Go Back
Print

Mutton Biryani

8 great tips for a delicious mutton biryani
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian, Kerala
Keyword Biryani, Bulkcooking, Celebratorydinner, Meat dish, Mutton, onepotdinner
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

For Marination

  • 1 tbsp unflavoured yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp garlic green chilli paste
  • 1 tbsp powdered spices/garam masala
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp crushed black pepper
  • salt to taste

Prep - ginger garlic paste

  • 10-12 garlic cloves
  • 2 inch ginger piece
  • 3-4 no green chillis

Prep - Powdered spices

  • 1 tsp cloves
  • 2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 2 long cinnamon sticks
  • 1 tsp green cardamom

For Mutton masala

  • 4-5 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tsp shahi jeera
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3-4 green cardamom
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 star anise
  • 4-5 black pepper corns
  • 5-6 medium sized onions sliced
  • 500 gm mutton pieces on the bone (preferably shoulder or leg)
  • 1 tbsp ginger garlic green chilli paste
  • 1 no big tomato pureed
  • 2 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp powdered spices
  • 1 handful coriander and mint leaves chopped
  • 1/2 cup water

Rice

  • 500 gm basmati rice
  • 2 tsp ghee
  • 2 tsp milk
  • pinch saffron strands
  • water as required to cook rice

Instructions

  • Pound the ginger, garlic and green chillis to make a coarse paste. Powder the spices to make the garam masala powder.
    Wash and soak the rice for 15-20 minutes.
    Marinate the mutton pieces with the marinade ingredients listed
    Slice onions thinly - I use my food processor to speed things up.
    Puree the tomatoes - also done in the food processor
    Chop washed coriander and mint leaves
    Soak saffron strands in 2 tbsp of warm milk
  • In a thick deep pot, add the ghee and the whole spices listed above (pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, bay leaves, shahi jeera).
    When they start to sizzle add the sliced onions and fry on a medium flame until they are transluscent/soft.
    Speed tip : Meanwhile add the marinated pieces to a pressure cooker with 1/2 cup of water and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles.
    When the onions have softened, add ginger garlic green chilli paste and fry until onions have browned. (It took around 10-12 minutes for the onions to brown perfectly )
    At this stage add the coriander, chilli and turmeric powder and cook for 2-3 minutes on a medium flame
    Pour the pureed tomatoes and add salt to taste. Fry until the tomatoes cook down.
    Add the chopped mint and coriander leaves and stir to mix.
    By this time the mutton would have finished cooking. Strain the mutton pieces and reserve the cooking liquid/stock.
    Add the mutton pieces to the masala and stir to ensure that the masala coats the pieces nicely.Add black pepper and garam masala to the mix annd fry for 4-5 minutes. Add the reserved cooking liquid/stock to the masala. If the liquid level of the masala does not cover the mutton, pour in 1/2 to 1 cup of water. Let this simmer for 5-10 minutes, switch off flame and rest.
  • I start this step when i am waiting for the onions to brown.
    Fill up a big sized pot with enough water to submerge the rice. Add 1 tsp of ghee, garam masala and salt to the water. Taste the water now to check that it tastes salty else the rice will be underseasoned.
    Once the water has come to a boil, add the soaked and drained rice and mix
    Around 5-7 minutes, carefully take a few grains of rice and break them. If they break easily that indicates that the rice is cooked. (Check video)
    Strain the rice and start adding it over the mutton masala
  • After all the rice has been added over the mutton masala, drizzle 2 tsp of ghee over the rice. This will help the rice remain moist and not dry off. drizzle the saffron milk over the rice as well. Next sprinkle 1 tsp of garam masala and a few chopped coriander leaves on top. I do not add mint leaves on the top as they tend to blacken.
    Cover the pot with foil and close with a tight fitting lid.
    Heat a flat pan/tawa on high flame and place the pot on the tawa. Let the biryani pot remain on high flame for 5 minutes, after which reduce the flame to medium-low for 10-12 minutes. switch off the flame and let the pot rest undisturbed for another 10 minutes.
  • Garnish with some fried onion slices, mint leaves and serve with a raita on the side.

Video

Notes

Tips:
1. Do not soak rice for longer than 30 minutes
2. Cook rice, mutton, masala in parallel to save time
3. Proportion of rice:meat should be approximately equal i.e. if you take 500gm of mutton take almost 500-700gm of rice
4. Quantity of onions should equal meat approximately i.e take around 300-400 gms of onions for 500 gm of mutton.
5. Brown onions evenly on a medium flame to make sure it melts in the gravy and gravy thickens.
6. Grind the spices prior to making biryani everytime. I do not recommend that you do this in bulk, as they lose their flavour. Stick to the measurements nnoted above, especially the fennel - It gives such a lovely floral flavour to the rich mutton gravy. You can use the leftover powdered garam masala in other chicken/meat dishes too. 
7. Do not add whole spices to the water to cook rice, rather add powdered garam masala to enhance flavour. 
8. Remember to taste the water in which rice is cooking - it should taste salty else rice will be underseasoned.