped onion and add a pinch of salt to help it fry faster. Fry the onion, stirring constantly, till they get browned and caramelized. Add the mutton pieces to this. Fry the mutton pieces on high heat. The mutton will sear and turn a light brown. Add the ground spices and fry it with the meat. At this stage, add back the potatoes and let the meat cook till done. Break two green chillies and one tsp of garam masala powder and stir.
Serve with steamed rice.