Ingredients

1. Mutton/lamb chops - 500 gms

For boiling mutton chops

2. Water – 1 1/2 cups
3. Ginger and garlic paste – 2 tsp

Roasted spices

4. Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp
5. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

For curry

6. Oil – 3 tbsp
7. Onion (medium) – 1
8. Chilli powder - 1 tsp
9. Crushed chillies powder - 1 tsp
10. Curd - 2 tbsp
11. Tomato puree (readymade, thick puree) - 2 tbsp
12. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
13. Ginger and garlic paste - 2 tsp
14. Cumin powder – 1/4 tsp
15. Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
16. Salt - as per taste

Garnishing

17. Coriander leaves - few

Method

1. Roast the coriander seeds and cumin seeds on a low flame in a pan for a few minutes until the colour changes and the aroma starts to be released.
2. Grind both the coriander and cumin seeds in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar to a coarse powder. Keep aside.
3. First cook the mutton chops in a cooker with water, ginger and garlic paste. Keep aside. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and wait for about 3 to 4 whistles and switch off the heat. Adjust the timing and number of whistles according to your cooker instructions and the quality of the mutton/lamb.

For the curry

4. Put oil in a kadai or any non-stick vessel and place it over heat. When it gets warm, add onions and fry until soft and light brown in colour.
5. Add ginger and garlic paste, stir for about 30 seconds.
6. Add the crushed coriander, cumin powder and tomato puree. Stir well for about 1 to 2 mins on a medium flame.
7. As it can burn, quickly add 1/2 cup stock (the remaining liquid left after boiling the chops). Mix well.
8. When it comes to a boil, add curd and other remaining spices. Mix quickly to prevent the curd from curdling. Keep the flame low at this stage.
9. Close the lid and cook for a while until it leaves oil and the spices are cooked well. If getting dry, you can add stock in between. Do not cook it on a very high flame, but instead on a medium heat.
10. Add the remaining stock and salt so that you get a good consistency for the sauce.
11. Add the chops. Cook until a thick gravy is formed and the chops are well coated in it. Stir in between as it can burn and stick to the pan.
12. The curry has left oil on the corner sides and the chops are well coated with a good reddish sauce. At last sprinkle some lemon juice and simmer for about 5 to 10 mins. Switch off the heat.
13. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve the mutton chops curry with pulao or plain rice.

Other method if pressure cooker is not available

1. Cook the onions first and then add the ginger and garlic paste. Add the mutton chops and all the other ingredients. Mix well. Add 2 cups of water and close the lid. Cook directly until you get a good consistency for the gravy and the chops are cooked well.
2. Stir well occasionally. At last, add lemon juice and simmer for about 5 to 10 mins.

Notes

1. Instead of crushed chilli powder, you can add the usual chilli powder, but as per your taste.
2. Check the sauce and add lemon juice according to the sourness you want. If the sauce is very sour as you have already added tomato puree and curd, then avoid the lemon juice.
3. You can cook it dry until you get to the consistency you want. We call it as sukha mutton chops, which is in a dry form coated to the mutton chops. For this, add little stock from cooking the mutton as we do not want a lot of gravy. It will be like bhuna gosht or semi-dry mutton chops curry.
4. When you are making semi-dry curry or dry mutton chops, always keep stirring every now and then and keep the flame medium to low. Otherwise, it can burn.
5. If the stock is not enough, you can add water. If stock is more, add required stock and keep the remaining in fridge and use later for other curries.
6. When you add curd to the curry, mix it quickly as it can curdle. Keep the vessel off the fire when adding curd.