AI-generated image
Marag
Mutton bone soup
مرگ: Hyderabad's creamy, peppery mutton bone soup with cashews and coconut, served first at wedding walimas
Before the biryani and the double ka meetha, guests at a Hyderabadi walima are handed a small bowl of marag. This is a gently rich soup of mutton (goat) on the bone, especially ribs and chops, simmered for hours with whole spices, black pepper, ginger and garlic until the meat slips off the bone, then thickened with a paste of cashews, almonds and coconut and finished with yogurt and milk. It is creamy white, warming and peppery rather than chilli-hot, and is especially loved in the winter wedding season. Lamb on the bone is a fine swap. Cook the mutton until completely tender. Sip it on its own or with sheermal, khamiri roti or a warm naan torn in. Common mistake: boiling the soup hard once the nut paste and milk go in; it catches on the bottom and can split, so keep it barely simmering. Chef's tip: crush the black pepper yourself just before adding; pre-ground pepper loses the bright heat that makes marag.
- Total time
- 125 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the mutton broth
- 1 ⅔ lb mutton (goat) ribs, chops and shanks on the boneor lamb on the bone
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 2 in cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves
- 1 onionthinly sliced
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 4 green chilliesslit
- 1 ½ tsp black peppercornsfreshly crushed
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1.5 litres water
For the creamy finish
- 1 oz cashews
- ⅔ oz almondsblanched
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 3 ½ oz plain yogurtwhisked
- ¾ cup whole milk
To serve
- ⅓ oz mint leaveschopped
- ⅓ oz fresh corianderchopped
- 1 lemon (optional)cut in wedges
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (8)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Soak 1 oz cashews, ⅔ oz almonds and 2 tbsp desiccated coconut in 100 ml hot water for 20 minutes, then grind to a very smooth paste.
20 minStep 2: Heat 3 tbsp ghee in a large pressure cooker or heavy pot over a medium heat. Add 2 in cinnamon stick, 5 green cardamom pods, 5 cloves and 2 bay leaves and let them sizzle for 30 seconds. Add 1 onion and fry for 6 minutes until soft and just golden at the edges.
7 minStep 3: Add 1 ⅔ lb mutton (goat) ribs, chops and shanks on the bone, 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste and 4 green chillies and fry over a medium-high heat for 6–8 minutes until the meat is sealed and the raw garlic smell has gone.
8 minStep 4: Stir in 1 ½ tsp black peppercorns and 1 ½ tsp salt, pour in 1.5 litres water and bring to the boil, skimming off any grey foam.
8 minStep 5: Pressure cook for 8–10 whistles, about 35 minutes, and let the pressure drop by itself. In a pot, simmer partly covered for 1¾–2 hours. The meat should be tender enough to fall from the bone.
40 minStep 6: Whisk 4 tablespoons of the hot broth into 3 ½ oz plain yogurt to warm it, then stir it into the pot with the nut paste. Simmer very gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the soup thickens slightly and looks creamy.
10 minStep 7: Pour in ¾ cup whole milk and heat for 3–4 minutes until just steaming, without boiling. Taste for salt and pepper.
4 minStep 8: Ladle into small bowls with a piece of meat in each, scatter with ⅓ oz mint leaves and ⅓ oz fresh coriander and serve with 1 lemon.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 340 kcal
- Protein
- 25 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does marag take?
- About 125 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 105 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of ghee?
- Butter, same amount (keep the heat a little lower, butter burns sooner).
- What can I use instead of cinnamon stick?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
SakarpadaSweet fried dough diamonds
Sakarpada (shakarpara) are little sweet diamonds of a rich dough made with ghee, milk and sugar, fried until golden and crunchy. They are a Diwali favourite with tea, and the cubes go into bhusu too. They keep for weeks in an air-tight tin.
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
Perfect for:Ramadan