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What is Pasanda?
Mild curry made of boneless sirloin from leg of mutton, creamy and flavorful with aromatic spices
In Hindi, Pasand means liking. If you Pasand an object, you like that object. Pasand is a positive affirmation of the object. In this case, it refers to the quality cut of lamb, the sirloin from the leg. Pasand could also describe a delightful object or a favorite object. But translation into 'Mutton Delight' or 'Favorite Mutton' is misleading. 'Prime-Mutton Curry' or 'Choice-Mutton Curry' might be more appropriate translations. Nowadays, similar ingredients and method is used to make Pasanda from: Beef, Buffalo, Goat (Chevon), Lamb, or Chicken breast.
Mutton Pasand was served in the Imperial court of Shahjahan. Descendants from the cooks employed in the royal kitchen of Shahjahan have been serving Mutton Pasanda for generations in Chandani Chowk (Shopping District in Old Delhi)
There are basically five steps to make Mutton Pasand.
1. Pound the meat with a wooden Mallet to about ½" thickness. Cut strips about 1½" long and ½" wide. You are left with bite size pieces resembling small fingers.
2. Pounding has already tenderized the meat to some degree. Next step is to marinate the meat in a mixture of yogurt and spices. The meat is marinated for a minimum of four hours to overnight. This infuses the meat with a lots of spice flavors.
3. Meat is taken out of marinate and browned in Ghee. Browned meat is set aside
4. Curry Masala is fried din Ghee. The meat is added back. The marinate liquid is add back in back in stages till it is all consumed, and Ghee separates. Then water and ground blanched almonds are added, the lamb is cooked over low heat till meat is tender. At this stage, the lamb is covered in a very thick paste. The paste looks shiny with the Ghee separating and coming to the surface
5. The cream is added to finish cooking.
Ground Almonds and cream are optional. The Mutton Pasand cooked with Almonds is called 'Badaami Mutton Pasanda'.