Recipe: A Bengali Recipe Featuring Mutton Curry With Poppy Seed Paste
4 mins
Cooking Time
Intermediate
Difficulty
18
Ingredients
Non Veg
Diet
Kosha mango (a drier form) or mutton curry are Bengali staples reserved for a Sunday or a special occasion, often loved wth steaming rice or a plate of hot and fluffy luchis. Meet another Bengali recipe, posto mangsho, where the mutton curry is given the poppy seed paste treatment: it is made from poppy seeds soaked in hot water for 15 minutes to soften them and then ground with green chillies and salt. This is added to the mutton marinade, which is later cooked in the Bengali favourite mustard oil.
Posto is one of the defining ingredients of Ghoti Bengali cooking, as opposed to Bangal households whose roots lie in what is now Bangladesh. Ghotis are known across Bengali culinary culture for their deep attachment to posto, and this affection manifests in a range of preparations like aloo posto, shukto, and the more indulgent posto mangsho. This does not imply that Bangals or Bangladeshis do not cherish their posto; they do and also enjoy an array of dishes, including the three mentioned here. Humans, after all, are hardly homogenous in their food habits.
The mutton is marinated overnight, or for at least four hours, for it to tenderise and give you that fall-off-the-bone quality. The marinade of turmeric, red chilli powder, cumin powder, Bengali garam masala, salt, sugar, and mustard oil penetrates the meat well, seasoning it from the inside and tenderising the fibres before any heat is applied. Mutton with fat is preferred for this recipe; leaner cuts cook up drier and lack the richness that makes the gravy so satisfying. Rewaji khasi is something you might want to use at a Bengali butcher shop to refer to mutton with a generous fat cover.
Ingredients
UNITSIngredients
500gMutton
50gPoppy seed
150gPlain curd (whisked)
6Green chillies
2 mediumOnions (made into paste)
1 tbspGinger paste
1 tbspGarlic paste
from 1 limeGandharaj lebu (lime juice) (optional but recommended)
2Bay leaves
2Dry red chillies
1 tspTurmeric powder (divided between marinade and curry)
1 tspRed chilli powder (divided between marinade and curry)
½ tspCumin powder
1 tspBengali garam masala powder
1 tbspSugar
1 tspSalt
7 tbspMustard oil (divided: 2 tbsp for marinade, 5 tbsp for cookin
In a large bowl, mix the mutton with ½ tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp red chilli powder, half the salt, ½ tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp Bengali garam masala, 1 tsp sugar, and 2 tbsp mustard oil. Mix well. Marinate overnight or for at least 4 hours.
Description - Step 2
Step 2: Soak and grind the posto
Soak the poppy seeds in a small bowl with hot water for 15 minutes. With 2 green chillies and a pinch of salt, grind to a completely smooth, fine paste.
Description - Step 3
Step 3: Temper the oil and cook the onion
Heat 3 tbsp mustard oil in a heavy-bottomed kadai over medium heat until it begins to smoke. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the bay leaves and dry red chillies and let them sizzle for 30 seconds. Add the onion paste and sauté until the raw aroma completely disappears and the onion turns a pinkish-brown. This will take 8-10 minutes.
Description - Step 4
Step 4: Add ginger, garlic, and posto paste
Add the ginger and garlic paste to the cooked onion. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until the raw aroma fades and the oil begins to separate at the edges. Add the posto bata and reduce the heat to low. Cook the posto paste on low flame, stirring continuously, for 6-8 minutes until the raw, grassy smell of the poppy seeds disappears completely. Add 1 tbsp mustard oil and ½ tsp salt. Cook for a further 5 minutes on low flame.
Description - Step 5
Step 5: Add curd and green chillies
Add 2 tbsp mustard oil to the pan and stir for a minute. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting. Add the whisked yoghurt all at once, while stirring vigorously, to prevent the curd from splitting. Add the remaining green chillies. Increase the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, until the oil separates from the edges, approximately 5-6 minutes.
Description - Step 6
Step 6: Cook the mutton
Add the marinated mutton along with all the marinade to the pan. Stir to coat the meat thoroughly in the gravy. Cover the pan with a lid, reduce to low heat, and cook for 1 to 1.5 hours, stirring every 15-20 minutes and checking that the gravy is not sticking to the bottom. If the gravy reduces too much before the mutton is tender, add some warm water. The mutton is done when it is completely tender, and the gravy has thickened. Alternatively, cook in a pressure cooker on low flame for 3-4 whistles.
Description - Step 7
Step 7: Finish and serve
Once the mutton is tender and the gravy reaches the desired consistency, turn off the heat. Squeeze gandharaj lebu over the curry and sprinkle with the remaining Bengali garam masala powder. Stir once. Taste and adjust salt. Serve hot with steamed rice.
In Bengali, mangsho literally means meat. In everyday usage, however, it most often refers to goat meat or mutton, especially in traditional dishes such as kosha mangsho and mangshor jhol.
Pathar mangsho refers to meat from a young goat, prized for its tenderness. Khasir mangsho comes from a mature castrated male goat, offering a richer flavour, firmer texture, and slightly higher fat content.
Mutton bone marrow has no separate culinary name. It is simply called bone marrow or marrow, the soft, nutrient-rich tissue inside bones, valued for its buttery texture and deep savoury flavour.
In Bengali, posto (পোস্ত) means poppy seeds, usually white poppy seeds used in cooking. They are commonly ground into a smooth paste (posto bata) for curries, vegetables, and meat dishes.