I am a fan of slow cooking. Be it the French coq au vin or the very Bengali goat meat curry, I swear by the virtues of food that's slow cooked. Well, one can of course opt for an express, oven-cooked coq au vin but that's hardly going to be the coq au vin unless one takes the pain of letting the country rooster simmer for a good while in that rich red wine for all the flavors to slowly seep in.

Patience makes for a solid virtue in the kitchen if one happens to be an elaborate eater as well as an equally enthusiastic host!

My pick for the weekend was a fiery goat meat curry.
Cooked with minimal flourish and with only a handful of ingredients, this is an all-time favorite home produce.

For a kilogram of meat (foreshanks), you'll need 4 large (or 6 medium-size) red onions. Slice them as thinly as you can and set aside. Pat dry the meat marinating the pieces with 100gms thick, unsweetened yogurt; freshly-ground ginger (half-a-tsp) and garlic (1 tsp and a wee bit more); a teaspoon of turmeric powder; 3 heaped teaspoons of red chili powder (that's what I used); a teaspoon of coriander powder; salt to taste, 3-4 fried potatoes (peeled, halved and salted) and about 80-100 ml mustard oil. Mix well with your hand and let the marinated meat rest for about an hour.
In a cast iron (I strongly recommend this) wok, season 80-100 ml mustard oil with a few sticks of cinnamon and a sprig of bay leaves. Add half a teaspoon of sugar to the oil. Caramalize the onion cooking them until they are transluscent and aromatic.
Now, add the marinated meat into the wok and cook over a high flame stirring frequently to avoid charring at the bottom. When the oil starts separating, add enough water for the meat to cook (covered) over a low flame. Add the fried potatoes at this stage. Simmer simmer and simmer away. 

Form here, it should take about 40-50 minutes for the meat to become tender. Once the meat is soft and tender, turn the flame off. Add a teaspoon of freshly-ground cinnamon and rest the goat meat curry for another15 minutes (with the lid on) before serving with steaming hot basmati rice.

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