Golbarir Kosha Mangsho
By Barnali Dutta | Published: May 24, 2014
Kolkata Food Memory & History
It is about the Mutton Kasha of the last century, famously reputed as kasha mangsho, one of the signature dishes of Kolkata, first presented commercially by the New Punjabi Hotel popular as “Golbari” situated at Shyambazar five points, established by late Ratan Arora around 1915–1920. The original dish is still available there with some other specialties: a slow-cooked dark-brown dry mutton curry served with soft ghee-smeared chapattis, vinegar-pickled onion rings and tamarind chutney.
In that era no other meat-serving eatery was to be found nearby. A few sweetmeat shops and some fry shops were the primary occupants. Hence Golbari has always encountered a large crowd for its food right from the start.
In the beginning the shop served the usual chicken curry. One day the shop was overflowing with hungry customers. The chicken was just getting cooked and dried only in oil—kasha—then. Curry was far to be seen. The hungry customers raised their voices and asked for whatever had been prepared by then, and the meat was served that way, giving birth to the ever-to-be-famous “Golbari’r kasha mangsho”. It was priced at 60 paisa then, which later became 140 rupees.
The original outlet at Shyambazar five-point crossing, New Punjabi Hotel, is in a semi-circular house named “Gol” meaning round and “Bari” meaning house, at 211, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road, Kolkata – 700004. It now has branches at Ripon Street and Kankurgachhi, Kolkata. A meal for two at Golbari’s would cost around Rs 400 (taxes extra), reputed for a special Bengali dish, a dark rich gravy with loads of oil around the plate and a few pieces of mutton or goat meat.
Prep time: 30 min | Cook time: 1 hour 35 min | Total time: About 2 hours
Yield: 100g (4 servings) | Serving size: 1 and half tablespoon | Calories per serving: 294 | Fat per serving: 32%
Ingredients
- Mutton, medium cut – 500g
- Onion, thinly sliced – 300g
- Garam masala powder (cinnamon, cardamom and clove) – 5g
- Red chili paste with seeds removed – 5g
- Turmeric powder – 5g
- Ginger & garlic paste – 50g
- Coriander powder – 2 teaspoons
- Bay leaves – 2
- Salt and sugar – to taste
- Tamarind juice – 2 teaspoons
- Curd – 2 teaspoons
- Mustard oil – 1/2 cup
- Fried potato cubes – 4 chunks (optional)
Instructions
- Marinade the mutton with tamarind juice, 2 teaspoons turmeric, 2 broken bay leaves, coriander powder, 1 teaspoon chili paste and 1 teaspoon salt for 15 minutes.
- Heat mustard oil in a pan. Take out 2 teaspoons oil and keep aside.
- Add chopped onion to the hot oil and cook till golden brown.
- Add ginger and garlic paste, remaining turmeric, chili paste and a little water. Cook well.
- Add the mutton and fry until oil oozes out. Cover and steam-cook for 20 to 30 minutes on low flame.
- Check whether the mutton is properly cooked and let the curry dry in the oil.
- Beat the curd with 2 teaspoons reserved oil. Add garam masala powder, salt and 1 teaspoon sugar, then beat well.
- Add this curd mixture to the cooked mutton and cook for another 10 minutes.
- The famous Kolkata mutton kosha is then ready. Serve hot with freshly made roti, paratha or phulko luchi.
