Mutton Briyani

Mutton Briyani!! is one of my most favourite dish and my staple order in any of the non-veg restaurants. Also I felt mutton briyani is yummier than the chicken. Most of our Sundays are not complete without briyani:) A plate of mutton briyani with onion raita makes a fantabulous feast:) Isn't it? I've tasted briyani in so many restaurants & also Hyderabadi briyani in some Andhra restaurants, but the one my Dad use to get from a Muslim briyani hotel in my native place, is the best one I've ever tasted. They use to make briyani only in Seeraga samba rice which adds more flavor than the Basmati.

I've tried briyani in so many methods. My mom makes briyani in a unique way. My husband prepares it in his own style. I'll post their recipes later. When I was searching the recipe for Dindigal thalapakatti Briyani, I came across this recipe and tried it. They use Seeraga samba rice, but in our place I get only Basmati. So tried it with that. To my surprise it came out extremely delicious. What are you waiting for? Try this recipe & make your Sundays more special with this yummy briyani:))

Mutton Briyani Recipe

Preparation Time : 25 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 3
Category: Main | Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients 

Basmati rice / Seeraga samba rice - 2 cups

Mutton - 1/2 kg (cleaned)
Onion - 1 large
Green Chilli - 2 slit
Ginger Garlic Paste - 3 tbsp
Chilli Powder - 2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1.5 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Leaves (Cilantro) - 1/2 cup chopped
Mint Leaves - 1/4 cup chopped
Water - 2 cups

Coconut milk - 1 cup
Lemon juice - 2 tsp

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

 

For the Marinade:

Mutton - 1/2 kg (cleaned)
Thick Yogurt (curd) - 1/2 cup
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

 

For the Briyani Masala Powder:

Cloves - 3

Cinnamon Stick - 2 inch piece 

Fennel Seeds (sombu) - 1.5 tbsp
Cardamom - 3
Star Anise - 1

To temper:

Bay leaves - 2 

Cloves - 2

Cinnamon stick - 1 inch piece

Cardamom -  1

Star anise - 1 

 

Method

1. Wash and soak the rice for 25 mins.

2. Meanwhile, marinade the cleaned mutton with curd, turmeric powder & chilli powder for 15 mins. Then pressure cook it for 15 mins (adding a cup of water) until it gets cooked well & soft.

3. Grind all the items given under For the briyani masala powder and set aside.

4. Now heat the oil + 1 tbsp ghee and temper it with bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon sticks & cardamom. Add the onions, green chillies and saute for few mins till it becomes slight golden brown and then add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell leaves.

5. Add in chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and the ground briyani masala powder and saute it for a minute.

6. Add the cooked mutton to the masala and saute it for 10 mins for the masala to get blended well.

7. Transfer the masala with mutton to the pressure cooker. Now add 2 cups of water + 1 cup of coconut milk, salt, lemon juice, chopped coriander & mint leaves and bring it to a boil.

8. In a pan, add a tsp of ghee and fry the soaked and drained rice for 2 mins carefully without breaking the rice. Now add the rice to the boiling items in the cooker.
 

9.  Cover the cooker with the lid and cook it in medium flame for 7 mins and reduce the flame to low for 5 mins. Switch of the stove and allow the steam to be released all by itself without disturbing it. Open the cooker once the pressure is fully released. Add a tbsp of ghee and fluff the rice with a fork or with the backside of a flat spatula.

Serve it hot with onion or cucumber raita.

Points to be noted

• Cooking time of the mutton purely depends upon its quality & freshness. Meat from young goat cooks faster than the old one. Also the frozen mutton takes more time to get cooked. So decide the time of cooking depending upon the mutton you have.
• I always use the fresh homemade ginger garlic paste, as it adds more flavor than the store bought ones. 
• I prepared fresh coconut milk, but if you dont have time to prepare it you can use the readymade tinned one.
• While sauting the onions, always add little salt to it so that it gets cooked fast.
• Never try to release the pressure until it gets released by itself.
• Cooking time for the briyani depends upon the stove you use. Mine is the coil stove. So I use to cook in medium high for just 8 mins and keep it in low for 5 mins as the heat will remain in the coil even after switching off.
• After opening the lid, fluff the rice with a fork carefully without breaking the rice.
• Frying the rice in ghee & adding lemon juice avoids stickiness of the rice.
• If you want more mint flavor add more mint leaves. As we like a mild flavor, I added only little.