Mutton Biryani / Mutton Dum Biryani / Lamb Biryani

Easy Mutton Biryani / Hyderabadi Mutton Dum Biryani

A hearty and scrumptious mutton biryani which is flavorful, delicious and is super easy to make. Mutton biryani is a popular one pot meal made using long grain basmati rice layered with a spicy mutton (goat meat) layer, fried onions, fried cashew nuts, fried raisins and saffron milk. An easy mutton biryani recipe to impress your guest and loved ones.

Biryani is one of the most served main course in any parties and special occasion or celebration. Serve along with a spicy salan or refreshing raita.

The rice is fragrant and aromatic, while the meat is so tender and flavorful. The masala is just enough to tantalise your taste buds, but not overpowering or super spicy either. This mutton biryani will make you wipe off your plate with its incredible taste and beautiful aroma!

The mutton is marinated with curd, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, biryani masala and salt. The marinated mutton is then cooked with whole spices, ginger garlic paste, onions, green chillies, tomatoes, coriander leaves and mint leaves until it is tender.

The rice is par-boiled separately along with some whole spices, coriander leaves and mint leaves until it is 70% cooked.

Finally the rice and mutton is layered along with fried cashewnuts, fried raisins, fried onions,  coriander leaves, mint leaves and saffron milk.

There are many ways in which biryani is prepared and one will come across different types of biryani. Each and every region has its own version of biryani, each method is unique and has its own significance. In Hyderabad, the biryani is made by two methods – kacchi (raw) biryani and pakki (cooked) biryani. In kacchi biryani the marinated mutton is layered with rice and then cooked on dum. Whereas in pakki (cooked) biryani, the cooked mutton is layered with semi-cooked rice and then cooked on dum.

You can cook the mutton in a pressure cooker or an instant pot. This will minimize the cooking time as mutton will cook faster in pressure cooker.

BEST RICE FOR MUTTON BIRYANI

There are so many varieties of rice used in biryani depending upon the region. But mostly used rice for making biryani is basmati rice. I always use aged basmati rice for a biryani like this one. Basmati is fragrant and imparts a deep, rich aroma to the biryani unlike other varieties of rice. In this biryani recipe, the rice is first par-cooked before layering and cooked in dum (slow cooked) with mutton masala to let the flavours come together.

FEW IMPORTANT PRO TIPS:

■ Use heavy bottom pot/pan with firm lid so that steam does not escape and stays warm. Heavy bottom pan that does not let your food get burnt easily.

■ You can also seal the pan lid with atta dough.

■ Always use aged long grain rice to make biryanis or pulaos. The aged basmati rice gives nice fluffy and fragrant biryani. The rice does not break easily.

■ Mutton Biryani gets a lot of its flavor from the marinade. It is always recommended to marinate the mutton for best flavors atleast 30 minutes or even better for couple of hours. Some even marinate them overnight.

■ Bone-in mutton imparts more flavour and does not tend to dry out like boneless mutton. So try using shoulder cut or leg.

■ For biryani, cooking the rice perfectly is important. The rice should not be overcooked and needs fo handle gentle while cooking so it doesn’t break and get an appealing look. The rice should be only 70% cooked.

HOW TO MAKE A PERFECT BIRYANI AT HOME?

■ For any biryani recipe, it is always recommended to marinate the meat in spices and yogurt for at least some time. This helps in infusing the flavors perfectly.
■ The rice needs to wash thoroughly and soaked for atleast 20-30 minutes.
■ Caramelized onions give an extra awesome flavor. So it recommended to use them.
■ Cook the marinated mutton in whole spices, ginger garlic, onions and tomatoes.
■ Cook the rice with some spices, oil, herbs like coriander & mint till 60-70% or al dente.
■ Layer the mutton and rice and slow cook aka dum for couple of minutes. This is a very important step in making biryani.

