Hyderabadi Marag

Ingredients

• 10 cashews
• 10 almonds
• 1 cup milk (For soaking the nuts)
• 5 tbsp ghee
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 cinnamon sticks (Small)
• 3 cardamom pods
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 tsp kabab chini
• 3 cloves
• 1 tsp shahzeera
• 4 green chilies (Chopped)
• 0.5 onion (Sliced)
• 650 g lamb or mutton (Bone-in, medium pieces)
• 0.25 tsp turmeric powder
• salt (To taste)
• 0.5 cup plain yogurt
• 6 cup water (Divided; add 3 cups initially and the remaining 3 cups with the nut paste)
• saffron (A pinch)
• 1.5 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 0.25 cup mint (Chopped)
• 0.25 cup cilantro (Chopped)
• 0.5 cup heavy cream

Steps

1. 1

   Soak the cashews and almonds in 1 cup milk for 30 minutes. Blend them into a smooth paste and set the paste aside.

2. 2

   Heat the ghee in a large pot. Add the ginger garlic paste, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, whole black peppercorns, kabab chini, cloves, and shahzeera.

3. 3

   Sauté the aromatics and whole spices for 2–3 minutes, until fragrant.

4. 4

   Add the chopped green chilies and cook for another 1–2 minutes.

5. 5

   Add the sliced onion and cook for about 3 minutes.

6. 6

   Add the medium pieces of bone-in lamb or mutton and stir well.

7. 7

   Add the turmeric, salt, plain yogurt, and 3 cups of the water. Cover and cook until the meat is tender. If using a pressure cooker, cook for 3–4 whistles, then simmer for 15 minutes. Check the meat and cook longer if needed.

8. 8

   Once the meat is tender, stir in the cashew-and-almond paste and the remaining 3 cups water. Bring the soup to a gentle boil.

9. 9

   Add the saffron, black pepper powder, garam masala powder, chopped mint, chopped cilantro, and heavy cream. Mix well.

10. 10

    Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

11. 11

    Serve hot with soft naan.

Notes

The source gives a tenderness-based cooking instruction for a large pot but does not specify an exact stovetop cooking time. It provides pressure-cooker guidance of 3–4 whistles followed by 15 minutes of simmering; cook longer if the meat is not tender. The transcript describes marag as a Hyderabadi soup traditionally served with jarconi naan, while the written recipe says soft naan.

Nutrition per serving

• soup
• main
• South Asian
• Hyderabadi
• lamb
• mutton
• creamy
• pressure-cooker option