Hyderabadi gosht ka achaar |Hyderabadi lamb pickle

I think India is the only country where you can find pickles made from every possible fruit, vegetable and what not.India is a pickle lovers paradise.Pickles are made on a yearly basis and are preserved for the rest of the year.If there is a marriage or a gathering of the family then extra care is taken to hoard the pickle for the guest or the family visiting during the un season. Hyderabadi gosht ka achaar is a speciality of Hyderabad which is  made during Eid ul Adha(bakrid). Its not that you can not make it on other days.Definitely you can.Commonly beef is used for this pickle but here i have used mutton .

Gosht ka achaar can be relished with steamed rice or chapati .It goes really well with any thing or as it on its own.Though mutton is a perishable item it can stored in the form of pickle for a month and over.My grand mother use to tell that the story behind mutton pickle dates back to the haj pilgrimage when Pilgrims used to travel by ship and it used to take months for them to reach Mecca.So they would prefer to carry those food items along with them that would not go stale and as well lend them the taste of home.Though the scenario has changed a lot now and Alhamdulillah we reach in hours to mecca but carrying on the trend still people take along with them this pickle while travelling. 

Here are some pointers to be noted for the long shelf life of the pickle. 

• Use the lean cut of mutton or beef.
• Make sure there is no water left in the mutton before proceeding further.
•  Always use sterilised jar to store pickles,and clean and dry spoon to scoop out.
• If available use sea salt ,due to unavailability I have used table salt only .Allow pickle to cool to room temperature completely before bottling.
• For mustard and fenugreek powder,dry roast 1 1/2 tsp each separately and grind it to fine powder .
• Though the quantity of salt and oil looks like too much ,they act as preservatives and are must to keep it preserved .
• If kept in refrigerator the pickle can be stored for as long as a month.

One more pickle on the blog is 

• Fresh turmeric and ginger pickle

Other non veg recipes on the blog

• Achari chicken
• Easy chicken qorma 
• Hariyali chicken tikka
• Butter chicken
• Mint n cilantro chicken
• Shaami kebab
• Chicken nuggets
• kofta curry
• Roganjosh
• Badami murg
• Oats-mutton- haleem
• Chilli chicken(dry)
• Gola kebab
• Marag(hyderabadi mutton stew)
• Pathar ka gosht
• Chicken 65

Recipe for gosht ka achaar

Preparation time :10 minutes

cooking time :20 minutes

Ingredients

• 500 gms -mutton/beef
• 1 teaspoon-chilly powder
• 1/2 teaspoon -turmeric powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon -salt
• 4-lime

Tempering

• 1 cup- sunflower oil
• 1/2 teaspoon-kalonji/onion seeds/black cumin
• 2 -cloves garlic
• 4-dry red chillies

To grind

• 1 teaspoon -mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon -fenugreek powder
• 4 cloves-garlic

Procedure

1.Wash the mutton thoroughly and drain in a colander.

2. To the pressure cooker add mutton with 3/4 cup water and turmeric and  half the quantity of salt .

3. Pressure cook for 4 whistles and allow the cooker to release pressure on it self.

4.Mean while grind the ingredients listed under "To grind" to a coarse paste with out adding water. you can use mixer or a mortar and pestle too.

5.Transfer mutton to a non stick pan and dry the water completely .Make sure there is no water left in the mutton before proceeding further.

6.Add all the ingredients,ground mixture,lime juice remaining salt and mix it well .

7.Heat oil in a pan and add garlic to it.

8.Once garlic is golden brown add onion seeds and red chillies to it .

9.Pour the tempering over the pickle and mix well. 

10.Allow pickle to cool to room temperature completely before bottling.