LETS TALK INGREDIENTS:

■ Rice – Rice plays a very important role in making of biryani. Always use a premium quality basmati rice which is aged. AGED basmati rice is more fragrant, long grained and firm which doesn’t break easily and turn mushy. They stay in shape provided it is cooked in a correct way.

■ Mutton – Use bone-in goat or lamb meat preferably cut into big pieces (chunks) to make the biryani. If using frozen meat, thaw it well before using.
The best cut of meat for making the biryani is from the shoulder or the leg.

■ Fats – I have used both oil and ghee (clarified butter). Traditionally also ghee is used in making biryani. It imparts a lovely aroma to the biryani. But if you don’t want to use ghee you can cook in oil alone.

■ Curd/Yogurt – Mutton is marinated with curd and basic spice powders. Curd is used as a tenderizer here.

■ Whole Spices – Bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamom, star anise are used in making this mutton biryani.

■ Spice powders – Powdered masala powders like turmeric powder, red chilly powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and biryani masala are used in marination of the mutton. You may use this spice powders as per availability.

■ Saffron soaked milk – Saffron adds a beautiful yellowish hue to the biryani. It also adds an awesome aroma , that makes the biryani so rich and even more delicious. Some people use yellow color in place of saffron however I highly recommend using saffron.

■ Cashew nut And Raisins – Fried cashew nuts and fried raisins are used in layering of the biryani. It gives a nice taste and added flavor to the biryani. It imparts a nice crunch from the fried cashew nuts and slightly sweet juicy bite from the fried raisins.

■ Other Ingredients – Onions, fried onions (caramelized onion), ginger garlic paste, tomatoes, green chilies, coriander leaves, mint leaves, salt and water.

WHAT CAN BE SUBSTITUTED WITH MUTTON?

Yes, there is a lot of options here. You can follow the same recipe and substitute the mutton with beef, chicken, fish, prawn etc. Only the cooking time will differ.

You can also follow the same recipe and make egg biryani. Marination part will be skipped as we are not using meat. You can use hard boiled whole eggs or slice the egg into two, saute them slightly with some spices powder. Voila you will get a delectable egg biryani.

HOW TO MAKE MUTTON BIRYANI

Making mutton biryani at home looks like a difficult task but trust me once you try out my recipe, this myth will break. I am sharing the recipe to make pakki biryani, in this post. Try out and do share your thoughts about the recipe with me here in the comments box below.

I made a simple video of mutton biryani for my readers which I have shared below. Please do watch and SUBSCRIBE to my channel if you haven’t yet. It will mean a lot to me and motivate me to come up with more videos for my readers. As always looking forward to your feedbacks!

HERE’S A STEP BY STEP PICTORIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE MUTTON BIRYANI

Marinate the mutton with the ingredients mentioned in marination list for atleast 30 minutes.

In a heavy bottom pot or pan heat the oil.

Add 1 thinly sliced onion and fry till golden. Your fried onion is ready. Set aside in a plate.

In the same pan add in the cashews and fry until golden. Remove and keep aside. Add in the raisins and fry the raisins for few seconds. Remove and keep aside along with the fried cashew nuts.

In the pan add in the ghee. Add bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, star anise and let it crackle.

Add in ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.

Add in the green chillies, remaining onions and saute until the onion starts to brown.

Add in the tomatoes and fry until it turns soft and mushy.

Add in the marinated mutton and mix well. Cover the pot and cook over high flame for about 5 to 10 minutes or until the water released from the mutton evaporates completely. Stir occasionally in between.

Add in some water. Cover the pot and cook further for few minutes. Add in coriander leaves and mint leaves.

Put on the lid and cook further until the mutton is cooked completely and ttender. Keep the consistency as thick masala gravy.

Meanwhile wash the rice nicely and soak it for 15-20 minutes. 

Bring water to a boil in a pot for cooking the rice.

Add in the oil, whole spices, coriander leaves and mint leaves.

When the water starts to boil add in the drained soaked basmati rice.

