Hyderabadi Marag

Ingredients

• 10 cashews
• 10 almonds
• 1 cup milk (For soaking the cashews and almonds)
• 5 tbsp ghee
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 cinnamon sticks (Small sticks)
• 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 (Medium-cut, bone-in)
• 0.25 tsp turmeric powder
• salt (To taste)
• 0.5 cup plain yogurt
• 3 cups water (Added with the yogurt and meat)
• 3 cups water (Added with the nut paste)
• 1.5 tsp 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
• naan (Soft naan, for serving)

Steps

1. 1

   Place the cashews and almonds in a cup, add 1 cup milk, and let them soak for 30 minutes. Grind the soaked nuts and milk into a paste, then set the paste aside.

2. 2

   Heat 5 tablespoons ghee in a pot. Add the ginger-garlic paste, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, whole black peppercorns, kabab chini, cloves, and shahzeera. Sauté for 2–3 minutes.

3. 3

   Add the chopped green chilies and sauté for a few minutes.

4. 4

   Add the sliced onion and cook for 3 minutes.

5. 5

   Add the medium-cut bone-in lamb or mutton.

6. 6

   Add the turmeric, salt to taste, plain yogurt, and 3 cups water.

7. 7

   For the quicker pressure-cooker method, cook until the cooker whistles 3–4 times, then leave it on simmer for 15 minutes. Check whether the meat is tender; if it is not, cook for some more time. The source notes that the traditional method is slow-cooking.

8. 8

   Add the cashew-and-almond paste and the additional 3 cups water. Bring the mixture to a boil.

9. 9

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

10. 10

    Cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, then serve hot with soft naan.

Notes

The source gives pressure-cooker instructions but does not specify a traditional slow-cooking time. One OCR frame appears to misread the first water quantity as 5 cups; the author-provided description consistently states 3 cups, which was followed here. The source describes the dish as traditionally served with soft, four-cornered naan (char-koni naan).

Nutrition per serving

• main
• soup
• South Asian
• Hyderabadi
• Indian
• pressure-cooked
• slow-cooked
• meat