Chettinad Mutton Pepper Fry served on Brioche Doughnut
Inspired by his forefathers from the south of India, Thevar has modernised Chettinad mutton with the addition of garlic aioli and pickled pepper, served on a slightly sweet brioche doughnut.
Serves 10
Prep time 1 hour + 3 days of marination and pickling
Cook time 6 hours
Mutton shoulder
• 50g turmeric powder
• 60g chilli powder
• 70g cumin powder
• 100g ginger garlic paste
• 50g young papaya, grated
• 20g salt
• 10g black pepper
• a pinch of salt
• 1kg mutton shoulder
1. Mix everything together except the mutton shoulder.
2. Spread the marinade on the mutton shoulder evenly and leave it in the chiller for three days.
Turmeric cucumber pickle
• 200ml apple cider vinegar
• 200g sugar
• 200ml water
• 50g fresh turmeric
• 10g coriander seeds
• 5g black peppercorn
• 47g salt
• 5 stalks of coriander roots
• 1kg Japanese cucumber, sliced
1. In a pot, bring all the ingredients except sliced Japanese cucumber to a boil.
2. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove from heat and cool it down before adding the cucumber slices in.
3. Pickle the sliced Japanese cucumbers in a jar for 3 days.
Garlic aioli
• 100g garlic, peeled
• 700ml grapeseed oil
• 5 egg yolks
• 5g Dijon mustard
• 10g salt
• 50ml lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 250°C. Place garlic and 200ml grapeseed oil in a small
sauce pan. Cover and bake until cloves are golden and tender for about 2 hours. Set aside to cool.
2. In a blender, blend egg yolks, garlic confit, Dijon mustard and salt.
3. Slowly trickle down the remaining grapeseed oil until a creamy texture is achieved.
4. Mix in lemon juice. Set aside.
Masala brioche doughnut
• 60g milk
• 300g bread flour
• 10g fresh yeast
• 15g sugar
• 6g salt
• 150g eggs
• 5g garam masala
• 50g diced shallots
• 20g ginger garlic paste
• 5g curry leaf powder
• 5g diced tomato
• 5g fresh coriander
• 200g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
1. In a pot, bring milk to a boil. Cool it down.
2. In a bowl, mix 60g bread flour and yeast.
3. In a stand mixer, with a dough hook attachment, add bread flour mixture, sugar, salt, eggs, garam masala and beat it on low speed until well-mixed. Then add the remaining ingredients (except unsalted butter) into the mixing bowl and mix it for 2 minutes.
4. Add chilled butter to the mixture and mix it on medium speed until dough is formed.
5. Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes at room temperature.
6. Knead the dough and chill it for 24 hours.
7. Divide the dough into 50g of balls.
8. In a pot, heat ghee up until it reaches 160°C and fry doughnut balls until golden brown.
Chettinad mutton mixture
• 100ml grapesed oil
• a handful of dried chillies
• a handful of curry leaves
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2kg Madras onions
• 100g ginger, diced
• 100g garlic, diced
• 300g tomato, diced
• marinated mutton shoulder (recipe above)
• 100g freshly grated coconut
• 100g Tellicherry black peppercorns
• 2 litres vegetable stock
• salt, to taste
1. In a wok, heat grapeseed oil and stir-fry the dried chillies, curry leaves, mustard seeds and coriander seeds until fragrant.
2. Add onions and fry until lightly soften. Then add garlic and ginger, stir-fry until fragrant. And add tomatoes and stir-fry for 1 minute.
3. Add marinated mutton shoulder, turmeric and grated coconut, stir-fry until fragrant.
4. Add Tellicherry black peppercorns. Cook the mixture until fragrant, and then add vegetable stock.
5. Leave the Chettinad mutton mixture to slow cook for 4 hours. Add salt if desire.
Assembly
• garlic aioli (recipe above)
• Chettinad mutton mixture (recipe above)
• turmeric cucumber pickle (recipe above)
• 20g green chillies
• 20 coriander leaves
• 20 mint leaves
1. Cut the top of the doughnut – leaving ¾ of the doughnut.
2. Add a small dollop of garlic aioli. Then top it with a spoonful of Chettinad mutton mixture.
3. Add two slices of pickled cucumber.
4. Then garnish with green chilli, coriander leaves and mint leaves. Serve.