Mutton Biryani (Kacchi Biryani Style)

I just can't resist Mutton Biryani. It's something I loved eating as a child too. Adding a couple  spoons of Ghee to my biryani while marinating the meat and also at the end, which makes the biryani even better. I followed the same steps which I did for Chicken Biryani. I used mint and coriander puree for chicken biryani, but today for this Mutton Biryani I'm using mint and coriander leaves. You can also use purees. Be free to adjust the seasonings according to your taste.

For easy understanding, I divided the recipe into 3 parts.

The first Part is about marinating the meat
The second Part is about cooking the rice
The third part is about layering the rice and infusing it with extra flavors.

So, for the First Part you will need the following ingredients :

Mutton (With Bone)	800 Grams
Mint Leaves	½ Cup (or) 25 Grams
Coriander/ Cilantro Leaves	½ Cup (or) 25 Grams
Green Chillies ( Chopped)	1 ½ Tablespoon
Medium Sized Onions (Sliced) (Fried Onion)	2
Turmeric Powder	½ Teaspoon
Biryani Masala Powder (Badshah (or) Eastern)	1 Tablespoon
Yogurt/ Curds	1 Cup
Ginger Garlic Paste	4 Tablespoons
Red Chilli Powder	1 ½ Tablespoon
Salt	1 ¼ Tablespoon (or) To Taste
Lemon Juice	1 ½ Tablespoon

                                             

                                     

                                     

           

                                     

                              

                                       

            

                                       

Method : 

To the cleaned and washed Mutton pieces add the above ingredients, mix well and marinate it overnight in the refrigerator. 

Note: Use half of the fried onions for the marinade.  

Next, for Second Part you will need the following ingredients : 

Basmati  Rice	800 Grams (or) I Kg
Bay Leaves	2
Kapok Buds	2
Green Cardamom	4
Shah jeera	½ Teaspoon
Cloves	6 to 7
Cinnamon sticks	2
Water	Enough to cook 1 Kg of rice (No Picture)
Salt	3 Tablespoons (or) As required, water should be salty ( No Picture)
Oil	1 Tablespoon (No Picture)

(You can use other spices like Star anise, Black Stone flower (raathi puvvu))

Water, Salt, and oil. 

Method : 

Wash and soak the basmati rice for about 15 to 20 minutes.

To a big rice pot, add 1 Tablespoon of oil and add the spices to the hot oil and fry until you get the aroma of the spices (spices like cardamom, cloves, Kapok buds should get swollen)

Next add water, salt and let it come to a boil.

Note: Water quantity is not measured in this case because we are straining the rice in the end. So basically we need to add more quantity of water than the rice.

When the water comes to a boil add the soaked basmati rice and cook until it's 70% done. 

Drain the rice using a colander and follow the Third Part. 

(Cook the rice until 70% done)

The Final Part i.e, the Third part is simple. Check out the ingredients :

Biryani Masala Powder	To sprinkle on each layer (Less than ½ Teaspoon for each layer)
Lemon Juice	To drizzle on each layer (1 Teaspoon for each layer)
Fried Onion	To Sprinkle on each layer
Mint Leaves	To spread on each layer
Saffron food color	To pour on the top layer (few pinches of color powder+ 3 to 4 Tablespoons of water
Oil	More than Half cup ( No Picture)

                                      

And oil (I used the oil which I fried the Onions)

Method : 

In this part, we are going to assemble the Biryani.

First, add the marinated mutton  to the pot in which you are going to make the biryani. 

Next, add a layer of rice, sprinkle some biryani masala, spoon lemon juice, spread mint leaves, sprinkle the fried onions and again add a layer of rice and continue to add the third Part related ingredients(except oil and color (optional) until you finish the rice.

Now, for the final layer, add oil and saffron/ color. 

Cover it with aluminum foil, place the lid on it and cook on high flame for 15 minutes. After cooking on high flame for 15 minutes, place a tawa underneath the pot and further cook for further 45 minutes on low flame.

After 45 minutes Mutton Biryani is ready to serve :)!!

Serve the Biryani with salan, raita, and salad. I served my biryani with salan, Gongura Chicken(Sorrel leaves chicken/ Saag Chicken), and onion raita.

(Some pieces of the mutton may get slightly colored. Don't worry it tastes good )

(Uncolored  Mutton piece on the left side - Slightly colored Mutton piece on the right side)

Notes: If you don't want to marinate the meat for one whole night, simply marinate for at least 2 hours by adding 3 Tablespoons of Raw Papaya Paste.
Generally, I add equal quantities of meat and rice. Here I have used more quantity of rice( 800 grams of meat and 1 Kg of rice) which is not a problem. If you end up with rice and no pieces left in it, add scrambled egg to it for a simple new dish:)

Enjoy :)