Mutton Biryani Recipe | South Indian Style Mutton Biryani | Mutton Biryani Using Seeraga Samba Rice | Pressure Cooker Mutton Biryani

After almost six months I cooked Non-Veg Recipes as today we had few friends visiting our place and V wanted me to cook Non-veg recipes as they love non-vegetarian more than veg recipes. So I made Mutton Biryani, Chicken Chukka Varuval, Chicken Gravy, Onion Raita, Plain Rice & Rasam for our Sunday Special Lunch. This recipe is also my Mom's special Mutton Biryani recipe that I wanted to share here for long time, Every time when she make this Mutton Biryani she used to tell me that the biryani turned out so good and flavorful and also she made it perfectly with separate grains using seeraga samba rice.  She said the she will make it when we all visit India till that time she insisted me to try it by myself. But, I never tried it before as we don't prefer mutton recipes more and today when I made it for guest, I recollected those words she said and I missed/miss her badly.

 I was happy when I got nice comments and appreciation for this yummy and flavor rich Mutton biryani from friends and even my kids loved it a lot. All credits goes to my Mom and those appreciation changed my mind and as soon as they all left I immediately clicked some pictures with the left overs :)

Mutton Biryani Recipe(South Indian Style)

Prep Time : 20 Minutes(mutton cooking time) | Cook Time : 20 Minutes

Recipe Category : Main Course | Recipe Cuisine : Indian

Serves 6

Ingredients
For Biryani

1. Mutton   2 lb(cut into pieces)
2. Rice   2 cup(250 ml cup, i used seeraga samba rice)
3. Onion  2 medium(thinly sliced)
4. Tomato  2 med(chopped)
5. Green chilli  1 no(chopped)
6. Ginger Garlic Paste   2 tsp
7. Mint leaves   1/4 cup(chopped)
8. Cilantro   1/4 cup(finely chopped)
9. Turmeric Powder   1/4 tsp
10. Chilli Powder   1 tsp
11. Biryani Masala Powder   1 and 1/2  tsp*
12. Curd   1/2 cup
13. Salt   to taste

To Temper

1. Oil   1 and 1/2 tbsp
2. Ghee   1/2 tbsp
3. Bay leaf  1 or 2
4. Maratti Mokku   2 no.
5. Kalpasi Poo   2 small piece
6. Star Anise   1 no.
7. Cardamom  5 no.

To Grind

1. Fennel seeds/Sombu   3/4 tsp
2. Cumin seeds/Jeeragam   1/4 tsp
3. Pepper Corns/Milagu   1/2 tsp
4. Cinnamon/Pattai   2 " piece
5. Clove/Lavangam   6 no.
6. Green chilli   5 or 6 (acc to taste)

Method

• Clean mutton pieces and keep aside.
• In a mixer jar, add all the ingredients under the heading " To Grind" and grind it to a fine powder without any water and keep aside.
• In a pressure cooker, add oil and ghee and when it is hot add all the tempering ingredients and fry well and then add onion, chopped green chilli, 2-3 tbsp finely chopped mint and cilantro and saute for 2-3 minutes.
• After that add ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder and saute until the raw smell leaves.
• Then add chopped tomato and saute 2 minutes then add mutton pieces, chilli powder, ground powder(all spices from "To Grind")biryani masala powder and stir fry for 5 minutes.
• And then add curd and saute for another 3 minutes and add enough salt, some more mint leaves and cilantro mix well and add 1 cup of water and pressure cook for 10 whistles or more and switch off the stove.
• Meanwhile wash and soak the rice with enough water and keep aside.
• Allow the pressure to cool down, after that open the lid and check whether the mutton is cooked soft and tender, if so now add soaked and drained rice to the mutton gravy and stir gently for a minute.
• Then add enough water(i usually add 1:2 rice & water ratio, already we had added 1 cup water, so now add 3 cup of water only), enough salt remaining mint and cilantro and give a gentle mix and cover the cooker with lid and cook for 1-2 whistles.
• Once done, open the lid and fluff the rice with slotted spoon, that's it Mutton Biryani ready serve hot with Onion Raita & chicken Fry of your choice.

Notes:
Birynai Masala* - I used Aachi Biryani Masala powder. Adding Biryani masala is optional, you can also replace the biryani masala powder with only 1 tsp curry masala or garam masala powder.
Cook the mutton well before adding the rice, because after adding rice it will only take 12-15 minutes to cook.
Kal Paasi Poo, Maratti Mokku are must for this biryani, this adds nice flavor and unique taste to the biryani.
Also, if you get seeraga samba rice then use seeraga samba for this Mutton Biryani, if not available then use Basmati Rice. To get perfectly cooked biryani with separate grains, i follow this method. You can cook in any pan, pressure cooker, stainless steel quart pan or any pan. I always add 1:2 ratio of rice & water and also soak rice for minimum 15 minutes. After adding rice to the gravy, turn the heat to medium high or high and cook covered until the rice/gravy starts boiling. When the rice starts boiling turn the heat to medium and cook covered for another 5-7 minutes or until the water is drained almost 80%, then turn the heat to lowest point and cover the pan tightly(for that put one clean kitchen towel over the pan and then cover it with lid) In case of pressure cooker, close the lid and put weight. After covering the pan tightly cook for 8-9 minutes. After 8 minutes switch off the stove, open the lid fluff the rice(this stage you can add 1-2 tsp ghee if you prefer) and again put the lid tightly and keep it in dum for another 3-4 minutes. That's it perfectly cooked Biryani ready. I follow this method with both basmati & seeraga samba rice.