Cook the rice only till 70% cooked approximately 5-7 minutes Drain the rice nicely and keep aside.

Once the mutton is done start layering the mutton and rice for dum. I used the same pot where I cooked mutton. Keep some mutton pieces and masala and over it layer some portion of rice.

Sprinkle some fried cashew nuts and raisins. Continue the layering process of rice and mutton. Finally sprinkle coriander leaves, mint leaves, fried cashew nut, fried raisin and fried onions.

Sprinkle the saffron milk all over on top. Cover the pot with lid. Place a tawa (griddle) over low flame. Place the biryani pot over the tawa for dum.

Let it cook on dum for about 15-20 minutes. Your mutton dum biryani is ready.

Remove from the flame, open the pan and fluff it gently with a fork gently. Serve it with salad and raita of your choice.

NOTES:

■ Use bone-in mutton always for better taste and outcome.
■ For best result marinate the mutton for longer duration.
■ Adjust the spiciness of the biryani as per your heat preference.
■ Use heavy bottom pot or pan for the dum. You can place the pan over a tawa/griddle.
■ You can use store bought fried onions.
■ Use both oil and ghee. But if you don’t want to use ghee, use oil alone in place of ghee.
■ You can use a pinch of saffron. Soak the saffron in 2-3 tbsps of milk and and pour them over the layered briyani. It imparts a rich flavour and aroma.

RECIPE CARD 

Easy Mutton Biryani

Akum Raj Jamir

A hearty and scrumptious mutton biryani which is flavorful, delicious and is super easy to make. Mutton biryani is a popular one pot meal made using long grain basmati rice layered with a spicy mutton (goat meat) layer, fried onions, fried cashew nuts, fried raisins and saffron milk. An easy mutton biryani recipe to impress your guest and loved ones.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

Equipment

• heavy botom pot or pan
• laddle
• 240 ml measuring cup set
• tawa or griddle

Ingredients

  

For Cooking Rice:

• 1½ cup basmati rice
• 1 inch cinnamon stick broken
• 4 cloves
• 2 green cardamom
• few  coriander leaves
• few mint leaves
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 4-5 cups water

For Mutton Marination:

• 500 grams mutton/goat meat (or lamb)
• ½ cup hung curd (yogurt)
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon biryani masala (optional)
• ½ teaspoon garam masala powder (Use 1 teaspoon if you're not using biryani masala)
• 2 teaspoon salt or as per your taste

For Cooking Mutton Masala:

• 3 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 2 small bay leaves
• 2 inches cinnamon stick broken
• 5 cloves
• 4 green cardamom
• 1 star anise
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 2 large green chillies whole
• 1+2 large onion sliced
• 2 large tomatoes sliced
• ¼ cup coriander leaves
• ¼ cup mint leaves
• 2-3 tablespoon saffron milk (soak a pinch of saffron in 2-3 tablespoons milk)
• 8-10 cashew nuts
• 1 tablespoon raisin
• water as required

Instructions

 

