In today's episode we are going to decode the culinary secrets behind two popular Bangladeshi non veg dishes - Matka Mutton and Chui Jhal Mutton. The first one is a contemporary creation while the second one is an age -old recipe prepared with chui jhal or Piper Chabba stems.
We experienced these two dishes at Dokhina Kitchen, a famous restaurant in Jatrabari, Dhaka. We are grateful to our host cum friend Anisur from Plates Of Tradition, for introducing us to this place. The owner of the place is an engineer turned chef Sheikh Moniruzzaman (Monir). This gentle and gracious person is a passionate self taught cook who has crafted nearly 150 dishes inspired by many traditional recipes from Bangladesh and India.
The first dish called the matka mutton seemed to be a richer version of Bihar's famous Ahuna Mutton. The preparation style is almost similar. Monir informed us that this superhit recipe of his is inspired by an Indian curry and we knew it probably was the Ahuna mutton. He is believed to be the first person to introduce this in Bangladesh and since then it has become a huge hit among the non veg lovers
The mise en place being ready, it was time to witness its making. Monir took a huge vessel and emptied the roughly chopped onions followed by the bunch of spices, milk powder, ginger garlic paste, radhuni, almond paste, whole garlic pods, chillies, mutton and generous amount of mustard oil. These were combined together and set aside for a while.
Finally these were combined together by hand and calculated small portions of this was put in numerous small earthen pots. After being sealed with a dough lining, it was set over a low charcoal flame. As it slowly simmered away inside the pots, Monit moved on to the making of chui jhal mutton.
For this he stewed garlic pods and onions in water and as it softened and became dry he poured refined oil over it. Next went in the spices, while garlic pods, green chillies, mutton and chui jhal. The whole thing was then slow cooked over a low flame till the oil separated and floated over it.
When the chui jhal mutton was done, we got ourselves a comfortable seat at this spacious and beautifully done restaurant. Chef Monir was generous enough to serve us another very popular dish from his menu which was khichuri with mutton leg roast. It was a lot spicier and rich than the regular homemade version that we North Indians are familiar with. Here it is made with the aromatic short grain chinigura rice that enhances its flavour. The tender and spicy leg roast complimented the khichuri.
Finally it was time to remove the seal of the matka chicken and dig into it. The gravy was spicy, rich and flavourful. Radhuni, almond paste and milk powder added a hint of sweetness to it that felt satisfying. Both the mutton and whole garlic pods had become tender. It made a great combination with plain rice. Our tongues were burning from the heat of the chillies but we could stop.
Lastly we tried the chui jhal mutton. Because of this special creeper, the dish had a peppery, vinegary and earthy flavour. Chui jhal is a common spice in many parts of Bangladesh and it is used in both veg and non veg curries. The best part of both these curries were the soft whole garlic pods that had soaked up all the juices.
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Text by Swetaleena Nayak
16 окт 2024
