Kochi Pathar Jhol, or Runny Mutton Curry, is a classic Bengali mutton or goat dish. This light curry features tender baby goat meat, prepared with just a few spices and absolutely no added fat.
Next, prepare a marinade with half the turmeric powder, red chili powder, ginger-garlic paste, and yogurt. Let the meat soak in this marinade for about an hour and a half, or even better, leave it in the fridge overnight.
While the meat is marinating, peel and cut the potatoes in half, and roughly chop the onions. Then, either blend the tomatoes into a paste or chop them finely.
Now, heat some oil in a deep pan. Fry the potatoes until they turn a light golden color, but don't cook them all the way through. Take them out and set them aside.
In the same oil, toss in a bay leaf, a dried red chili, the chopped onions, and a pinch of sugar. Cook until the onions become light brown.
Add the remaining ginger-garlic paste, along with salt, red chili powder, garam masala powder, cumin powder, and coriander powder.
Stir in the chopped or pureed tomatoes and cook over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, until the oil starts to separate from the mixture.
Pressure Cooker Method
Add the marinated goat meat and cook for another 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Now, move the meat and the partly cooked potatoes to a pressure cooker.
Pour in enough hot water (3 cups) to cover everything, and pressure cook on medium heat for at least 4 whistles.
Finally, once all the pressure has released, carefully open the lid of the pressure cooker.
Let it simmer for 15 minutes.
Slow-cooking Method
If you're not using a pressure cooker, cook the meat in the kadhai over low heat for about 1.5 hours.
Make sure to add hot water now and then to keep the curry thin. After this time, check if the meat is tender enough; if not, keep cooking until it's nice and soft.
In this menthod add potatoes, after one hour of cooking.
Final touch
Finally, stir in some ghee for extra flavor.
Your delicious Kochi Pathar Jhol is ready to enjoy with plain rice!
Notes
Substitution
I've included a pressure cooker method in this recipe to save time, but feel free to simmer the goat meat slowly in a kadhai if you prefer.