Smaller the Goat tastier softer the curry 🙂 and that’s why this runny Goat meat/ lamb curry from Bengal is known as Kochi Pathar Jhol! Kochi means “Small” and Patha depicted for “Goat.” This dish requires no introduction at all especially to the Bengalis! Call the runny Mutton Curry with big potato chunks by any name, Kochi Pathar Jhol or Mangshor Jhol or the Bengali Mutton Curry or Aloo diye Khasir Mangsher Jhol is a comfort food to the Bongs! We love to have it at part of our lethargic Sunday Lunch along with plain rice. 😆 . We discuss politics to cricket to Bollywood over our plate full with rice and bowl full with Mangshor Jhol. Now especially for the Mangsher Jhol, we prefer smaller goat or Kochi Patha and hence the name Kochi Pathar Jhol.
This curry requires lean meat, given we treat is as a comfort dish. I don’t use Mutton with fat to make my Sunday special Mangshor Jhol.
Almost every Bengali family has their own signature recipe of Pathar Mangsher Jhol and my family is not an exception. The best part is we all believe that no-one can make better Kochi Pathar Jhol than our respective mothers 
! I still remember my memories of Sunday lunch; We used to have this Jhol almost every Sunday. We had a 16 membered family including house helps and at that time our family budget allowed to purchase 1 kg mutton for the entire family which means 1 or maximum 2 pieces per member and that 1 or 2 pieces were supported by 2 big chunks of potatoes. Resources were limited but not the taste! That Big chunk of potato was tastier than the mutton to me and till date, I just can’t imagine Pathar Mangsher Jhol without Potatoes!
Hubby is a great fan of this runny Mutton curry especially prepared by his Mother in Law and almost every Sunday he tries to convince me to make it (with a special request to follow the typical recipe of my Mother) but given to our increasing weight and day by day increasing trend of it 😆 , I feel it’s better to avoid Red meat as much as possible 😛 . I just have limited our mutton consumption to once in a month, at least the homemade ones.
- Mutton: 750 g (divided into at least 8-10 pieces)
- Potato: 3-4 medium sized cut into half
- Onion: 2; big; roughly chopped
- Ginger Paste: 1 Tbsp.
- Garlic Paste: 1 Tsp.
- Tomato: 2 (chopped/ Pureed)
- Curd: 100 g
- Garam Masala: 2 Tsp.
- Jeera /Cumin Powder: 1 Tsp.
- Dhane/ Dhania / Coriander powder: 1 Tsp.
- Turmeric Powder: 1 Tsp.
- Dried red chilly: 2
- Bay leave: 1-2
- Sugar: 1 Tbsp.
- Red Chili Powder: 2 Tsp.
- Mustard Oil: 4 Tbsp.
- Wash and pat dry Mutton pieces.
- Prepare marinade with half of turmeric powder, red chili powder, ginger-garlic paste, and curd and add mutton pieces to the marinade and leave it for 1.5 hours. I prefer to marinate mutton overnight.
- Hit oil in a deep pan and fry potatoes till those turn golden yellow (not fully done) and keep them aside.
- In the same oil add bay leaf, dried red chili and chopped onions and sugar. Sauté till onions turn light brown.
- Add remaining ginger-garlic paste, salt, red chili powder, Garam masala powder, Cumin Powder and Coriander powder.
- Now add chopped/ pureed tomatoes to the mixture and cook for 5-7 minutes in medium flame till oil separates out from the mixture.
- Add marinated mutton to the mixture and cook for at least 5-7 minutes in medium flame.
- Now transfer Mutton to a pressure cooker and add fried potatoes.
- Add sufficient hot water to the mixture and pressure cook in medium flame (at least 5-7 whistles required).
- Open the lid of the Pressure Cooker after the pressure drops completely.
- Kochi Pathar Jhol is now ready to serve. You can serve it with plain rice.
Other Mutton Recipes apart from Kochi Pathar jhol from my blog:
You can try out other comforting mutton recipes from my blog. Kosha Mangsho in case you want to make a spicy Bengali mutton dish; Niramish Mangsho is an Onion garlic free option and Dhanshak is another light mutton dish.
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