Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Mutton Rezala...


Rezala is a yogurt based meat curry, flavored with spices like cardamom, cinnamon, dry red chilies. It originated in Bengal and is an influence from  the Mughlai cuisine.

Mutton Rezala (Goat Meat) has always been one of my favorite dish. Thanks to my friend Swagata who shared this wonderful recipe. It was finger-licking good. The taste evoked my memories of eating out in the restaurants at Kolkata.

Rezala is generally made with the ribs or chop portion of the meat in the restaurants. Do not worry if you can not manage to get ribs or chop, you can make it with leg portion too. I did that. Though rezala  is synonymous with mutton, some also prepare it with chicken. But I feel red meat brings out the real taste of rezala.


Things needed to make Mutton Rezala:



  • Mutton: 1 kilo/ 2.2 lb
  • Grated papaya/ meat tenderiser
  • Curd/plain yogurt: 500 gm/ 1.1 lb
  • Onion paste: 1/2 cup
  • Fried onion paste: 3 tbsp
  • Garlic paste: 1 tbsp
  • Ginger paste: 1 tbsp
  • Cashew nut paste: 3 tbsp
  • Poppy seed paste: 3 tbsp
  • Bay Leaves: 3
  • Cinnamon stick (1 inch): 3
  • Green cardamom: 4-5
  • Cloves: 6-7
  • Black peppercorn: 10-12
  • Dry red chilies: 7-8
  • Nutmeg powder: 1/4 tsp
  • Mace powder: 1/4 tsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Sugar to taste
  • Rose water: 1 tbsp
  • Kewra essence: 7-8 drops
  • Ghee: 1/4 cup

Steps of making Mutton Rezala:


1. Clean and wash mutton pieces. Use ribs or leg portions of the goat. Marinate the mutton pieces with the juice of grated papaya or any meat tenderizer for 30 min.

2. In a bowl mix half of the curd/plain yogurt, onion paste, garlic paste, ginger paste, salt and 2 cups of water. Keep aside.

3. In a pressure cooker add ghee. When the ghee is hot add bay leaves, whole garam masala, black peppercorns and dry red chilies. Cook for 1 min, add the mutton pieces and cook for 2-3 min. Add the yogurt mix. Let it boil, as it starts boiling reduce the heat cover the pressure cooker and cook till 2 whistles. Wait till pressure releases.


4. As the mutton is cooking, add ghee or oil in a pan. When the oil is hot fry sliced onions till the onions starts changing color to red. Let the onion cool down, make a smooth paste. I used white onion to make sure the color of rezala become white.

5. In a pan add ghee, add the onion paste, cashew nut paste and poppy paste, cook over low medium heat for 5-6 min. Add the mutton and all the juices, and the rest of the curd/plain yogurt. Mix well. Cover and cook the meat till it is fully cooked.


6. When the mutton is done, add nutmeg powder, mace powder and mix well. Check the seasoning and adjust accordingly. The gravy will have a thin soup like consistency. 

7. Add rose water and kewra essence, mix well. Switch off heat. Serve with nan-roti, biryani or saffron rice.

Note: If you want to make rezala with chicken, then do not use any meat tenderizer. Follow the same process, but avoid pressure cooking. Cook the chicken with the yogurt and spices in a large pan and do the rest as same.


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7 comments:

  1. Chitrangana.. havent seen you long in action... ki holo? love the rezala recipe.. will have to make soon... love the way you organised your blog... mine is hopeless. will have to learn from you..

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    1. Thank you Simon. I dont know why you are not getting updated from me...but I'm regularly posting recipes and pics. Anyways thanks for the compliment.

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  2. aj ami eta banabo.. will update u abt the result :)

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  3. Today I made this using chicken. A huge hit. I acknowledge that you r the finest recipe sharer. Thanks a lot.

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  4. i will try this yummy and delicious recipe...
    Spices rezala

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  5. This is one dish that is so Bangali in nature. Happy to have found your variation here.

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  6. I have tried this recipe and it works very well. Thank you.

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