• Marinate the mutton with the ingredients mentioned in marination list for atleast 30 minutes.
• In a heavy bottom pot or pan heat the oil. 
• Add 1 thinly sliced onion and fry till golden. Your fried onion is ready. Set aside in a plate. 
• In the same pan add in the cashews and fry until golden. Remove and keep aside. Add in the raisins and fry the raisins for few seconds. Remove and keep aside along with the fried cashew nuts. 
• In the same pot add in the ghee. Add bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, star anise and let it crackle
• Add in ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute. 
• Add in the green chillies, remaining onions and saute until the onion starts to brown. 
• Add in the tomatoes and fry until it turns soft and mushy. 
• Add in the marinated mutton and mix well. Cover the pot and cook over high flame for about 5 to 10 minutes or until the water released from the mutton evaporates completely. Stir occasionally in between
• Add in some water. Cover the pot and cook further for few minutes. Add in coriander leaves and mint leaves.
• Put on the lid and cook further until the mutton is cooked completely and ttender. Keep the consistency as thick masala gravy.
• Meanwhile wash the rice nicely and soak it for 15-20 minutes. 
• In a pot bring water to boil for cooking the rice. Add in the oil, whole spices, coriandee and mint leaves.
• When the water starts to boil add in the drained soaked basmati rice.
• Cook the rice only till 70% cooked approximately 5-7 minutes. Drain the rice nicely and keep aside.
• Once the mutton is done start layering the mutton and rice for dum. I used the same pot where I cooked mutton. Keep some mutton pieces and masala and over it layer some portion of rice.
• Sprinkle some fried cashew nuts and raisins. Continue the layering process of rice and mutton.
• Finally sprinkle coriander leaves, mint leaves, fried cashew nut, fried raisin and fried onions.
• Sprinkle the saffron milk all over on top. Cover the pot with lid. Place a tawa (griddle) over low flame. Place the biryani pot over the tawa for dum.
• Let it cook on dum for about 15-20 minutes. Your mutton dum biryani is ready. 
• Remove from the flame, open the pan and fluff it gently with a fork gently. Serve it with salad and raita of your choice.

Video

Notes

1. Use bone-in mutton always for better taste and outcome.
2. For best result marinate the mutton for longer duration.
3. Adjust the spiciness of the biryani as per your heat preference.
4. Use heavy bottom pot or pan for the dum. You can place the pan over a tawa/griddle.
5. You can use store bought fried onions.
6. Use both oil and ghee. But if you don’t want to use ghee, use oil alone in place of ghee.
7. You can use a pinch of saffron. Soak the saffron in 2-3 tbsps of milk ir water. It imparts a rich flavour and aroma.

Keyword biryani, goat meat, hyderabadi biryani, lamb, mutton

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

Serve your delectable homemade biryani with raita and hard boiled eggs.
Mutton biryani can be served with plain yogurt or any raita of your choice. I personally like to serve it with onion cucumber raita

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Prawn Pulao
Pork Biryani
Chicken Biryani
Vegetable Biryani
Egg Fried Rice
Rice And Chicken Porridge
Black.Rice Salad

Few Side Dishes You Might Also Love To Serve With Biryani

 Chicken 65
 Mutton Chukka
 Mutton Fry
 Chicken Drumsticks Fry
 Prawn 65
 Tandoori Seafood Platter (Fish & Prawn)
 Baked Whole Chicken Leg
 Mutton Liver Masala
 Shallow Fried King Fish
 Chicken Masala Fry
 Tandoori Chicken Oven Baked

Well, if you make this mutton biryani recipe, please do leave a feedback in the comments box below or snap a photo and tag Akum Raj Jamir on Facebook and akumrajjamir on Instagram with hashtag #atmykitchen. I would love to see your creations.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. I hope you liked the recipe. Your valuable feedbacks are always welcome, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you.

Happy Cooking!
Love Akum

About Akum Raj Jamir

administrator

Hello Everyone.. I am Akum Raj Jamir. I am a Naga Lady born and bought up from Nagaland. Married to a Tamilian and settled in Chennai now.  I worked in hotel industry for 3 years and later I shifted to corporate sector and worked in US based MNC companies. In January 2014 I was blessed with a baby boy and that it when I decided to quit my job and give me full time for him as well as the home. Now I am a homemaker ☺.  I started cooking at the very small age. We sisters used to help mom in the kitchen and followed the foot step of my mom and that's how I developed my cooking skills. A foodie by nature and a passionate cook, loves everything about food. Cooking is my passion. I love experimenting with food in my kitchen and try to bring the best in whatever I cook. I cook with all my heart and soul and this love is evident in the dishes I cook.  I believe in sharing a lot thus whatever I cook I share with fellow friends and my fan followings. So this space is all about food from my kitchen for foodies like me. Explore the recipes ☺