Aatu Kaal Paya (Madras Style)

Aatu Kaal Paya is a very delicious curry made from goat/lamb legs. Paya curry is believed to have its origin in the asian culinary tradition. This spicy-scrumptious 100% non-vegetarian dish is my all time favourite (dad's too!), and no wonder i always insist my mom to make it. Even during my recent visit to mom's place...i had it three times!

I'm not sure how the name paya originated, but heard Paya means the feet of Lamb. It is considered a delicacy for breakfast in Southern Part of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. During olden days when wood or coal was used as a cooking fuel, it is believed that women would start this dish at night and slow cook it in until the morning.

Recipes for this dish vary slightly from region to region. In madras we usually eat it with appam, iddiappam, idly, dosa, kal dosa and similar varieties for breakfast, other avatars of paya can be had with naan, roti, phulka...

Mom usually makes paya during the winter months, as it is believed that consumption of peppered paya removes phlegm/sputum from the chest and heats the body. If you love to discover something new on your table, then it's time to try this dish. It is a much enjoyed side dish, but still if you are not comfortable in eating the skin or chewing the bones, you can still enjoy the taste by eating only the curry!

Here I have given the recipe of Aatu Kaal Paya (Madras Style).

Ingredients:

Paya: (Lamb's/Goat's Legs) - a dozen
Onions: 4
Tomato: 1
Oil: 2 tbsp
Ginger-Garlic Paste: 5 tsp
Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp
Green Chilly: 3
Poppy Seeds: 1 tsp
Chilli Powder: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds: 1 tsp
Fennel Seeds: 2 tsp
Bay Leaves: 1 or 2
Cinnamon: 1
Cloves: 4-5
Garam Masala: 2 tsp
Coconut Milk: 1 cup
Curry Leaves: handfull
Freshly Ground Pepper Powder: 1 tsp
Salt to Taste

Method:
1. Clean, wash and pressure cook the washed Lamb Legs with little turermic powder and water on simmer flame for about an 1 hour (usually takes more time to cook. So my mom pressure cooks it the previous night and would reheat the cooker the next day morning and would use the cooked legs for the next day morning's breakfast)

2. For the masala: grind Sauted onions and tomato, ginger-garlic paste, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, fennel seeds, chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala

3. Now heat oil in a pan, fry Bay Leaves, Cinnamon and Cloves...Now add the grounded masala and cook for a while

4. Now add the cooked Lamb legs to this mixture, mix it well and add required amount of water and close the pan, allow it to cook for atleast 10 min on low flame

5. At this stage add the pepper powder, sliced green chillis and salt to taste and cook for another 5 minutes

6. Sprinkling curry leaves is the last step before switching off the flame

7. Now you can relish this wonderful curry with appam, idly, dosa or anything of your choice.

Spicy Madras Mutton Sukha (dry)

Facts About Mutton..

Mutton is a common red meat, which is not only delicious in biryani, kurma and kebab but also has a high nutritional value and is a good source of easily absorbed zinc and iron.

It has unsaturated fat, which is good for our body and Palmitoleic acid, a 16-carbon monounsaturated fatty acid that possesses strong antimicrobial properties. My mommy always insists that taking them at least once a week would strengthen our bones and infact the whole body.

Mutton enables tissue repair, formation of red blood cells and a healthy immune system. Lamb is rich in B vitamins, especially B12. One serving can provide 74-100% of the daily requirement for Vitamin B12, which is essential for the body's metabolic reactions. Lamb is also nature's best source for an amino acid called carnitine, which is needed to generate energy from fatty acids.

Trace elements such as copper, manganese, and selenium are also found in this meat, and it contains a rich supply of high quality protein.

The diet conscious ones need not worry about putting extra pounds, as these days there are low fat Lamb too!

Ready to Cook..

As the name suggests, this is one of our traditional dish made from fresh mutton. Think of the name, my mouth starts watering! Learnt this recipe from Udaya akka (my mama's wife), who is one of the best cooks in our family. Though everyone compliments my Mutton Sukha, but i really feel this is not the best like how akka makes. I know...only practice makes one perfect!

You Need:

Boneless Mutton: 250g (chopped into tiny pieces)

Onion & Tomato finely chopped

Ginger (as desired), Garlic (4-5 cloves), 3 green chilies, 3 tsp Cumin Seeds and 2 tsp fennel seeds: Grounded into a paste

Turmeric powder, pepper powder (3 tsp), garam masala (1 tsp) and salt to taste

Cashew nuts: 8-10

Curry leaves: Handful

Method:

1. Pressure cook the mutton along with turmeric powder, chopped onion, chopped tomato, grounded paste, 1 tsp garam masala and sufficient water (for the mutton to be cooked)

2. Close the cooker lid and allow it to cook for 6 – 8 whistles (depending upon the mutton texture) and keep aside

3. Now take a non-stick pan, heat 4 tsp oil in it. (keep the pan in simmer till the end of the process)

4. Now pick only the mutton pieces from the cooker (keep the stock aside), put the pieces into the pan and keep tossing

5. Now add 3-4 tsp (or as desired) freshly ground black pepper powder, salt and 3 tsp stock from the cooker, and allow it to cook for 3 minutes

6. At the end of the 3rd minute, again add another 3 tsp of stock and keep tossing. (Repeat this 3 times, after every 3 minutes)

7. Now add the curry leaves and cashew nuts, and keep tossing for another 10 minutes or until the mutton pieces become very dry after absorbing all the poured stock. (Total cooking time in pan will be 20-25 minutes)

Serve with plain rice, roti or as a snack (tastes best with rasam rice).

This tastes just as good even after a week (refrigerated).