Jangli Maas

Rustic Hunter's Lamb

Non-vegetarian●●●Origin RajasthanPrep 15 minutesCook 1 hour

A minimalist Rajasthani meat preparation cooked low and slow with pure fat, salt, and heat. The lamb gently braises in its own juices and ghee, yielding tender meat with a straightforward, fiery kick from dried chillies.

Whole chillies

5 gAdded to the braising meat alongside salt (step 2)

Dried red chilli · Sukhi Lal Mirch

5–6 g5–6 chillies

spice

Leave the dried pods whole.

Everything else

Ghee or vegetable oil · Ghee ya tel

200 g

oil/fat

Lamb · Goshtcut into pieces

1000 g

meat

Salt · Namak

to taste

salt

Method

Warm 200 g ghee or vegetable oil in a heavy-based pan set over low heat. Tip in 1000 g lamb, cut into pieces, and let it cook gently for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season with salt to taste and drop in the whole chillies. Splash in a tiny trickle of water to prevent the meat from catching on the bottom, then simmer for another 10 minutes, regulating the burner so the meat slowly renders rather than boils or fries.
Continue this gentle braise, stirring periodically and adding minimal splashes of water whenever the pan runs dry, until the lamb becomes completely tender.
Raise the heat slightly and cook for several minutes, stirring constantly until all excess moisture evaporates and the fat separates.

Don't have something?

Ghee or vegetable oil

Peanut oil
Use equal weight; handles high tempering heat well and keeps flavours neutral.
Butter
Use equal weight; cook over gentle heat to prevent browning the milk solids too quickly.

Lamb

Pork
Use equal weight of pork shoulder or collar; cut into identical cubes and braise, reducing cooking time by 15-20 minutes.
Chicken
Use equal weight of bone-in chicken thighs; curry simmers in roughly 25 minutes instead of over an hour, with a much lighter sauce.

Dried red chilli

Dried kashmiri chilli
Use equal weight whole. Fry in hot oil or ghee as tempered spice; gives a richer red colour with slightly milder heat.
Red chilli powder
Use 50% to 70% of the weight. Stir into the oil with ground spices; distributes heat evenly throughout the dish without whole chilli skins.

Similar dishes

Aso Adin

Lamb Stew with Ginger

Aso Adin tastes lighter and zesty with pungent heat from fresh ginger and green chillies, lacking the rich, heavy fat and smoky dried-chilli heat of this dish.

Same: Both recipes slow-cook a kilogram of lamb with salt and chillies in a minimal, pared-down style without onions or ground spices.
Different: Aso Adin simmers the meat into a light broth using ginger paste and fresh green chillies with no added cooking fat, whereas this dish braises the lamb in 200 grams of ghee or oil with dried red chillies.

Bhutua

Spicy Fried Offal (Variety Meats)

Bhutua tastes more pungent and earthy from the mustard oil and coriander, contrasting with the rich, straightforward chilli heat of this dish.

Same: Like this dish, Bhutua is slow-cooked in a large quantity of fat seasoned simply with dried red chillies and salt.
Different: Bhutua uses offal cooked in mustard oil alongside ground turmeric and coriander seeds, rather than lamb braised in ghee.

Shorba Marag

Spicy Kid Soup

Shorba Marag tastes fragrant, herbaceous, sweet from onion, sour from lime, and green-chilli spicy, while this dish tastes richer, fattier, and fiery from dried chillies.

Same: Shorba Marag shares lamb, ghee, salt, and chilli heat with this dish.
Different: Shorba Marag adds browned onion, green chilli, coriander, mint, black pepper, and lime juice, and uses much less ghee in a brothy soup style, while this dish uses only dried red chilli, salt, and a large amount of fat to braise lamb.

Ishtoo (I)

Lamb Stew (I)

Ishtoo (I) is sweeter, tangier, and more mellow compared to the straightforward, fiery, and meat-forward profile of this dish.

Same: Both are slow-cooked preparations made with dried red chillies, salt, and ghee or vegetable oil.
Different: Ishtoo (I) builds a gravy using a large quantity of onions, yogurt as a souring agent, garlic, and cloves.