Mutton chops

As shallow as it sounds, a very large part of my devotion during Durga Pujo was centered around the food – the bhog-er khichudi (rice and lentils cooked together with vegetables – that description does it no justice) in the morning and the various non-vegetarian snacks in the evening. And the king of those snacks was the Mutton Chop. No, we are not chewing on some gentleman’s giant side burns (Yech!!) or the cut of meat. The Bengali mutton chop is a deep fried patty of spiced mutton mince, coated in a potato mash, crumb coated and fried.

I made the mutton chops with mutton kheema (mince) cooked with peas, and liberally seasoned with ‘bhaja masala’ (a dry roasted cumin and red chili powder that is an amazingly versatile spice mix), coated with potato, and a double-coating of egg and crumbs, and deep fried. Yes, it tastes great and no, it’s not on the weight-watchers’ recommended menu.

Aniruddha