Niramish Mangsho or Bhoger Mangsho & Reminiscence of Kalipujo at Maluti, a tribal village

Mangsho cannot be niramish right? For sure, if you are a Bengali or you know the Bengali language, the term Niramish Mangsho is nothing but an oxymoron. After all, we call Enchor aka raw Jackfruit gach pantha, the vegetarian meat. Then why this name?

Niramish Mangsho, an oxymoron?

Well, in every dialect, there are a few phrases, which cannot be described by a word or a typical meaning. Niramish Mangsho is one such term. In Bengali cuisine, anything cooked without onion and garlic (and in few cases, without a few more ingredients) is termed Niramish. As this particular meat curry is cooked without onion and garlic, we often refer to it as Niramish.

What Makes Bhoger Mangsho different?

While we cook bhog in Bengal, we do not add onion and garlic to it. We serve meat as well as fish to our goddesses (Devi Durga or Kali). This bhog is not cooked with onion and garlic. The meat we cook for bhog is called Bhoger Mangsho. You often see this Mangsho being prepared on Durgasthami or the day after Deepavali.

My Niramish Mangsho memories; Kolkata part!

A Bengali delight, Bhoger Mangsho or Niramish Mangsho is indeed a special dish to me. Growing up in a North Kolkata house with 28 members, I am fortunate enough to witness different flavors of Bengali culture and rituals. Not that I adopted everything but yes I experienced everything and ended on making some set for me to follow. Kali puja has always been special to us and it never been Diwali to celebrate at our part of the city during that time. I have seen my father fasting for the entire day (and night) of Kalipujo and I somehow felt spirited having seen him.  I also started doing the Kalipujo fast with Baba when I was a teenager.

Bhoger Mangsho and Moluti

On the other hand, my mother’s maiden side; to be precise my grandmother’s family are originally from a village of Jharkhand, known as Maluti. I used to visit that tiny village with Maa almost every year during Kalipujo. The place is nearby (well almost) to the famous pilgrimage of Tarapith. Maluti is famous for the temple of “Devi Molikha”.  Surrounded by the plateau of Chota Nagpur, Maluti indeed is a place to explore the eternal beauty of nature. However, apart from the natural beauty, I was attacked by the festival of Kalipuja there every year.

Direct to the recipe!

Jump to:

• Niramish Mangsho, an oxymoron?
• What Makes Bhoger Mangsho different?
• My Niramish Mangsho memories; Kolkata part!
• Bhoger Mangsho and Moluti
• Direct to the recipe!
• Niramish Mangsho, a few important notes!
• Here's how I cook Niramish Mangsho at Debjanir Rannaghar!
• Recipe
• Niramish Mangsho Recipe Video
• Mutton Recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar!

As the place is having the influence of the tribal community and the Santhal tribe to be specific, the Kali puja is also influenced by the tribal flavor as well. Eight significant Pujas including the Royal puja of Devi Molikha and not to mention one out of the eight pujas is totally followed the tribal processes. Believe me, witnessing the puja of Ma Kali (for me specifically the Santhal Puja) was something that spirited me a lot all through my starting years and even today.

In addition to the other rituals, sacrificing livestock which is known as “Boli” used to be quite common during Kalipujo. Maluti is no exception to this and in fact, this is what is famous in many places including Kalighat. Having the specially prepared sacrificed meat is a ritual on the consecutive day of puja. Having said that, the “Pujor Mangsho” or the meat (mainly mutton or lamb) that is considered as the “Prasad” is never been prepared using Onion and Garlic. In fact, that makes Bhoger Mangsho or Niramish Mangsho unique.

Chotobela and more

I have not visited Maluti for years thanks to my busy life. However, I cherished listening to my mother every year about her experience being there. I can’t even imagine Maa not visiting Maluti during Kalipujo. Coming back to the Niramish Mangsho, I have had the Niramish Mangsho in a different form. However, the main thing to remember is not to prepare it using Onion and Garlic. As Onion is not part of the dish, to give it a distinct flavor use of Asafoetida or “Hing” is a must while preparing the Niramish Mangsho or Bhoger Mangsho this is what I learned from my Dida.

Niramish Mangsho, a few important notes!

We cook this dish with very basic spices. I personally don’t even use Tomato in it. I do cook the Niramish Mangsho every year on the day after Kalipujo! This is probably my way of looking back to my childhood and cherishing the special aroma of the runny mutton curry.

I am cooking this dish for years and I have cooked it for the masses.  I must mention, I have modified the recipe over the period of time, mainly a few processes. This is why the written recipe and the video recipe of Niramish mangsho are different.  Here I must mention, in some families, Curd is not added while cooking bhog. However, we use it for general cooking.

Now on this note let us have the recipe of Niramish Mangsho the way I prepare it. For me, my Niramish Mangsho is incomplete without Aloo (potato chunks) and also Ghee tempered spices in it. Not to mention, carefully chosen mutton with a little addition of fat (say 10%).

Here's how I cook Niramish Mangsho at Debjanir Rannaghar!

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Recipe

Niramish Mangsho Recipe Video

Mutton Recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar!

• Bengali Mutton Stew with Veggies in a pressure cooker (also knwon as Shobji diye Mangshor Jhol)
• Nalli Nihari (also known as Mutton Nihari or Gosht Nihari)
• Joggi Barir Mangsho (also known as Biyebarir Mutton Curry)
• Gota Roshun diye Mangshor Jhol (also known as Bengali Mutton Curry with Garlic Pod)
• Bengali Mete Chorchori also known as Mutton Liver side with Potato chunks)
• Mangsher Ghughni (also known as Bengali Yellow peas curry with minced meat),
• Mutton Handi Kebab (also known as mutton hari kabab)
• Kochi Pathar Jhol (also known as Bengali Mutton Curry) 
• Mangshor Jhol (also known as Bengali light Mutton curry)
• Gota Moshlar Mangsho (also known as Kata Moshlar Mangsho | Mutton cooked with whole spices)
• Bengali Keema Curry (also known as Mutton Mincemeat Curry with Potato Chunks)
• Anglo-Indian Mutton Curry (Also known as Anglo-Indian Lamb curry)
• Keema Matar (also known as Mutton mincemeat cooked with green peas)
• Bengali Mete Chorchori (also known as Mutton Liver side with Potato chunks)
• Kolkata Mutton Biryani (also known as Calcutta Biryani)
• Posto Mangsho (also known Bengali Mutton Curry cooked with Poppy Seed Paste)
• Kolkata’s Mutton Tikia (Also known as Tikiya Kabab)