Grind to a paste the roughly chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chilies to a smooth paste.
Marinate the mutton with the ground paste, 1 tbsp. oil and all the dry spices (except garam masala powder) for a minimum of 3-4 hours or preferably overnight.
Heat remaining oil in a pan / kadai and temper with bay leaves, dry red chilies, cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, mace and sugar. Saute for a few seconds.
Add the onion and stir fry till light brown. Now add the marinated mutton and cook, covered on a low flame till the oil separates.
Add 1 cup water and pressure cook for 15-20 minutes on a low flame after the first whistle.
Bring it back into the pan and add the poppy seeds paste and cashew nut paste. Mix well and cook, covered for 5-10 minutes on a medium flame.
Add the garam masala, kewra water and ghee. Give it a stir and continue to simmer for 1-2 minutes more or till the gravy is thick.
Serve with plain biryani, pulao, jeera rice, plain steamed rice, naan, tandoori roti, kulcha, paratha or just plain chapati.
