Shab Deg Kashmiri Roghan Josh (The famous Red Kashmiri dish)

• 1 kg: Mutton
• 500 gm: Mince meat
• 250 gm: Turnips
• 500 gm: Curd
• 250 gm: Balai
• 5 gm: Turmeric
• 600 gm: Onions
• 50 gm: Garlic
• 50 gm: Ginger
• 3 gm: Green cardamom
• 5 gm: Cumin powder
• 3 gm: Shahi jeera powder
• 15 gm: Red chilli powder
• 1 pc : Kashmiri ver
• 20 gm: Raw papaya
• 1 tsp: Garam masala
• 50 gm: Almond paste
• 2 tbsp Lime juice
• 5 gm: Saffron
• 5 gm: Cloves
• 5 gm: Cinnamon
• 5 gm: Pepper
• 30 ml: Kewra jal
• 500 gm: Ghee
• Salt to taste

1. Roast the turnips in a tandoor till the skin can be easily removed. Peel and prick all over with a fork.
2. Grind the garlic to a paste.
3. Apply one part of this paste, turmeric, salt and half of the saffron dissolved in kewra jal on the turnips and keep aside for 15 minutes.
4. Then in the ghee fry the turnips to a golden brown colour. Remove and keep.
5. In the same fat fry finely sliced onions till golden brown and crisp. Keep aside.
6. Grind the ginger to a paste and divide in three parts.
7. Grind clove, cinnamon to a paste.
8. To prepare the yakhni in a pan put half of the fried onions, second part of garlic paste, one part of ginger paste, half of clove, cinnamon and cardamom paste, half of the mutton pieces and enough water to cook the meatto a very soft texture so that it can be strained to obtain the yakhni.
9. When the meat is done, mash the pulp and extract the bones, then strain through a sieve or a muslin cloth. Keep the yakhni aside.
10. Then mix the minced meat, papaya paste, second part of ginger, third part of garlic paste and remaining clove-cinnamon-green cardamom paste and ½ tsp Garam masala powder. Keep aside for 30 minutes.
11. Shape into balls or koftas approximately the size of the turnips.
12. Deep fry in the ghee and keep aside.
13. Then in the hot ghee add the remainder of the mutton pieces, fried onions, ginger-garlic paste, cumin, shahi jeera powder, chilli powder and the garam masala and fry till the meat is brown. Add beaten curd, yakhni, beaten balai, almond paste, fried turnips, mutton koftas and lime juice. Stir gently.
14. Add sufficient water for a thick gravy and to cook the meat.
15. Crumble and stir the Kashmiri ver seal the lid on the deg with a flour dough and put on dum by placing some live coal on the lid and some below the deg. Let it cook through the night.
16. In the morning, when you open the deg the ghee would be floating on the top.
17. Now, add the remainder of the saffron dissolved in kewra jal and serve hot with sheermal or bakarkhani for breakfast.