Chundole (Mutton Roast)

Chundole or Mutton Roast is a delectable, easy-to-make dish, essentially a curry where the mutton is steeped in spices. To make it, one needs mutton, ghee, onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies, chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, and salt as required.

The 1915 text Indian Cookery: For Use In All Countries by EP Veeraswamy mentions a recipe for Chundole, which is described as a "dry curry of cold meat", and called “A Moglai Dish.” For it, one must cut up mutton into cubes, warm it in a pan with ghee, add onions, garlic, chillies, ginger, and cook, then add turmeric, and ground red chillies. These are to be mixed well and cooked after which salt and lemon juice are added for taste, and then the dish is served.

While the Mutton Roast has British origins, a distinctly Indian version of the dish is the raan. The idea behind the raan is to take the goat’s toughest meat and cook it in a way that it becomes so tender that it will fall apart under a spoon. The dish has nomadic origins, probably evolving around campfires and in military kitchens of Central Asia to feed warriors and tribesmen.

Whether consumed as Chundole, Raan, or some other iteration, the Mutton Roast is a delectable dish, celebrating Indian spices as much as allowing one to enjoy tender and succulent meat.