Anjappar Style Madurai Mutton Chukka Varuval

Anjappar Style Madurai Mutton Chukka Varuval

1. Ingredients 

1A. Ingredients For Marination

1. Mutton 1 lb

2. Onions finely chopped 1 medium sized

3. Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

4. Chilli powder 1 tsp

5. Ginger garlic crushed 1 tsp

6. Curry leaves 2 sprigs 

7. Salt to taste 

8. Green chillies slit 4

1B. Ingredients For Mutton Masala Powder

1. Cinnamon 1" stick 

2. Cloves 3

3. Cardamom 1

4. Black peppercorns 1/2 tsp

5. Cumin seeds 1 tsp 

6. Fennel seeds 1/4 tsp(optional)

1C. Ingredients To Be Added In The Cooker 

1. Marinated meat that is left on the countertop

2. Tomatoes 2 medium sized

3. Mutton Masala Powder 

4. Water 1 cup

1D. Ingredients For Garnish 

1. Cashews 12

2. Curry leaves 3 sprigs 

3. Ghee 2 tsp 

1E. Ingredients For Tadka

1. Dry red chillies 3 split 

2. Cinnamon 1" stick

3. Fennel seeds 1 tsp 

4. Gingelly oil 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp

1F. Ingredients To Be Added After Tadka(Final Stage Of Cooking)

1. Onions finely chopped 1 medium sized 

2. Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp 

3. Red chilli powder 1 tsp

4. Coriander powder 2 tbsp

5. Ginger garlic crushed 1 tsp 

6. Black pepper powder 11/2 tbsp

7. Half of the fried cashews & curry leaves

2. Method Of Preparation

2A. Method Of Preparation Of The Meat Marination

1. Wash the meat well under cold running water.

2. Marinate the meat with the ingredients mentioned under "1A"

3. Mix well & leave it on the countertop for 2 hours.

2B. Method Of Preparation Of Mutton Masala Powder

1. Grind all the ingredients mentioned under "1B" to a fine powder.

2C. Method Of Preparation Of Mutton In The Cooker

1. Add all the ingredients mentioned under "1C" into the cooker.

2. Cook on a low flame for upto 5 whistles. 

2D. Method Of Preparation Of Garnish

1. While the meat is getting cooked in the cooker, heat ghee in a pan & add the cashews & toast them until they become golden in color.

2. Then in the same ghee add curry leaves & fry them on a low flame till they turn out crisp.

2E. Method Of Preparation Of Tadka & The Final Stage Of Cooking

1. In a pan add oil. When the oil gets hot add dry red chillies. Then add the fennel seeds & cinnamon stick. Wait for the spices to emit a nice aroma before you add the next ingredient into the oil. 

2. When the spices emit a nice aroma, add the curry leaves followed by finely chopped onions.

3. When the onions turn translucent, add the crushed ginger & garlic. Sauté for a minute. 

4. Now open the cooker & add the ingredients in it along with the water to the pan.

5. Mix the mutton well with the onion base & then add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder & coriander powder. 

6. Sauté well & cook this over medium heat till the mixture becomes thick and starts leaving the sides of the pan. Sauté this occasionally so that the mixture doesn't get burnt. 

7. Add pepper only now & mix it well with the mutton.

8. At this stage you can decide if you want your mutton to be dry or semi thick. If you don't want it too dry, then turn off the stove now. But if you want it dry then keep the gas on a low flame & cook the mutton for another 20-25 minutes stirring in between to avoiding burning & sticking too much at the bottom. After around 20-25 minutes, you will see that the mutton has become dry & has turned black in color. You may add a tsp of gingelly oil & a sprig of curry leaves along with the half of the fried cashews & curry leaves & sauté it for a minute more & turn off the flame. The addition of gingelly oil & curry leaves at the final stage adds to the aroma of the dish.

9. Transfer to a plate & garnish with the remaining fried curry leaves & cashews. You can squeeze the juice of lime before serving, if you wish to.

10. Serve hot with rasam rice or curd rice. 

Notes 

1. If you have no time to make the mutton masala powder, then you may replace it with store bought garam masala powder.

2. Please feel free to adjust the quantity of spices as per your spice level tolerance. Pepper is a very important ingredient in chukka varuval that's why I have added almost 2 tbsp. If you feel it's a lot, then just add 1 or less than 1 tbsp. The same goes with the other spices too.

3. There will be a slight difference of Taste between the dark dry roasted& semi thick one.