Here's the recipe for the oven-baked mutton we made a couple days back. Minal made up this recipe on the fly. So I just made up the measurements for the ingredients as I went along. I'll give them here as it turned out pretty good, but treat them as approximate and adjust to your taste.
What you need, and what to do with it:
Mutton (1 lb) [Doesn't have to be mutton. I used New Zealand lamb from Whole Foods, although Indian recipes normally use goat meat and call it mutton.]
1) Cut the mutton into half-inch to one-inch cubes.
To marinate:
Ginger chopped/minced (1 tblspn)
Garlic chopped/minced (1 tblspn)
Cilantro leaves chopped (2 tblspns)
Salt (to taste)
Cumin powder (1/3 tspn)
Coriander powder (1/3 tspn)
Garam masala (1/3 tspn)
Red chilli powder (1/3 tspn)
2) Add all the above ingredients to the cut mutton pieces and marinate for half an hour.
To make the gravy:
Oil (2 tblspns)
Red onion chopped (1 small)
Tomato chopped (1 medium)
Mustard seeds (1/2 tspn)
Cumin seeds (1/2 tspn)
Turmeric (1 pinch)
Salt (to taste)
Garam masala (1/3 tspn)
Red chilli powder (1/3 tspn)
Cilantro leaves unchopped (I took leaves from half the bunch, but it's totally upto you. You can add them with the stems as well)
3) Heat oil in a wok. After it is hot enough to sizzle mustard, add the mustard seeds, quickly followed by cumin seeds, and then the chopped onion.
4) Allow the onion to turn transluscent (minute or two) and add the chopped tomato.
5) Cover and cook until tomato turns mushy (3 to 4 minutes)
6) Add the salt, garam masala, red chilli powder and cilantro. Mix well. Cover and cook for 1 minute.
7) Turn off heat. Set aside the gravy and allow it to cool. Once it is cool enough, use a food processor to blend it to a fine paste. Add a little water if it is too thick. Set aside.
To pre-cook the mutton:
Oil (3 tblspns)
8) Heat the oil in a flat frying pan and add the marinated mutton pieces.
9) Cook on medium-high for 3 minutes, turning the pieces midway through.
10) Cover and cook on low-medium for 7 minutes, turning the pieces midway through.
11) Turn off heat. Add the blended gravy. Mix well. Cover the pan back and set aside.
To bake the mutton:
Red Potato(es) (1 or 2 medium-sized)
Oil (1 tblspn)
12) Peel the potatoes. Cut each potato into half lengthwise. Rest the flat side of each half on cutting board and chop into semicircular cross-sections around 1/2 cm thick (This is the best way of cutting them. Any other shape, and they wouldn't form a good flat base layer. If slices are thinner, they stick
to the baking pan and turn to mush)
13) Preheat the oven to 375 F
14) Add the oil to a baking pan and spread evenly with a basting brush.
15) Add the potato slices as the base layer. Add the pre-cooked mutton and blended gravy mix as the next layer.
16) Seal the baking pan with aluminium foil (or its own cover if it has a cover) and bake in the over for 40 to 45 minutes. There is no need to punch holes for the steam. The aluminium foil won't really be that airtight.
17) Switch off the oven and take the baking pan out (make sure you wear mitts) and cool for 10 to 15 minutes without removing the foil/cover.
18) Remove foil/cover and taste a piece. If any chewiness left (unlikely), cover back, restart oven, and bake for 10 additional minutes. Make sure to again cool it covered for 10 to 15 minutes before opening the cover.
To enjoy the mutton:
19) Grab a fork. Dig in.
