If you ask me which meat I prefer on a daily basis, I would say chicken. Easily available. But if you ask me which biriyani I prefer- chicken or mutton? Hands down I would say Mutton. The succulent meat that tears away from the bone effortlessly if cooked well, nothing to beat that. It’s just heaven!

Whenever I cook mutton, besides the quality of mutton which I am so fussy about, it’s the the colour, the spice and the cooking time that can make an ordinary dish taste extraordinary.

Quick and spicy mutton curry like my other recipes, requires ingredients and spices every Indian kitchen stocks at all times. This is a recipe I have made with beef and pork as well, so feel free to choose your meat and try this recipe out.

Never trust those who say chicken tastes better than mutton. -Sayan Paul

Ingredients:

• Mutton- 1 kg
• Onions sliced -3
• Ginger- garlic paste -2 tbsp
• Tomatoes -2 big
• Coriander powder-2 tsp
• Kashmiri Chilly powder-4 tsp
• Cummin powder -1 tsp
• Fennel powder-2 tsp
• Garam masala- 2 tsp
• Curd-1/2. Up
• Cashew nuts -2 tbsp
• Coriander leaves -1/2 cup

Whole spices:

• Cinnamon -2 pieces
• Cloves-2 -3
• Cardamom – 2-3
• Bay leaves -2
• Star anise-1

Salt, sugar and oil

Method:

• Marinate cleaned and washed mutton with 1 tsp of turmeric powder and salt for an hour.
• Make a smooth paste with cashew nuts and curd and keep aside .
• In a pressure cooker, to some oil add all the whole spices and fry lightly.
• Then add sliced onions and fry till golden brown.
• Add ginger- garlic paste and fry well.
• Add sliced tomatoes and mix well.
• Cover loosely with the lid and on a low flame cook till tomatoes are soft.
• Add all the spice powders, cashew nut paste , 1/2 a cup of hot water. Cover and cook on a low flame till oil pockets are visible.
• Add marinated mutton and bring to a boil on a high flame.
• Taste for salt and flavour, add a little sugar if required.
• Add coriander leaves, leaving aside 2 tsps for garnishing.
• Close the pressure cooker with the lid.
• After the first whistle, bring to a sim, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes.
• Allow the steam to release on its own, garnish with coriander leaves and serve with pulao/ roti of your choice.

Chefs tips:

• If using very tender mutton, a pressure cooker is not required. Cooking time for tender mutton in an open vessel would be 45-50 minutes.
• The colour of your dish will depend on how brown you fry the onions.
• You can substitute mutton for any other meat.
• Always buy mutton with bone, as it adds to the flavour of the dish.
• You can add 1-2 tsp of ghee if required, once the mutton is cooked.
• This dish serves 8-10 adults.

Till my next post,

Cheers

Rose