This South Indian Mutton Biryani is a one-pot wonder, where succulent goat meat is slow-cooked with onions, tomatoes, and a blend of Indian spices, all combined with aromatic Seeraga Samba rice. The slow cooking method ensures each ingredient melds perfectly, creating a rich and flavorful dish.
In a wide-bottomed pan over medium heat, pour in the oil. Then, add a mix of aromatic spices including cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, javitri, black stone flower, kalpaasi, and bay leaves. Follow this with green chili, onion, and onion paste, stirring to combine the flavors.
Sauté the mixture thoroughly until the onions become soft and the spices release their fragrances, blending together to create a rich base for the dish.
Next, add ginger-garlic paste, chili, coriander, biryani masala, turmeric powder, and salt to the pan. Mix everything well to ensure the spices are evenly distributed.
Introduce tomatoes to the pan. Give everything a good mix, ensuring the tomatoes blend well with the spices.
Add curd and mint leaves to the pan. Continue sautéing until the tomatoes turn mushy, integrating fully with the curd and mint for a rich, flavorful base.
Now, add the mutton pieces to the pan. Stir them well to ensure that all the pieces are thoroughly coated with the masala, allowing the flavors to be well incorporated into the meat.
Close the pan with its lid and let the mutton cook for 15 minutes. This allows the meat to absorb the flavors fully and become tender, enhancing the overall taste of the dish.
After the 15 minutes, open the lid and give the contents a good stir. This helps to redistribute the flavors and ensure even cooking of the mutton within the masala mixture.
Continue cooking the mutton uncovered for about 15 more minutes, or until it becomes soft.
As the mutton continues to cook, you'll notice the gravy thickening and turning into a deep, reddish-brown color.
At this point, add water to the pan and bring it to a boil. This step helps to combine all the flavors and prepares the base for the addition of rice, ensuring the biryani is flavorful and moist.
When the mixture begins to boil, add the Seeraga Samba rice to the mutton gravy. Stir well to ensure that the rice is evenly mixed with the gravy.
Allow the rice to cook until it's about 70% done.
Lower the heat to a simmer and sprinkle in coriander and mint leaves, enhancing the biryani with their fresh, aromatic flavors.
Cover the pan with its lid and let the biryani cook in the steam for about 10 to 15 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld and the rice to fully cook.
After this final step, open the lid and gently fluff the biryani with a fork. Your delicious mutton biryani is now ready to be served and enjoyed!
To Serve
Serve your delectable mutton biryani with a side of curd raita or your preferred gravy to complete the meal. Enjoy!
Notes
Tips to make Perfect Lamb Biryani:
Choosing Ingredients: Opt for tender goat meat and keep the water-to-rice ratio just right to make your biryani both juicy and moist.
Oil vs Ghee: While the recipe uses oil, switching to ghee can add a wonderful richness to the flavor.
Cooking Technique: For an authentic biryani taste, try cooking it with the steam or 'dum' method for about 15 minutes.
Rice Selection: This recipe calls for Seeraga Samba rice for its distinct aroma and texture, but you can also use Basmati rice for a variation in taste and texture.
Meat Preparation: Best results come from using young lamb or goat meat. If your meat is a bit tougher, marinating it with curd, papaya, and spices, preferably overnight, will make it more tender.
Perfect Rice: If you soak the rice for 15 minutes, go for a 1:1.5 ratio of rice to water. Without soaking, it's 1:2. Soaking is recommended for the best texture.
Spice Level: The biryani is moderately spiced for balance, but feel free to tweak the spice levels to your liking.
Cooking Styles: Although this is a one-pot recipe, experimenting with the 'dum' method or pressure cooking (for two whistles) can bring out a unique and authentic flavor.