Chef Sarah Todd recreates Rajasthani dish Laal Maas on MasterChef Australia; know about its history and recipe

Todd took inspiration from her trip to Rajasthan and paired the dish with lamb, pickled mustard seeds, and bajra ki roti. “Feeling incredibly grateful to be back in the @masterchefau kitchen. Taking inspiration from a memorable trip to Rajasthan. Lamb, Laal Maas, pickled mustard seeds with bajra ki roti,” she wrote.

 

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Laal Maas, dating back centuries, is a famous meat curry from Rajasthan. “It is a very simple preparation made using red chillies, ghee, meat and salt. These are the four main ingredients of the dish and everything else including garlic and curd is optional. It was traditionally cooked by men at hunts after they finished hunting. This dish is associated with the Rajputs of Rajasthan. It is important to note that no two households prepare it the same way,” according to Kurush Dalal, culinary anthropologist, archaeologist, and historian.

“There’s another dish called Junglee Maas which is still cooked with just ghee, chillies, salt and meat. These ingredients are cooked very slowly to prepare the dish. It is from this dish that Laal Maas came to be. The red colour comes from the Mathania chillis which are very famous in Rajasthan,” he told indianexpress.com.

If you are looking to recreate this celebrated meat dish, here’s a detailed recipe by chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

Ingredients

*Mutton cut into 1-inch pieces – 750 grams
*Kashmiri red chillies soaked – 6-8
*Yoghurt – ½ cup
*Cumin powder – 2 teaspoons
*Coriander powder – 2 teaspoons
*Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
*Ginger-garlic paste – 2 tablespoons
*Ghee – 4 tablespoons
*Black cardamoms – 2
*Green cardamoms – 3-4
*Cinnamon – 1-inch stick
*Cloves – 3-4
*Bay leaf – 1
*Onions finely chopped – 4 medium
*Garam masala powder – ½ teaspoon
*Salt to taste
*Coriander sprig for garnishing
*Lemon wedges for garnishing
*Charcoal – 2-3 pieces

Method

1. Grind the soaked chillies to a fine paste in a blender.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the mutton, yoghurt, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, one tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste and the red chilli paste. Mix well and set aside to marinate in the refrigerator for an hour.
3. Heat ghee in a nonstick pressure cooker, to that, add black cardamom, green cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf and sauté till its fragrant.
4. Add the onions and sauté till they turn light brown in colour. Then add the remaining ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute.
5. Add the marinated mutton to the onions and sauté on high heat for two to three minutes.
6. Add salt and sufficient water to cover all the mutton pieces. Cover with a lid and let it cook under pressure for seven to eight whistles.
7. Once done, remove from heat and wait till the pressure is released.
8. Meanwhile, light the piece of charcoal, place it in a small metal bowl and place the bowl in the centre of the pressure cooker.
9. Add two to three cloves to the coal, pour some ghee and quickly cover with a lid and set aside for two to three minutes.
10. Put the curry back on the heat, add garam masala and give a quick stir before removing it from heat.
11. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with coriander sprigs and a lemon wedge. Serve hot.

Todd has an undeniable connection with the country and had previously prepared Aloo Gobhi in MasterChef 2014. She also owns two restaurants in India and has chronicled her passion for Indian flavours in her cookbook, My Indian Kitchen.

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