This oxtail in a spicy gravy is one of the dishes I remember eating as a little girl growing up in Mumbai. I remember the family sitting down to dinner with oxtail and pav / fresh bread that was perfect for dunking into the gravy.

Ingredients

1 kg oxtail – cleaned

2 onions medium size, chopped fine

3-4 tbsp cooking oil (Any good cooking oil will do. I use rapeseed oil)

1-2 tsp salt

For the masala

1 1/2 inch ginger, chopped

12 garlic flakes, medium sized, chopped

4 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp jeera / cumin seeds

20 pepper corns

1 inch cinnamon

Grind all these ingredients to a fine paste. If using full spices, I find it helpfull to grind them to a powder first before adding them to the garlic and ginger paste.

Putting it together

I use a pressure pan to cook oxtail since it needs a long time to cook. You can use any cooking pan if you dont have a pressure pan.

Heat the oil in the pan and fry the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are browned. This will give the oxtail gravy a deeper colour.

Add the masala paste and fry well.

Add the oxtail, salt and water to cover the pieces.

If using a pressure pan, then close and cook on medium heat for about 20 mins. If not, then cover the pan and allow the oxtail to cook on medium heat, until the oxtail is ‘fall off the bone’ tender. You may need to add a little water to the pan so the oxtail gravy does not dry up completely. When done, you should be able to separate the meat from the bone with a light touch of the spoon.

Finally, check the gravy for salt and spiciness. You can add 1-2 green chillies to the dish and reheat for added pungency. However this should not be necessary.

Enjoy with ‘pav’ / bread to soak up the gravy.