Mangsha Chops Besara

Odia Cuisine is gaining popularity lately for the very reason that they are delicious, nutritious & easy to make comfort food which is palatable to people from all age groups. May be the next generation is more inclined towards junk food & international cuisine but irrespective of hailing from any part of the Country if we don’t promote our traditional heritage of recipes, soon they might be forgotten by everyone. Towards this initiative, I hereby present an age old recipe which I received as a legacy from my Granny and is probably one among the lost recipes. Besara is usually used to cook fish, prawns or even vegetables but this twist of cooking mutton (mangsha) with mustard paste typical of Odisha is simply finger licking good. So let’s get started with my version of “Mangsha Chops Besara”.

27 Mar 2021

  • 30
    mins
    Prep time
  • 30
    mins
    Cooking time
  • 4
    people
    Serves

Ingredients

Mutton Chops 1 kilogram (kg)
Yellow Mustard 2 tablespoon/s (tbsp)
Black Mustard 2 tablespoon/s (tbsp)
Cumin (Jeera) 2 teaspoon/s (tsp)
Turmeric Powder 2 teaspoon/s (tsp)
Mango Powder (Aamchur) 2 teaspoon/s (tsp)
Dry Mango Slices (Ambula/ Amiya) 2 piece/s
Garlic 1 piece/s
Green Chilli 4 piece/s
Dry Red Chilli 4 piece/s
Onion 2 piece/s
Tomato 2 piece/s
Coriander Leaves 6 sprig
Mustard Oil 6 tablespoon/s (tbsp)
Salt 2 tablespoon/s (tbsp)

Method

1. Clean the mutton chops, mix well with 1 tbsp. mustard oil, 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder and marinate for half an hour in the refrigerator.

2. Meanwhile, grind the yellow & black mustard seeds, cumin, dry red chillies with a pinch of salt. Further grind it by adding garlic & 1/4 cup of water into a smooth paste which is also known as Besara in Odia cuisine.

3. Heat 2 tbsp. mustard oil in a non stick pan to the smoking point & fry the marinated mutton chops on high flame turning sides once they attain a nice golden brown colour. This process of searing helps to seal the juices inside by closing the pores on the surface of the meat pieces.

4. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add 1 tbsp. mustard oil, sliced onion (01), onion paste (01), chopped tomatoes, coriander leaves, slit green chillies, mango powder, 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder, besara paste, salt and mix thoroughly.

5. Pressure cook with 1/2 cup water for 10 minutes on simmer after 2 whistles on medium flame. Check if the mutton pieces are perfectly tenderised and cook for a while without lid till the gravy thickens. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice.

Note

May use the traditional dry mango pieces (Ambula), which is replaced by mango powder (Aamchur) in this recipe. Dry grind the mustard seeds first to ensure a smoother paste. Adding salt to mustard while grinding prevents it from turning bitter. You may grind 1 inch raw turmeric along with the Besara in case it is available instead of using the turmeric powder.

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Party recipe Unique recipe Indian recipe Homemade
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