Kosha Mangsho was cooked in my home on special days. Often when there was a dinner party. My Mother made Luchi ( A deep fried made with Maida / All purpose flour ) to accompany it most of the time, and the guests would focus only on the Kosha Mangsho.

Kosha Mangsho is a mutton curry which is slow cooked very patiently on low heat until the meat is tender and the gravy turns rich dark brown colour.

The Mutton ( goat meat ) that is used should have some fat , otherwise the rich taste is not achieved. Mustard oil is used in most Bengali recipes, in this case too Mustard oil gives the curry a special flavour. Ingredients used generally available in the pantry of Indian homes, so it can be made easily.

Preparation steps

Wash the Mutton pieces well, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of Salt and 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder, rub all the pieces with it and keep aside.
Slice the onions, ( I prefer red onions ).
Grate some Onion, Garlic and Ginger. Keep them in separate bowls.
Wash the Tomatoes, cut in big pieces and make a puree in your blender/ grinder
Measure out the masalas/spices and keep them ready

Ingredients for Kosha Mangsho

Mutton 1kg
Onion sliced 350 g
Grated Onion 40 g or 2 tablespoons
Grated Garlic 30 g or 1 teaspoon full
Grated Ginger 30g or 1 teaspoon full
Fresh Tomato pureed 250 g or Canned Tomato puree 1 tablespoon.
Garam masala powder 1 tsp
Kashmiri mirchi powder 1/4 tsp
Hot chilli powder 1/4 tsp or less
Salt 1 tsp
Haldi powder 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder 1/2 tsp
Dhania powder 1/2 tsp
Mustard oil 1/4 cup
Water 1 cup
Whole cinnamon 1 inch piece broken, 3 green cardamoms, 3 cloves 1 black cardamom

Tomato puree can be from a can too, I prefer the freshly made one. All you have to do is the run ripe tomatoes in a blender.

The grated onions give thickness to the gravy.n

Ginger and Garlic can be grated or ground , I use fresh Garlic and Ginger. The store bought Garlic and Ginger paste doesn’t taste the same.

The whole Garam Masala, 1inch cinnamon, 3 Green Cardamoms, 3 Cloves, and 1 black cardamom are used for the Tadka (seasoning the oil)

For the ground Garam Masala you just have to Grind some Cinnamon, Cardamom, and Cloves together, then add a teaspoon of the powder to the Mutton at the end.

Usually I buy Mutton with very little fat on the pieces for the everyday Manshor Jhol ( Mutton Curry) , but for this recipe you need the Fat. You could use less fatty pieces but then you may need more oil or ghee to get the right flavour and taste.

How to make Kosha Mangsho

Heat the oil in a Kadai/ wok,
When the oil is really hot add the Black cardamom first then the Cloves, green Cardamoms and the Cinnamon pieces to the oil
Stir a little, then add the sliced Onions. Then add the grated Onions and fry a little. After that, add the fresh Grated Garlic and Ginger. Keep frying on medium heat until the onions are brown.
Now Add the dry masalas/ spices : Salt, Turmeric powder, Chilli powder, Cumin and Coriander powders, stir fry for a minute or so
Add the Tomato puree. Keep stir frying until the raw smell of the masalas disappears. The oil should separate around the edges of the onion.
Add the Mutton pieces and stir fry till the onion and the rest of the masalas coat all the mutton pieces very well
Stir fry a little more and cover with a lid
Now you will have to cook on very low heat for a long time. Open the lid occasionally. Let the water that has accumulated on the lid drip into the mutton. Stir well and close the lid again. Keep repeating this, opening the lid and stirring the mutton after every 5 or 6 minutes. Mutton takes a long time to cook and this is the slow cooked method so it will take pretty long. It took about an hour for me. It depends on the quality of the meat.
In case the gravy get too dry and starts sticking to the bottom of the Kadai / wok , add a couple of tablespoons of water and continue the stir frying ( This is called Koshano in Bangla). The colour of the gravy will slowly turn a Dark Brown. Keep going till the mutton is soft enough to be cut by a spoon.
Add 1 full teaspoon of the Garam Masala powder, and mix it well with the curry.
The dish is done when the mutton is cooked and there fat floats round the gravy. There is very little gravy in this dish. You could add a few tablespoons of water. Add them in case you like a little more gravy.
Serve with Bengali Pulao, or Luchi /puri, Paratha or Roti

Step by step

Heat the 1/4 cup of Mustard Oil in a Wok. Add 1 black cardamom when the oil is very hot. After a minute add the 3 Green Cardamoms, 3 Cloves and 1 inch piece Cinnamon broken.

2 After 1 minute, add the 350 g sliced Onions and Fry , Add the 40g of grated onions after a minute

3 Then add 30g Grated Garlic and 30g Grated Ginger. Stir fry till the onions are soft and brown

4 Now add the 1 teaspoon salt, Turmeric powder, 1/4 teaspoon Chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon of Cumin powder and 1/2 teaspoon of Coriander powder. Stir fry for about 3 minutes.

5 Add the 250g of freshly made Tomato puree.

6 Keep stir frying with the Tomato puree and all the dry spices till it turns dark brown and some oil can be seen around the onions, as in the video

7 Now we can add the Mutton pieces to the onions and the spices.

8 Stir very well so that all the masala and the mutton are mixed well. This will take about 3 minutes.

9 Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to minimum.

10. After about 5 minutes, open the lid gently to one side. This ensures that the water on the lid drips into the Mutton curry. Add the Garam Masala powder.

11.Stir well for a minute and again cover with the tight lid.

Repeat the two steps, 10 and 11, until the mutton is soft. It should be tender enough to be cut with a spoon. Garam Masala i added only once though.

if at anytime there is very little gravy , or the Mutton is sticking to the bottom of the pan, just add a couple of tablespoons of water and cover.

The gravy in Kosha Mangsho is less, so add water a little at a time. I needed about 1/2 cup of water for this time. it depends a lot on the quality of the Meat.

The Kosha Mangho is ready when the Mutton is soft and there is oil floating around the meat.

Total time taken for cooking this dish was 2 hours, because it has to be cooked in low heat.*

Tips for best results

* You could shorten the time taken to make this by using a Pressure Cooker to soften the meat. Repeat steps 10 and 11 few times. Then, transfer the mutton curry into a pressure cooker. add 1 cup water. Put the pressure cooker on high heat. After the first whistle, lower the heat to minimum. Let it cook for 6 to 10 minutes. Let the pressure cooker cool completely before opening the lid. Now transfer the mutton curry back to the Kadai. Let it cook on medium heat until the gravy is thick. The oil should be seen floating around the mMeat and Gravy.
Buy the best quality fatty Mutton ( Khashir Mangsho).
Use a heavy bottom pan with a well fitting lid, Dutch Ovens are great for this. I used a cast iron Kadai. Cast iron is excellent because the gravy’s colour becomes dark brown because of the Iron. My grandmothers always used Iron Kadais/woks for all their cooking. If you use Iron utensils, transfer the dish into a serving bowl right after cooking. Otherwise, it will become black.

Enjoy the Kosha Mangsho with Basanti Pulao, or Luchi or Roti.

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