How to prepare Ghost ka achar " meat pickle" " maaz anchar" in a traditional kashmiri style

Meat "mutton" known as "ghosht" in urdu language and "maaz or natti" in kashmiri language.

I know we still have a good stock of qurbani (sacrificed eid meat) available and don't want to bore with routines dishes on the plate.

Taste matters!!!

We have been eating meat varieties cooked either in the shape of wazwan (a traditional pakage of approximately 36 different dishes in kashmir) or through other recipes of different regions.

We eat meat either by means of cook, roast, boil or fry and why not taste the "ghosht ka achar today??"

Pickling meat used to be more a routine practice in older days to preserve meat when we had no refregirators but today it is more of flavour and taste than preservation.

Although the shelf life of pickled meat is short but it still catches your attention and activates the taste buds.

It is a quick pickle and uses vinegar and lemon with special spices in. comparison to the traditional pickles which are prepared by fermentation process.

We can immediately start consuming the "ghosht ka achar" but it is advisible to rest for a night so that the spices are well absorded by the meat, making the pickle look  amazing and full of aroma.

The jars must be sterilized before use in order to stop the possibility of germ growth.

Add vinegar in the pickle while the brine is hot, on one hand your pickle will be briefly cooked, and on the other hand you are able to retain the crunch.

We all love Pickles in our meals with rice or roti but i personally feel it is in perfect sync when combined with rice and dal.

Believe me i made it for the first time and the end result was astonishing!!!!

I feel it should have been tried and tasted long before.

The recipe and its making is so easy that any memeber in the family can make it in 30 mins to 1 hour.

The good thing about the recipe is that the ingredients needed in the process are all available in our kitchen or readily available in the market.

The meat used in the making is  boneless known as" muczh" in kashmiri language cut into small cubes.

Mutton pickle tastes amazing and irresistible.

All yummy yummy.

Ingredients

500 gms boneless meat cut into small cubes.
2 tbsp mustard seeds (rai)
2 tsp coriander seeds (dhaniya)
3 curry or bay leaves (tez patta)
4-5 cloves
2 tbsp cumin seeds (zeera)
1 small stick of cinamon (dal chini)
5 garlic pieces
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp red chilli powder
250 ml mustard oil
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp mustard powder
4 Red chilli dried sabut
5 - 6 lemon extracted juice
vinegar 15 ml.

and traditionally touch of kashmir
saffron 5-10 stemens

Directions in the making

Step 1

Heat oil in a pan and fry garlic to brown.

Add ginger garlic paste, curry or bay leaves, corriander seeds, cinamon, cloves, dried red chillies, zeera, mustard seeds.
Fry for 1 to 2 minutes on medium heat till the masala mix leaves its fragrance.

Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, mustard powder, garam masala.

The traditional touch of kashmiri saffron adds exquisite colour and aroma to the "maaz anchar".

Give it a stirr and immediately switch off the flame.

Note:

Add lemon and vinegar while the mix is still hot.

Step 2

Wash the meat thoroughly to rinse any extra blood in it.

Cook meat cubes in a pressure cooker upto 5 whistles.

Note;

It is important that we do not add water to meat for boiling, let it cook in its own water content but addition of salt 1 tbsp will ensure the water from the meat squeezes out to help in further cooking.

Take off the lid and see if  you still find water, then further dry while stirring constantly to avoid sticking to bottom of the cooker.

Step 3

Now fry the boiled meat in a seperate tawa till golden red colour and crisp.

Add the crisp meat cubes with brine made as in step 1.

Add one more tbsp of salt, give the whole mix a stirr and allow to cool down.

Step 4

The spicy amazing pickled meat is ready to be served.

Transfer the pickle in a sterilized jar, see if pickle demands more oil, do add and rest it for a night in the refregirator so that the meat absorbs all the flavours.

The refregirated ghosht ka achar can last fresh for 20 to 25 days.

I hope you all loved the journey with me.

It tastes yummy?

How about yours?

Thanks to my sister Advocate Anjum Fayaz who has been giving the tips all through its making.

Do send your valuable feedback to allow us to improve further.

Allah haafiz (God the protector)