Should you be planning on making your mom something special on the weekend, we have a recipe for you.
Model and photographer Prasanna Pandarinathan's late mother Nirmala Pandarinathan's Pepper Masala Mutton Chop is an impressive dish to cook for Mother's Day.
A family pleaser, it is not very complicated, tastes wonderful and pairs nicely with steamed rice and Chicken Curry or Pamban Fish Curry for an evening dinner.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Prasanna Pandarinathan
Pepper Masala Mutton Chops
"I can't remember a single time when mutton chops in pepper masala came out tasting less than perfect," says Prasanna.
"Dad and my nephew Anush are testimony to that, since we wouldn't hear a peep from people until every last morsel on their plates had been devoured."
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
- 1 kg mutton chops
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 4 tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ½ tsp haldi or turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp black pepper powder
- 2 tbsp chilly powder
- 1 tbsp dhania or coriander powder
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- Few curry leaves
- Few green dhania or coriander or cilantro leaves
- Salt to taste
- A few cherry tomatoes, for serving
Method
- Wash the mutton and rub a little of the pepper powder, chilly powder, turmeric powder, some of the ginger-garlic paste and a little salt into it and set aside for 30 minutes.
Pressure cook the mutton for 3 whistles with 1 cup of water.
- Heat the oil and fry the onions for a few minutes and then add the remaining ginger-garlic paste.
Saute.
Add the chopped tomatoes, chilly powder, coriander powder and garam masala.
Cook for 5 minutes, add the coconut milk and the chops.
Cook till tender and when the masala dries up add the remaining pepper powder and the curry leaves.
Serve hot with a few cherry tomatoes on the side and steamed rice or rotis or iddiappams.
Note: You might consider using ghee instead of oil for a more special flavour.
Pepper Masala Mutton Chops pairs well with Divya Nair's Kerala Potato Ishtu.
Excerpted from Ammi by Prasanna Pandarinathan with kind permission from the publishers Rupa Publications India.
