This mutton mince is a particular favourite of my husband's (since it is so delicious) - and is also a favourite of mine (since it so quick and easy to make). It also contains no chillies nor chilli powder for those, like +Illan Colombick who prefer to consider chilli nothing but a natural pesticide used specifically to block the taste of rotten meat.
Time taken: about 1/2 hour to prepare everything and get it cooked, obviously, the longer you can let the mutton absorb the spices, the better. So I'd preferably make it about 2 hours before required serving time.
Specialist equipment: none!
Mutton Mince
1 tablespoon of ghee (butter is an adequate substitute)
6 whole cloves
1 medium sized to large cinnamon stick
3 bay leaves
3 red onions, or 2 white onions
3 medium-sized tomatoes
1-2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
400g to 500g mutton mince
Heat ghee or butter. Add cloves, ground up coarsely (if I am without a blender, I just break them in half by hand, then use about 8 or so to compensate for the slightly lesser flavour). Add cinnammon stick, also ground up coarsely (or broken by hand into 1/2 to 1 cm pieces).
Next, add onion (preferably the red variety), chopped up medium-fine to the dish, make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Once it is medium brown (dark caramel), crumble the bay leaves into the dish, let them heat up for a few seconds against the pan, but not until they become bitter.
Next, add the tomato, chopped up fine, and with the coriander and turmeric already mixed within it. Let it reduce in the pan, until the water is cooked off.
And yes, mutton mince is readily available in South Africa, I certainly found it at the Checkers in Pietermaritzburg. So it's just a matter of asking for it.
Now - you can add the mince into the above 'wet' mixture, or - if you prefer yours better cooked, you can cook it first in a pan on its own, without any other fat than its own. First, seal it and then reduce heat until it is brown before adding to above. This way of doing it also means you can drain off any fat from the pan, since mutton is a fatty meat. Alternatively, you can just "moerby" it altogether in the one pan, as per Fem's bachelor speciality.
(Please note: if Fem's wife is given enough incentive by various members of the Foodies Channel, she will follow him around the kitchen and write down some of his "moerby" 'recipes', upon request. Besides, it'll give her a much-needed respite from cooking, since, like all communicative efforts, Fem has almost entirely given up in the cooking department, believing in delegation and specialisation.)
Bring to the boil, let simmer. This is one of those dishes where the flavour is greatly enhanced the longer the time period between cooking and eating (within limits, of course).
Serve with Mrs Balls' Hot Chutney (if possible) and one of the following spicy rices (click on link for recipe).
Within India, this mince is used as the basis for their version of 'Scotch eggs'. They would cook it very dry, then roll them in a boiled, mashed potato, bread and egg mixture and deep fry them. I have never been that venturesome.
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