Sunday, November 8, 2009

kaleji masala dhaniye wala


Mutton liver is called kaleji in Uttar Pradesh and it is cooked as a dryish curry mostly to be enjoyed with parathas ....mutton liver has a distinct taste of it's own and does not soak much flavor it seems....at least i am in this impression till now , actually the reason is , i myself do not like liver pieces much ....but the husband is very fond of kaleji.....the dry liver roast is a common recipe we usually make at home but since i want some more flavor into the otherwise boring kaleji , i do include some intense flavor in the form of green coriander...other herbs may work well too but with a strong n hot masala curry i love the intensity of green coriander .......... to make the green coriander flavor more intense i choose mature coriander plants for such curry and use the roots and stems during frying the masala and the leaves for garnish.......this way the kaleji masala is transformed to another level altogether.......

ingredients......

mutton liver 300 gm
onions finely chopped 1/4 cup
ginger garlic paste 3 tbsp
hot red chilly powder 2 tsp or as per taste
turmeric powder 2 tsp
everyday curry powder 2 tbsp ( any north indian curry powder can be used according to your taste)
special garam masala powder 1.5 tsp ( this powder is very aromatic and gives good results , do not substitute if possible)
coriander greens ( mature) 150 gm
lemon juice 1 tsp
salt to taste
mustard oil 1 tbsp
whole cumin seeds 1 tsp
whole dry red chillies 2 nos.
procedure.....

Clean the coriander greens and chop them keeping the stems and roots separate from the leaves ...take care to chop the roots n stems very finely or make a coarse paste ...keep the leaves aside , coarsely choppes for garnish  or last minute addition as i did....

Now heat oil in a thick base kadai and throw in the cumin seeds to splutter....add the dry red chillies too...

Quickly throw in the chopped onions and let them brown on medium heat , then mix in the ginger garlic paste and the powders with a tbsp of water and keep stirring till the aroma of roasted spices starts wafting through...

Add the liver pieces , coat them well with the masala and keep stirring to cook from all sides.....sprinkle some water and cover to cook............it may take about 20 minutes till it's almost done.......

This is the time to add the coriander roots n stems ...mix them well with the liver n masala , turn the flame to lowest and let the flavors settle in while cooking slowly ....for about 10 minutes....add some water if want to keep a little gravy as i did ....

Open the lid, sprinkle all the coriander leaves and lemon juice , mix lightly , cover again and put off the flame....let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving....


The powerful aroma of coriander greens makes this masala gravy very very tempting and the essential oils of the coriander greens which are more concentrated in the roots and stems are capable to penetrate the liver pieces as well, making it more appetizing for a person like me who tries to avoid kaleji otherwise...

We enjoyed it with plain boiled rice and some tomatoes n onion rings on side......yummy...

6 comments:

  1. platter looks yummy,..maybe to satisfy my craving will prepare mutton biryani this weekend,..;--)

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  2. Dear sangeeta
    So you are balancing Healthy food and health food quite effectively. I will try this because I normally make a Jain/ Kashmiri variety Kaleji ( I mean devoid of garlic and onion ha ha ). It is called a type of " Mete ( Kaleji) cha-chaDi, little seasoning and stir fried. I will blog it shortly.
    Ushnish

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  3. Never prepared 'A Kaleji' dish.... Looks yum & persuades me to try....

    Ash....
    (http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

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  4. Looks so spicy and very tempting sangeeta..Ur version's are simply amazing!!We do liver masala in different method..Next time will try ur versio n..:)

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  5. I tried this out today.. came out amazing.

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