Odia Mansa Tarkari Mutton Curry Everyday

Ingredients

• 700 g mutton — bone-in pieces
• 1/2 tsp turmeric + salt for marinating
• 3 tbsp mustard oil
• 1/2 tsp panch phoron
• 2 bay leaf, 2 dried red chilli
• 2 onions — finely sliced
• 1 tbsp ginger paste, 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 2 tomatoes — finely chopped
• 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 3 medium potato — peeled and quartered
• salt, 2 cups water

Method

1. Marinate mutton: Rub mutton with turmeric and salt. Rest 30 minutes.
2. Heat mustard oil until smoking: Heat 3 tbsp mustard oil until smoking. Reduce to medium.
3. Add panch phoron, bay leaves and dried red chilli: All five seeds crackle together. Add bay leaves and dried red chilli. This panch phoron tempering is specifically Odia — similar to Bengali but used more lightly.
4. Cook onions: Add sliced onions. Cook 12 minutes until golden.
5. Add ginger and garlic: Cook 2 minutes.
6. Add tomatoes: Cook 5 minutes until soft.
7. Add spice powders: Turn low. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric. Stir 2 minutes.
8. Add mutton: Add marinated mutton. Stir to coat. Cook on medium-high 8 minutes.
9. Add potato, water and salt: Add quartered potato. Add 2 cups water and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on medium-low 45 to 50 minutes until mutton is tender.
10. Finish: Add garam masala. The Odia mansa tarkari should be thin to medium thickness. Serve with steamed rice.
11. Note: Mansa Tarkari (mansa = meat, tarkari = curry in Odia) is the everyday home mutton preparation of Odisha — eaten at festive occasions and on non-fasting days. Odia cooking is influenced by the Bengali spice tradition (panch phoron, mustard oil) but uses a lighter hand with the spicing than either Bengali or other eastern Indian cuisines. The potato in the curry is mandatory — as it is in Bengali mutton curry — providing bulk and absorbing the broth.