Bhuna Gosht
A former work colleague of mine, native to Nandyal in Southern India, would jump at every opportunity to remind me that the food in our British curry houses isn’t truly authentic fayre. I think we’ve all known this for quite some time, deep down, not least because two of the most popular dishes on every menu are commonly known to have been created over here! Still, this has always been the furthest thing from my mind whilst enjoying a slap-up meal down the Curry Mile. One thing that can’t be ignored, however, is that the majority of food on the curry house menu does at least have its roots in the Subcontinent, although perhaps in name alone.
Bhuna would be a good example. Order one in your local Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi restaurant or takeaway and you know exactly what you’re getting; the meat of your choice swimming in a spiced gravy. But what of the bhunas served at bazaars, by street vendors and by ‘homemakers’ in these countries? Not an easy answer to track down by any stretch, but many accounts describe the dish in a different light. Bhuna, meaning ‘brown’ in Hindi/Urdu, is a cooking method by which a masala of spices are browned in a karahi pan before the dish’s other ingredients are added to receive the same treatment. Instead of a thin gravy, the cooking liquor is heavily reduced down to coat the meat, ultimately creating quite a dry dish, ideal for eating with flatbreads such as my personal favourite, chapatis. As for the bhuna’s origins, I suspect that might be a leap too far into history, although I was quite taken by a suggestion that it was influenced by the Tibetan/Chinese method of stir-frying. Geographically, that appears to hold water with China’s proximity to Bangladesh and Punjab (seemingly bhuna central) although it is a dish enjoyed far wider than in just these territories.
This Bhuna Gosht recipe has been a firm favourite of mine for the best part of a decade. The ‘gosht’ (or meat) that I’d normally use would be shoulder of lamb but on this occasion I had the opportunity to use mutton from a reputable Lakeland farm. The depth of the dish is just astounding, with the fennel seed and fenugreek flavours so far removed from those that you would shovel down with several pints of Cobra beer at the nearest balti tavern… not that I’m promising to give up the latter! Here’s the skinny…
- For Bhuna Gosht
- 400g diced shoulder of mutton
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 tsp fenugreek
- ½ a medium onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1½ inch piece of ginger
- 200g tinned chopped tomatoes (½ a tin)
- 1 or 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves (to taste)
Dry-fry all of the spices and the chilli flakes on a high heat until toasty and aromatic, allow to cool for a minute or two before grinding to a powder in a spice/coffee grinder. The onion, garlic and ginger need to be very finely chopped or even grated and fried in a little oil until they have taken on colour, after which add the tinned tomatoes. Reduce the tomatoes right down to a thick paste and add the ground spice masala, frying this for a minute or so until it darkens. At this stage the pan should look very dry.
Get the diced mutton (or lamb) into the pan, allowing to sear on all sides. Once browned, season with salt and add about 200ml of water to the pan, enough to almost cover the meat. Put the lid on and transfer the pan to a 150°C oven to cook for about 80 minutes, until the meat is very tender.
And now for the absolute clincher, get the pan out of the oven, remove the lid and place back on the hob to reduce the sauce right down until it becomes very thick and sticks to the meat almost like a glaze. Stir in your chopped coriander leaves and serve with basmati rice and/or chapatis.
These quantities serve two people. Was I ruing not making more after polishing it all off on the same day? You’re damn right I was. Enjoy.
GDave
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GDave,
I do believe you’re getting more delicious with every recipe you tackle…. this one looks chop-smackingly good!
Home made chapatis? The supermarket variety never taste right in my opinion yet the ingredients are simple, but I’ll bet there’s real skill involved and a purpose built mud oven more than likely. The basmati rice I can cope with however…. by the way it always surprises me how many people I know who can’t cook rice…. it invariably ends up like a blob of wallpaper paste. These are the people who should be gently directed towards the glutenous Japanese rice sweets we’ve talked about before…. talent being wasted in a shameful thing
Cid
Comment by Cid − on Aug 27, 2009 at 11:38 am
Cid,
No chapatis at all on this occasion.
I had everything in that I needed for the bhuna and truthfully couldn’t be bothered to go out shopping. I’ve had very good ready-made chapatis from a small Asian store near where I used to live but that’s about it. Myself and breadmaking have a chequered past but I really want to persist and get it right, and I’m banking on the folks at The Fresh Loaf forum to help me out.
GDave
Comment by greedydave − on Aug 28, 2009 at 2:38 am
GDave,
You’re on a roll!! That looks great, it really does. I am in mourning at the closure of a Kerelan restaurant close to me, proper Southern Indian food and not a ’special phal’ in sight. I do believe we are due a rebirth of ‘proper’ Indian restaurants in this country.
Well played sir!
Miles
Comment by Miles − on Aug 28, 2009 at 8:13 am
Miles,
Much appreciated, and sorry to hear about the local restaurant. Indian restaurants just seem to be being held back by the sheer competition of numbers. Can any of them afford to take chicken madras off the menu in favour of something authentic while the place across the street keeps dishing it up? I would love to see that happen, though.
GDave
Comment by greedydave − on Aug 29, 2009 at 3:51 am
GDave,
No they can’t because we daren’t spend eight quid or so on an unknown dish. No more Fish Allepy for me
Miles
Comment by Miles − on Aug 29, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Miles,
Damn right. We’re such an adventurous bunch.
It’s hard not to be self-righteous but I can’t imagine being someone who dismisses something new.
GDave
Comment by greedydave − on Aug 30, 2009 at 4:26 pm
I love Indian food because most of it is naturally gluten-free. My daughter lived in Glasgow for some time and when I went to visit we always went to her favorite place for food just like you have here. Oh my gosh, I loved it as it seems most of this type food we have over here pales in comparison. I’ll have to ask her as I can’t remember the name of the restaurant or where in Glasgow it was.
This looks delicious. I’ll have to send Tevis over here for this recipe. She’d love it.
Thanks, GDave. Your blog is top notch. There’s always something fun and entertaining going on over here.
Melissa
Comment by Melissa − on Sep 1, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Melissa,
Oh yes! If DJ Tevis can remember the name of the place I would be most interested! Indian food is so good, isn’t it? I often ‘relieved’ the former Indian colleague I mentioned of some of her lunch. (in truth she brought plenty to share, bless her) All sorts of upmas and pickles and things I’ve never heard of.
Thanks for stopping by again, Melissa. Your encouragement means a great deal.
GDave
Comment by greedydave − on Sep 4, 2009 at 6:46 pm
GDave
Fancy doing this for Christmas dinner this year along with 5gal of your best brew?.
Comment by Dad − on Sep 18, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Dad,
Not half a bad idea. It’s a deal, I think you and Mum would really enjoy this. I’m not sure I could smuggle a 5gal keg past Glasgow Central security, but there might be space for a bottle or two in my rucksack.
Dave
Comment by greedydave − on Sep 18, 2009 at 7:00 pm
zOMG!!!1! (oh my gosht!)
I’m back in the British Isles for the first time in ages this weekend and will be trying to eat curry tonight as well as yesterday… It’s so much harder to find a good indian place in NY - I might just have to give your recipe a go.
Comment by Bowlhead2000 − on Sep 20, 2009 at 10:24 am
Bowlhead,
Welcome back to Blighty! It surprises me that a good curry is hard to find in NYC. We’re given the impression that New York is some kind of epicentre of world cuisine. Are you sure you’re looking hard enough?
GDave
Comment by greedydave − on Sep 21, 2009 at 9:08 pm