Dal Bhuna Gosht -A Pakistani favourite

 














"Yeh Ghost kya hota hey?"....I was lost in thoughts fingering this item in our Asian take away menu."Ghost nahin baba,Gosht,Gosht,Gooooosht!!...."Somebody corrected.Yes, there were more ghosts,sorry...goshts, than I could manage...Aaloo Gosht Kari,Achari Gosht,Bindi Gosht,Balti Gosht,KarahiGosht,Aab Gosht,Chana Dal gosht,Gobi Ghosht,Shalgam GoshtDal BhunaGosht,TorriGosht,UrviGosht,and even Karela Gosht....So many varieties! I was indeed tempted to do a thorough research on the Gosht...

Basically Gosht is a dal/lentil/vegetable-mutton medley which is quite popular in Pakistan and in several states of North India.This preparation is said to have been very much influenced by the Afghan cuisine. Hot rice with Dal Bhuna Gosht with some desi ghee is a hot favourite with many...and now I too dont have a second opinion about it...It is just lip smacking great and very different indeed!Well you cant really compare it with the conventional mutton curry...u cant ask whether it is tastier.....it is different...and it is indeed tasty in its own way.Unfortunately again the restaurants here do not do full justice to the real taste...It will rather misguide you to believe that it is a bland mutton curry, which isnt really true!

I too was a bit apprehensive thinking of mixing dal and mutton....It sounded more like 'mutton sambar' which one brahmin character in a very hit malayalam movie was referring to....where he was feeling delicate to handle chicken and mutton as part of his hotel management studies and was asking whether they could make something less harmless as a mutton/chicken sambar!!Yes this is in a way a different kind of Mutton sambar!!

So here goes the recipe for Dal Gosht...

Ingredients:
Mutton-250g(cut into pieces)
Tur Dal-1 cup(200g)
Ginger-25g(pounded)
Green Chilli-5(pounded)
Garlic-15 pods(8 pounded,7 chopped)
Tomato-1 large(cut into pieces)
Onion-1 large(chopped)
Red Chilli powder-2tsp
Coriander powder-1 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Butter/Ghee-1 tbsp
Curry leaves-2 sprigs
Salt-as required
Water-as required

Method:
  














Pressure cook tur dal(red gram dal),mutton pieces,ginger,garlic(pounded)green chillies,tomato,onion,coriander powder, with enough water(say 2 1/2 cups) for 15-20 minutes on medium fire, or until it is cooked properly.Add salt and mix well.Now heat ghee/butter in a small wok.Prepare the seasoning by roasting chopped garlic(till it becomes brownish) and curry leaves.Now add this seasoning to the cooked dal and mutton and mix everything well and serve it hot with steamed rice or Chappathi.Well you could alternatively cook mutton and dal separately and then finally mix them and add the seasoning.All my apprehensions vanished to thin air when I really tasted it with hot steamed rice!!

Here

is a slightly different version of the same from another fantastic foodie.