A Royal Repast: Mutton Rezala and Khameeri Roti

(Adapted from: Mutton Rezala recipe by Zeeshan Sidque (iFood.tv) and Khameeri Roti: Passionate About Baking)

Mutton rezala...aaaaahhhhhhh! That is the general exclamation in our family. We all love this dish unanimously..including my little one. This Sunday, we planned to eat out at Aminia. The palate was craving this delicate white gravy and soft tandoori rotis.

Suddenly, the hubby man said..."Why don't you make Mutton Rezala at home? I will get you all the ingredients."

At first, I panicked. Will I be able to do full justice to this authentic recipe? I searched high and low for a fairly simple recipe. I got a wonderful recipe from here.

The Rezala is a Mughlai dish. It a delicate dish with fragrant white gravy. The best Mutton Rezala I have tasted in Kolkata is at Sabir's in Chadni Chowk Market.

I planned to serve the Rezala with Khameeri rotis. I was introduced to Khameeri roti by reading a wonderful blog post from Pakistan forwarded to me by one my friends. I am ever grateful to him for sharing these wonderful food posts with me.

Check out the wonderful Rezala and Khameeri rotis:

Here are the recipes, I made.

Ingredients:

For the Rezala:

Lamb/Goat meat: 450 gm (Ribs Favorable)
Onion: 1 Medium, made into paste
Black cardamom: 3, crushed
Yogurt: 3 Tablespoons
Garlic paste: 2 Tablespoons
Ginger paste: 1 and a 1⁄2 Tablespoons
Cashew nut: 2 Tablespoons, grounded to paste
Saffron:1⁄4 Teaspoon 

Cardamom: 4 ,crushed
Cream: 2 Tablespoon (Not Sweet)
Mace: 1 Teaspoon
Red chili: 4 (Kept Whole)
Green chili: 3, slit (optional)
Salt:To Taste
Sugar:1 Teaspoon
Milk: 2 Tablespoons
Kewra water: 1 Teaspoon
Ghee: 5 Tablespoons

Process:

Don't get frightened by the long process of this recipe.

The recipe can be divided into three basic parts:

1. Marinating the mutton 

2. Stir-frying the mutton

3. Pressure-cooking the mutton to tenderize the meat

Marinating the mutton:

1. First gather all the ingredients for the marinade. Take the mutton in a deep-bottom bowl. Also take onion paste, curd, cashew nut paste, ginger garlic paste, a paste of mace, black cardamom , and green cardamom.
2. Now add the ingredients of the marinade, salt, and sugar. Mix well and keep aside for 2 hours.

Stir-frying the mutton:

1. Heat ghee in a wok. Squeeze each mutton piece to remove the excess marinade. Add to the wok.
2. Stir-fry the mutton pieces for a few minutes on a high flame. Now add all the marinade to the wok. Add chilli powder and whole red chillies. Mix and bring it to boil.
3. Now reduce heat and keep covered.
4. The mutton will cook on low heat for a long time. At regular intervals, remove the lid and stir the mutton to prevent the meat from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
5. If the mutton sticks to the bottom of the pan, add 1/4 cup water and stir well.
6. Repeat this process till the meat changes color.

Pressure-cooking the meat:

1. Now pour the contents of the wok into a pressure cooker. Close the lid of the cooker and place on medium flame.
2. Now let the meat get cooked for 3-4 whistles. I had to give 5-6 whistles to cook the mutton well.
3. Turn off the gas. Do not open the lid till the steam has released on it's own. Now turn on the gas.
4. Mix the saffron in milk and add to the meat. Let the meat boil.
5. Add fresh cream and bring to a boil. 
6. After 1-2 minutes, turn off the gas and add ghee and kewra water (optional). Garnish with slit green chillies.

For the Khameeri Roti


Khameeri roti is an Indian flatbread that is made using yeast (khameer). It is similar to Naan. But not exactly the same.

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour: 2 cups

Instant yeast: 1 teaspoon (level)

Salt: 1 teaspoon

Oil: 2 tablespoons

You can refer to the recipe here. I followed this recipe to the tee.

Check the pictures:

You basically need to knead the dough, allow the dough to double in size. Next, release the trapped air in the dough and divide into round ball. Roll out the rotis. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C for 10 minutes. Bake the rotis on a greased tray for 5 mniutes. Grill the rotis on Grill mode for 5 minutes at the same temperature. Remove from the oven and slather with butter/ghee.


Enjoy the succulent meat with hot rotis right out of the oven. Heavenly delight!