Laal Maas

Laal Maas, which means red mutton when literally translated into English, is a meat curry originating from the state of Rajasthan in India. Lal Maas is a traditional dish of Rajasthan, which was very popular in royal families. It is a thick, semi-dry mutton curry prepared with a blend of curd , spices and red chillies. This dish can be recognized by its distinctive flavour due to the tremendous presence of garlic (lahsan), and also by its signature red colour courtesy of the fiery spices. Traditionally, it was made with wild meat, like boar or deer and spices and chillies were used to mask the bad smell of the meat. In this recipe, it takes a long time to properly marinate the mutton but it is the most important step which gives authentic flavour. For a more authentic touch, special chillies called Mathania Red Chillies can be used, which are native to Rajasthan and can be easily found there. It can be served with Bajre ki Roti, Makke ki roti or Gehun ki Roti.

You may also like more food like Moongodi, Ker Sangri, Gulab jamun ki sabzi from Rajasthani cuisine.

How to make Laal Maas

Ingredients
Mutton	1 kg
Onions (payaz) , finely chopped	4 big
Garlic (lahsan) cloves, slice	5-6
Clarified butter (Ghee)	3-4 table spoons
Bay Leaves (tej patta)	4
Green Cardamoms (chhoti elaichi)	4
Black Cardamoms (badi elaichi)	3
Cinnamon (dalchini)	½ inch stick
Cumin (jeera) seeds	1 tea spoon
Red Chillies (lal mirch) crushed	6-7
Coriander (dhaniya) Powder	2 table spoons
For Marination
Yogurt (dahi)	1 cup
Kashmiri red chilli	8-10
Garlic (lahsan) cloves, sliced	6
Salt (namak)	To taste

Method

For Cooking

1. Heat clarified butter in a heavy bottomed pan.
2. Once the clarified butter is hot enough, add bay leaves, black cardamom, green cardamom, cinnamon, cumin seeds and the slices of garlic. Stir these spices well for a minute or two.
3. Add onions in next and sauté them very well till they turn golden brown.
4. Add the marinated lamb in next and let the meat fry with the marinade for 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, churn a few dry red chillies without water in blender.
6. Add coriander powder and the crushed red chillies in next and sauté the meat very well.
7. Now add around two cups of water, salt and cover the pan. Let the meat simmer till the meat is done (it may take 2 hours).
8. The meat should be cooked on low flame and it should become very soft.
9. Once done put off the flame.
10. Traditionally the dish is not garnished.
11. The beautiful red colour of the chillies gives the dish a beautiful feeling.

For Marination

1. Grind the chillies with garlic cloves, some water and oil to make a nice chunky coarse red chilli mix.
2. In a bowl mix this red chilli mixture with yogurt and some salt to taste. Coat the mutton with marinade and leave it overnight (if you have limited time marinade it for at least 3-4 hours).

Recipe Type : Non Vegetarian, Rajasthan, Regional