Champaran Mutton Curry by Haima

Champaran Mutton Curry is a spicy Mutton dish slow cooked in an earthen pot. I tasted it for the first time at my friend Haima’s place. She and her husband Suresh have moved to their new home in the outskirts of the city.

I have fond memories of a few lunches/dinners in their company through the many years that I have lived and worked in Bengaluru. I recall now that they actually lived very close to where I used to stay and met them when my cousins were in town. My cousins were their friends from days spent in Hyderabad. Somehow, they have all kept in touch over the years. Perhaps some of these old friends helped each other tide through difficult phases in life.

When I returned to Bengaluru, I remember asking them for help when I was struggling to find a place to stay and some regular project work. They have been busy, so catching up with them after a long period was really good.

Champaran Mutton Curry to celebrate

We celebrated their move to their personal dream project of a family home. It’s a beautiful space and they are getting used to the new experience of living in the quieter peaceful suburbs.

There are pros and cons of course that I understood from them and their son who also works in the city. But what stays with me now is how safe, open and welcoming their home is to share and express yourself.

They are pet lovers and the center point of their home is their 11-year-old Golden retriever, Bruno (an old ruffian), who eats anything and is forever hungry. Now they have a new member-an Indie called Inji (Ginger) who is a love bug and likes to eat chicken or proteins only.

Haima is an architect by profession, and I could see how it reflected in the beautiful new home she and Suresh have built together.

She recently travelled to China and shared her experience of tasting some spicy local food in Changsha in Hunan province. I have also been to China on work before and loved the local food there. But I haven’t been to Hunan.

Random connections around Changsha

She spoke highly of her first experience of tasting hotpots- especially since it was so cold there (touching 2 degrees) when she visited. I have enjoyed different kinds of hotpots in the past so could feel the excitement of a fellow foodie.

A little digression around Changsha. Since I didn’t know much about it and was curious, I read up a little online.

I was very impressed with what I read, and a little silly fact stuck to my head. Apparently, it is a sister town of St Paul, Minnesota. They are doing some exchange of gifts including a set of Peanuts figurines. I used to love Peanuts cartoons as a child when it appeared as a regular comic strip in the newspapers.

Another interesting trivia I learnt is that many of Haima’s colleagues in China are learning English by watching Friends TV series. Weird! Why?

Anyways, maybe a more fun way to get them to be more confident of speaking in a foreign language. I know I couldn’t learn Mandarin even after many classes. Perhaps watching TV series might have helped.

Are you good with languages? I’m not. I admire those who have a natural knack for picking it up. One of my friends here picked up a bit of Korean while watching Korean TV series and following the subtitles.

Champaran Mutton Curry discovery in Benares

Haima’s new experiment of Champaran mutton curry turned out to be a big hit!

She spoke about her visit to Benares last year where she had tried a bit of it along with her group mates. But she couldn’t enjoy it much because she was unwell. That’s when she decided to try and make it later herself.

Coincidentally, I had a similar experience of walking into a local Champaran food place in Koramangala and trying their delicious fare. I didn’t eat the mutton curry that day since I was on a vegetarian diet. And I remember making a mental note that I must try the Champaran mutton curry later since it is their specialty dish.

Lucky me! I did get to taste it finally and who would have thunk! A delicious home-cooked one made with so much of love and care.

My curiosity was piqued by the dish and as I looked it up online, I read more about Champaran. Its name is associated with Champaran Satyagraha, and I learnt about a 5-day festival there during Shivaratri which was last Sunday.

Well, I don’t know much about it but perhaps Champaran mutton curry is not cooked during this festival specifically.

Deliberations over Champaran Mutton Curry

I was in two minds whether to replicate this dish or not. You see, Ash Wednesday was this week and that marks the 6-week period of Lent.

It’s also a period of Ramadan where many of my friends maybe fasting during the day. It’s a period supposed to bring in the virtues of abstinence or saiyyam. Helps us to kind of shed off the negatives of the year past and prepare for the next year.

Conceptually, I think we can all benefit from something like that to give our body, mind and system some rest. Focus our energies inwards and recharge.

It’s a good time for me personally to get back to intermittent fasting since I have put on a lot of weight in the last 1 year.

Haima and I were sharing how some of us are prone to eating more when stressed. Have we been stressed? Sure.

Moving homes, taking care of elders, new jobs or new roles– these are all important sources of stress.

How do we cope better with these without adequate support? For many of us our metabolism slows down significantly as we age.

