Mutton Korma

When you're cooking for friends, it's got to be something special and it's got to be good. I'd done enough with chicken and took upon making some good mutton curry. And that decision was taken at the butcher's shop while I was browsing the masala section as he chopped the meat into pieces. Behind one masala box I found the recipe of Mutton Korma. It seemed fairly simple to make and without too many ingredients. That kind works best for me.

Serves 5 - 6 people.

Ingredients:
Marinate 1 kilo mutton pieces - leg and shoulder - overnight in:
1/2 cup curd
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
Juice of one lemon
Salt to taste

Ingredients for curry:
1/4 cup ghee
2 medium sized onions finely sliced
1 medium sized onions finely sliced and fried till golden brown, for garnish
1 inch cinnamon piece
4 cloves
4 cardamom pods
200 gm set curt hung for a couple of hours and whipped till smooth
1 tsp each of - cumin powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
2 tbsp tomato puree
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat ghee and add cinnamon, cardamom and cloves.
2. Add onions and saute till light brown.
3. Add marinated mutton pieces along with marinade.
4. Add whipped curd, cumin, turmeric and chilli powder.
5. Mix well and add tamarind pulp along with tomato puree.
6. Add water till mutton is just about immersed in it.
7. Let it all come to a boil on medium heat, and then cook for around 50 mins on low flame. If it still seems a little undercooked, let it stay on the flame for another 10 mins.
8. Take off heat. Garnish with fried onions, coriander leaves and almond flakes if you have any.

Goes great with paranthas, rice, rotis, anything.

Notes:
* I first hang the curd and then whip it so it's smooth and won't curdle in the heat. Even if it does look curdled, don't worry, by the end it works out just fine.

Chocolate Crowned Banana Bread

This one is actually the result of miscommunication. Also, I totally get it how bakers, chefs and cooks named their accidental dishes. Originally I wanted to make banoffee pie in a jar. But then one thing led to another, multiple people ended up bringing home bananas. I have somehow utilized 3 over here. 6 more are there. God knows how to use them, besides direct consumption. I made banana bread with chocolate swirls. Now, I wanted the swirls. Promise. But the chocolate ended up not surrendering to the toothpick and on top of the bread batter. Whatodo! So it then became my Chocolate Crowned Banana Bread. By the way, it's great with a cup of adrak chai on Sunday morning. Or any other morning.

Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
2 cups flour (you could do 1 cup maida and 1 cup atta as well)
1/2 cup salted butter at room temperature (if unsalted then add 1/4 tsp salt in the flour)
3/4 cup brown sugar (or even regular will do)
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup dark chocolate melted with a blob of butter

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 C.
2. Mix butter and sugar till fluffy and beat in eggs, along with vanilla.
3. Mash the bananas and add to the butter sugar mixture.
4. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and soda) together.
5. Slowly fold the dry ingredients into the wet. DO NOT over mix. Else you'll end up with banana flavoured leather like substance.
6. At this point you can add walnuts, raisins or almonds if you'd like.
7. Spoon the melted chocolate on top of the bread batter and run a skewer or a tooth pick around, trying to create swirls.
8. Bake for 50 mins at 180 C.

Let it cool completely before slicing this up.