TULANG(BONE STEAK)

Serves 6

This dish is available from some Indian Muslim stalls. It is a dish of mutton or beef bones, usually marrow bones, stewed in a spicy red gravy until the meat and tendons are soft and almost disintegrating. Most stalls provide a good helping of bread to mob up the gravy. I am not certain of the origin of this dish, but it could have been an ingenious idea of an Indian Muslim stallholder who had many bones left over from making mutton soup. Although I am not a big fan of eating marrow bones in public, I do indulge in this occasionally at home. The reason is because you have to suck the bones hard or pound the bones on the plate to get the rich fatty marrow out and a lady with her face or blouse covered with red sauce is not a pretty sight. To get around this, some stalls provide straws for sucking the marrow out. This is my slightly healthier version of the dish.

French loaf as desired
Marrow Bones
Garlic 80 g (3 oz)
Ginger 120 g (4 oz)
Red chillies 80 g (2⅘ oz)
Water 300 ml (10 fl oz / 1¼ cups)
Mutton marrow bones 1.5 kg (3 lb 4½ oz)
Lemon grass 2 stalks, crushed
Salt 1 tsp
Water 3 litres (96 fl oz / 12 cups)
Cinnamon 2 sticks, each about 6-cm (2½-in)
Cardamoms 10
Star anise 1
Ground turmeric 2 tsp

Gravy
Cooking oil 2 Tbsp
Onions 2, peeled and diced
Chilli paste 2½ Tbsp
Tomato purée 3 Tbsp
Dark soy sauce 1 Tbsp
Tomato sauce 5 Tbsp
Sugar 1 tsp
Salt 1 tsp
Tomatoes 2, large, sliced
Cabbage 60 g (2¼ oz), finely shredded
Potato 1, medium, boiled, peeled and diced
Frozen peas 100 g (3½ oz), thawed
Green chillies 2, sliced

1. Prepare marrow bones. Place garlic, ginger, red chillies and water in a blender and
process until smooth. Pour into a deep pot.
2. Add bones and remaining ingredients to pot and cook over medium heat until meat is
tender and almost separates from bones. Takes 1–1½ hours. Top up with more water
as necessary.
3. Remove pot from stove. Discard whole spices and retain about 1 litre (32 fl oz / 4 cups)
stock. Set aside.
4. Prepare gravy. Heat oil and sauté onions until soft and lightly browned.
5. Add chilli paste and sauté over low heat until oil separates and chilli paste no longer
smells raw.
6. Add rest of ingredients, bones and stock. Boil until gravy is thick and coats bones.
7. Dish out and serve hot with bread.