All posts tagged: Andhra cuisine

Vellulli-Tamata Mamsam Iguru or Aunty’s Garlic Mutton Curry

On cold rainy days like these, my mother-in-law, (whom I prosaically call Aunty) would suggest a warming Mutton Curry for dinner. As a child, mutton was never on my wish list for special Sunday lunches. I found the meat chewy and stringy and never got accustomed to the strong flavor of an older sheep. Whenever my mother made mutton at home, there would be a general consensus that I would not be partaking of any. My mother herself never bothered to expand her repertoire of mutton dishes (save the Mutton Chops recipe and an occasionally Curry) because excluding herself and my grandmother, no one really cared for it. My vegetarian father was happy with his Buss Saaru (Greens and lentil curry) and I was happy with my chicken kabab and that was that.

Chicken Chops Masala – Like Mumma makes

My horoscope this weekend prophesied that I would take a long drive and even have a picnic. Boy was I skeptical! I hardly get my a** out of bed earlier than noon on a Sunday, so I was pitting my practiced laziness against the schemes of the universe. We went out for a party on Saturday night and like with all parties came home in a more than happy daze and flopped into bed. I challenged the universe to beat the combo of my hangover + laziness! I got a call at 9:00 AM in the morning… groan. I rolled over and half blinking looked at the screen. It was my sister. I picked up the call, knowing that leaving it unanswered would just lead to a barrage of calls until I wished the phone would self destruct. Would I please drop her to her exam center? – she had to take an MBA admission test. Since I was the one who goaded her to apply, I had to give in. I didn’t even have …

Lamb Chintamani – The Three Ingredient Wonder

This one is a revelation. I came across the recipe at Spices and Aroma and was instantly intrigued. A lamb main course using just three ingredients? Now that must be either really simple or really a joke. I had to satisfy my curiosity. So I immediately bookmarked the page to try it and asked the co-resident to go meat shopping. (He knows this awesome butcher near my mom-in-law’s house, rest assured we always get the freshest and best cut of meat). The recipe says Lamb but I like to use Goat Meat. It’s less fatty and somehow so much more flavorsome. The recipe is an authentic Kongunadu (Salem, Erode and Coimbatore) recipe using lamb and onions in equal quantities with some many fiery dried red chillies to liven it up! The result is an almost pickle like consistency that you serve with some hot white rice and loads of ghee. Now, most people add ghee to their sambhar and curries to reduce the heat, but the purpose of serving ghee with this dish is to …