Kosha Mangsho | Kolkata Goat Meat Curry

Kosha Mangsho, a very popular goat meat curry from the City of Joy, Kolkata. The word ‘Kosha’ means dry so the gravy is quite thick which is perfect with chapati, luchi or any plain Indian flatbreads. For South Indians, this curry is superb with dosa, appam and idlis too :-) I have tried with all three. 

Kosha Mangsho | Kolkata Goat Meat Curry

Have you ever cooked without measuring? To me cooking without measuring is the most satisfying experience, especially when it turns out finger-licking delicious. A sense of pride and accomplishment with a motivation that Yes, I can do it. But now with blogging in my mind, I tend to be over-cautious making notes etc. And even if it is my own recipe, I go back to referring my notes while cooking. So yeah, to be able to churn out food without referring any notes is a talent.

But it comes with practice or it is inborn talent.  I so admire both my mom and umma who can cook for 2 or 10 without referring any notes etc. They do it with eyeballing.. and it turns out every time close to perfection and it is labelled as their signature dish. How do they do that?

Some afternoons, I crave for moms plantain fritters, simple mutton curry, or just the soft idlis, but even after I follow their instructions, it turns out to be different. I learnt early in married life to stop trying to match to their taste, instead enjoy the process of making it and say inspired from or adapted from moms' :-P That way I don't look bad. And to all those brothers and sisters who say learn to cook like our response, "I am, with a dash of me!"

Cooking with eyeballing and getting that perfect taste I had was an exhilarating experience. This happened to me when least expected. With a lot of goat meat in the freezer that we got during Bakrid, I wanted to try something out of my comfort and regional cuisine. I remembered this goat meat curry I had at Calcutta at a friend's wedding. I quickly pinged her and she was more than happy to share the recipe.

My Bestie's Kosha Mangsho | Calcutta Mutton Curry 

So here is how she shared the recipe: 

Make a paste of onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies
Wash the meat and drain the water
To the meat, add the paste, cumin powder, red chilli powder, and turmeric powder
add a whole bay leaf 
some chopped onion
add 2-3 tbsp of mustard oil
mix all of this

In a pressure cooker, add oil and heat it till it's very hot
add some chopped onion for flavour
add the meat with the marinade
cook till all the water evaporates
then add some salt and a pinch of sugar
add water 
also, add some big potatoes before you close the lid
pressure cook until meat is done

As I did not have mustard oil, she suggested I add tomato instead to get the zing factor. I liked the fact that this is cooked in open until all the fluid is gone. No water added at this stage. The meat is cooked in open so it loses all its fluid and then water is added to pressure cook.  I added some lime juice with the marinade and tomato while pressure cooking. I pressure cooked for 10 whistles taking a break after 6 and checking for water and then cooked again for another 4. 

Update October 2019 - I made the slow-cooked and pan-roasted Kosha Mangsho with mustard oil and is even better and tastier. The ingredients are almost the same but the method is different. 
Kosha Mangsho | Kolkata Goat Meat Curry

A perfectly cooked lamb that falls off the bones easily, soft, juicy and melting in the mouth...the cumin flavour and all those whole spices and onions fried in was yummy! .. so close to what I had at her wedding. F loved it and left a clean pot after dinner. If you haven't had this, I suggest you try this and I am very sure you will love it. 


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