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    Recipes » Bengali Recipes

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

    October 31, 2016 By Debjani Chatterjee Alam Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    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? Let us talk about the famous Kalipujor Bhoger Mangsho!

    %Niramish Mangsho Recipe debjanir rannaghar
    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 Card
    • Niramish Mangsho Recipe Video
    • Mutton Recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar!
    • Have you tried the Pujor Bhoger Piyaj Roshun Chara Mangsho recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
    • Here's the Perfect Niramish Mangsho Recipe Pin for your Pinterest Board!

    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?

    %Kalipujor Bhoger Mangsho Recipe debjanir rannaghar

    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 up making some set for me to follow. Kali puja has always been special to us and it has never been Diwali to celebrate in 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.

    %Niramish Mangsho Recipe Debjanir Rannaghar

    Bhoger Mangsho and Moluti

    On the other hand, my mother’s maiden side; to be precise my grandmother’s family is 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!

    As the place is influenced by 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 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 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 the “Prasad” is never been prepared using Onion and Garlic. In fact, that makes Bhoger Mangsho or Niramish Mangsho unique.

    %Bengali bhoger mangsho

    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 a period of time, mainly a few processes. This is why the written recipe and the video recipe for 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.

    %Bengali Mutton Curry

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

    %Niramish Mangsho Recipe debjanir rannaghar
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    Niramish Mangsho aka Bhoger mangsho is a preparation of Mutton famous in Bengali households and it is prepared without onion and garlic

    • Author: Debjani Chatterjee Alam
    • Prep Time: 8 hours
    • Cook Time: 1 hour
    • Total Time: 9 hours
    • Yield: 6-7 People 1x
    • Category: Side Dish
    • Method: cooking
    • Cuisine: Bengali

    Ingredients

    Units Scale
    • 1kg Mutton (medium size pieces)
    • 500g Potato (cut into halves)
    • 100g Ginger
    • 300g Unflavoured Curd

    To Temper:

    • 1 Bay Leaf
    • 2 Red Chillies
    • 10 Clove
    • 2 inches Cinnamon Stick
    • 3 Green Cardamom
    • 2 Black Cardamom
    • 1 Tsp. Asafoetida / Hing

    Spices:

    • 2 Tsp. Cumin Powder
    • 2 Tsp. Coriander Powder
    • 1 Tsp. Garam Masala Powder
    • 1 Tsp. Red Chili Powder
    • 2 Tsp. Turmeric Powder
    • 2 Tsp. Sugar
    • 1 Tsp. Salt or to taste
    • 5 Tbsp. Mustard Oil
    • 2 Tbsp. Ghee

    Instructions

    %making of niramish mangsho[/url]

    1. Wash and pat dry mutton pieces and marinade with 100g Card, 1 Tsp. Cumin Powder, 1 Tsp. Coriander Powder, 1 Tsp. Turmeric Powder, and ½ Tsp. Red Chili Powder for around 8 hours.
    2. Peel and cut potatoes in half and smear little turmeric powder over the potatoes.
    3. Mix rest of the Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Turmeric Powder, and also Red Chili Powder with 1 Tbsp. of Mustard Oil to make a thick paste.
    4. Make a smooth paste of Ginger as well.
    5. Be handy with a pot full of boiling water.%making of niramish mangsho
    6. Heat remaining oil in a pan.
    7. Fry Potatoes till those turn golden brown in color and strain potatoes from the pan.
    8. Now shift the remaining oil in a deep pan and add Ghee to it and heat.
    9. Temper the oil with Bay Leaf, Red Chili, Clove, Cinnamon Stick, Green Cardamom, Black Cardamom, and Asafoetida.
    10. Cook for a minute until the tempering leaves an amazing aroma.
    11. At this point add sugar and continuously stir it using a ladle to caramelize the sugar but be careful to not to burn it.
    12. Now add the Ginger paste to the mixture and cook for 2 minutes in low flame.
    13. Now add a little water if found the spices sticking on the edges of the pan.
    14. Add the spice paste as well as some salt and cook for 3-4 minutes on low flame.
    15. Add curd after beating it to the mixture and mix continuously and cook for 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens and releases oil.
    16. At this point add marinated mutton to the mixture and start cooking on low flame
    17. Stir in between.
    18. The mutton will start releasing water around after 10 minutes of low flame cooking
    19. Add fried potatoes at this point.
    20. Keep the flame low and let the mutton cook in its own water for 20 minutes with a lid on.
    21. Add 4 cups of boiling water to the mutton and increase the flame a bit and keep the mutton cooking now with the added water.
    22. It should take 15 more minutes to cook the mutton properly with the lid of the pan on or maybe more depending on the quality of the mutton.
    23. Add boiling water in between to keep the consistency the same.
    24. Now add Garam Masala Powder and 1 Tsp. of Ghee to finish Niramish Mangsho.
    25. Check the Recipe video below
      %Bengali mutton curry without onion

    Notes

    • I prefer a slow cooking process for this particular dish, however, if you are out of time instead of a pan use pressure cooker and cook till 3 whistles coming from the vent weight.
    • To give the curry a more dominant red color, use Kashmiri Red Chili Powder instead of the normal one.
    • The the amount of Sugar will be depending on the taste bud.
    • If you wish, can ignore Ghee completely but that will obviously decrease the special flavor of the dish.

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 125g
    • Calories: 563
    • Sugar: 5.3g
    • Sodium: 487mg
    • Fat: 29g
    • Saturated Fat: 9.1g
    • Carbohydrates: 28.4g
    • Fiber: 4.1g
    • Protein: 45.8g
    • Cholesterol: 143mg

    Keywords: Niramish mangsho, bhoger mangsho, piaj roshun chara mangsho, bengali mutton curry

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag us at @foodofdebjani — we can't wait to see what you've made! Also, you can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar over there!

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    Niramish Mangsho Recipe Video

    Mutton Recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar!

    • Bengali Mutton Stew with Veggies in a pressure cooker (also known 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)
    • Keema Kaleji (also known as Keema Kalija | Indian mutton mincemeat and mutton liver curry)
    • 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)

    Have you tried the Pujor Bhoger Piyaj Roshun Chara Mangsho recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!

    I would love to see a picture if you are making it following my recipe. You can share here at dolonchttrj@gmail.com. You can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar and share it through Instagram as well. and in addition, you can tag me at @foodofdebjani.

    Here's the Perfect Niramish Mangsho Recipe Pin for your Pinterest Board!

    %Niramish Mangsho Recipe Food Pinterest Pin
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    About Debjani Chatterjee Alam

    I am Debjani Chatterjee Alam. A CSR specialist by profession and a food writer, food blogger, and food photographer as well. I live in Kolkata along with my Husband Mehebub who is an architect by profession, my daughter Pasta, and also my dog daughters Coffee and Luchi.

    Learn more about me →

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