I guess perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms are not new to people now. But perhaps youngsters may not be aware or bothered about these health concerns right now.

Champaran Mutton Curry is super spicy

Now, while I am cooking this, I remembered an old experience of dragging my husband to a tiny Sichuan restaurant near Bugis. The dry cold searing heat of Sichuan peppers is something that was unbearable for him. And here I was absolutely loving it. One experience and that’s it. Our date night was ruined and we rushed back home.

Well, we managed later finding more suitable alternatives for his delicate sensibilities. That choice kept on changing -became more and more difficult. Do check what it means to learn to love this over a period of time.

I realised, different tastes lead to some of us eating out more with other friends. Then I was accused of neglecting him or spending too much. I’m confused how the narrative kept changing. Now, is that called cheating? Would it be prescribed that I continue to either be a doormat at home or annihilate all my personal wishes for ensuring the happiness of his lordship?

More than 10 years of living, adjusting and complying with his requirements and then I’m told this is not marriage or love. Got admonishment from both sides of the fence. Everyone piled their shit on me.

Ok- all of you who are eager to judge- kindly find your own way to live with this manchild for the rest of your lives. Like- somehow, there is no understanding or even accounting for time, age and the years passed by. All of us are apparently going to live forever and remain forever young.

Sorry, I am being petty I know but just sharing how differences always exist. Depends on who is giving you the story of a perspective that is so lop-sided towards men that it’s not even funny.

Birthday Wishes with Champaran Mutton Curry

Whose birthday? One of my niece’s birthdays is coming up next week. I have met her only once many years ago. But I hear so much of her from her grandparents and parents who are extremely proud of her.

I spent a few days at their place this summer and was overwhelmed by the love poured by my brother and sister-in-law. She had moved out for college by then and her younger sister follows soon.

Her grandmother (my aunt) is going through a difficult period of chemotherapy. She is also a fabulous cook, and I am sending this recipe out with my good wishes for her recovery.

Since I am not very close to some of my nephews and nieces- I leave these notes hoping some may stumble across and find something useful. Many of us are a bit lost on what exactly is of interest to the younger generations.

During our lunch meetup, Suresh mentioned about an internet reels sensation called Rakuda who is popular currently and apparently youngsters love it as a funny “cringe content“.

I saw one of his reels and was questioning my own sanity for watching it. His son gifted a birthday wish dedication via Rakuda to one of his girlfriends. I don’t get it! I seriously want to understand why not flowers, chocolates or something that the girl could actually treasure. There is probably some element of quirky cool that I missed somewhere in that narrative.

There was a film called Superboys of Malegaon which I had enjoyed but perhaps that took a different view of the life of people who work on reels like these which made it more relatable. I feel so old.

Champaran Mutton Curry with Parathas or Rice

Haima served the Champaran Mutton curry with some mooli parathas. Mooli (radish) are in season, and she got a bunch of them from the local farmer’s market.

She mentioned how she chopped up the radish greens as well along with the radish to add to the flour while mixing. I think that’s a great idea! The parathas were yummy and I lost count of the number of those delicious parathas I ate.

But given that the mutton curry is quite rich and super spicy, I’m going to have it with rice this time. It may go well with sattu parathas as well but perhaps- we won’t be able to get out of a food coma after that meal!

Here’s me taking out my precious earthen pot- mitti ka handi that is recommended for cooking these kinds of dishes. Since it may take forever, while it cooks, I have planned to finish a bit of my other pending work. Something which I hate doing- organising my clothes cupboard.

I added a few sweet potatoes after my kitchen experiment gave a burnt bottom. Smoky flavour wasn’t a problem, but the bitter taste had to be adjusted. Won’t be sharing this meal with others, but perhaps it’s a good start.

Do check video below for the cooking process. It’s fairly simple. But important to check the water in between and stir it or add some more splashes of water if required.

Footnote

Not a bucket of KFC- bucketful of dreams

Polly or Pollen, what’s your specific allergen?

I’m allergic to everything it seems

Most dramatically of late, life itself is a burden!

Brooded our dear Mother Hen who got no rest

Life was throwing curve balls as a test.

Can you connect random dots into lines

From Champaran to Changsha

With a mutton curry or Magnolia flowers

How does Minnesota feature in between?

Funny it’s something to do with Lemon Cream Pie

A very roundabout way to say

You must see and do a few things

Before you say your last goodbye.

Melting Lemon Drop 22. 02. 26