Shab Deg – Slow Cooked Kashmiri Meat Ball & Turnip Curry

by Shaheen Ali
Shab Deg

Shab Deg

Shab Deg is a traditional Kashmiri Kofta Curry dish cooked with Turnips in a heavy bottomed deg/handi/vessel on charcoal fire. This recipe is a forgotten meat recipe from Kashmir which lost it’s authenticity with time. Traditionally Shab Deg was cooked with a slow cooking method where a large deg was kept on fire with all ingredients on it and was left to cook over night. Typically served with rice, naan or sheermal, this dish is rich in every manner and not advisable for the faint hearts.

There is something very unique about Kashmiri Cuisine, it has some distinctive flavors that makes it stand out of all other various cuisines in India. The spices, the texture, the aroma…everything is just perfect in Kashmiri dishes specially all the non vegetarian preparations. I have been making Kashmiri recipes from quiet a long time and have always been fascinated by the cooking technique used. It’s not just very technical and accurate but also helps the flavors infuse well and this happens because slow cooking is the key step to the dishes.

I had been searching for some authentic recipes from the valley from quite a long time, until i found this Shab Deg recipe in one of my very talented blogger friend Farrukh Shadab’s blog. Though she mentioned it very clearly that this wasn’t the original technique of cooking as done years back but it is certainly a sincere effort to replicate the original and keep the flavors intact. I followed her recipe to the ‘T’ , each step done exactly how it was mentioned by her hence you might find the writing pattern a bit similar. Here’s the link to the recipe adapted by me.


Shab Deg

Shab Deg

Print Recipe
Shab Deg - Slow Cooked Kashmiri Meat Ball & Turnip Curry
Traditional Kashmiri slow cooked non veg dish made with meat balls and turnip.
Cuisine kashmiri
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
For Koftas :
For Curry :
Cuisine kashmiri
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
For Koftas :
For Curry :
Instructions
  1. Collect all the ingredients on your counter and do the preparations mentioned like, grind Almond and Poppy to make a paste and keep aside. Peel and wash the turnips, cut into half or four quadrants and keep aside. Soak saffron in milk and keep in fridge to get more intense color.
  2. Take a large mixing bowl and combine all the ingredients required for making kofta and mix well to make a dough. Pinch a lemon sized ball from the dough, roll it and shape into kofta and keep aside.
  3. Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel known as DEG and fry the turnips till they are golden in color. Collect them and keep aside.
  4. In the remaining ghee add caraways seeds, cardamom and cloves and wait till they crackle.
  5. Add goat meat and fry for atleast 5 mins.
  6. Now add ginger garlic paste and saute for another couple of minutes.
  7. Season it with chili powder, coriander powder and salt. Mix well and add whisked curd/yogurt. Keep stirring till curd incorporates with the spices well.
  8. Add garam masala powder and some water, give a quick stir and simmer the gas. Cover the lid and let it cook on low flame till one hour.
  9. Add water (preferably warm) and fried onions. Mix and add turnips and meat balls.
  10. Check salt again and adjust if needed.
  11. Cover the deg with a lid that fits well and seal the sides with dough.
  12. Let the deg be on very low flame for another 2 hours.
  13. Once the curry is done, break the seal carefully and open the lid.
  14. Stir in the saffron milk and garnish with some finely chopped coriander or kasuri methi and drizzle some cream/malai all over.
  15. Serve hot with rice, naan or sheermal.
Recipe Notes

Shab Deg

If you liked this recipe then try making at home and share your dinner stories with me in comments below.

Love : Shaheen

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