Mutton Curry | Mutton Masala Gravy

Mutton Curry also known as Mutton Masala or Mutton Gravy is a delicious Indian curried dish of soft tender chunks of meat in a spicy onion tomato gravy. Have you ever wondered how the mutton gravy served in restaurants has soft, succulent and tender chunks of meat? This post will help you make a simple & good mutton curry with very basic ingredients and simple steps.

Serve this over plain steamed rice or flavored kinds like Jeera Rice, Turmeric Rice, Kuska or with Bagara Rice. If you prefer to go with the breads, opt for artisan breads, pav (dinner rolls) or pita bread. Tandoori Roti, Naan, Chapati, plain kulcha and roti also go well with this Mutton curry.

If you want to extend your menu, a vegetable salad, raita and chaas/ lassi will make it a complete meal.

About Mutton Curry

Mutton Curry is a one pot dish where mutton is marinated and cooked with plenty of spices, herbs, onions, tomatoes and yogurt. It is basically a curried dish popular in Indian Sub-continent.

Indian Cuisine is diverse and every dish is made in a zillion ways. North Indian Mutton Masala, South Indian Mutton Curry, Kashmiri Rogan Josh, Hyderabadi Gosht ka Salan, Bengali Mutton Kosha and Goan Lamb Vindaloo are all made differently.

This is a generic Indian mutton recipe and not made in any regional style. I can say this is a simple no Nonsense Mutton Curry recipe that will yield you the best results every time.

But you can add up your basic flavorings or masala to match your regional cuisine or to suit your taste buds. I have included the tips wherever possible.

If you are a beginner or has failed to make a good mutton curry before, then I highly suggest to follow the recipe as is without making any changes.

More similar recipes
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Easy Mutton Korma
Mutton Biryani
Mutton Fry
Keema Recipe

Photo Guide

How to Make Mutton Curry (Stepwise Photos)

Marinate Mutton

1. To a large mixing bowl, add the following ingredients and mix well.

• ½ kg (1.1 lbs.) mutton (bone-in or boneless lamb/goat, cut to 1½ to 2 inch)
• ¾ tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt (curd)
• ¾ teaspoon salt 
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon meat masala (or garam masala)
• ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (adjust to heat preference, leave out for low heat)

Cover and rest until you prepare the rest of the ingredients or leave it in the refrigerator to marinate overnight. Overnight is best as it helps to tenderize the meat, improve the flavor profile and texture.

2. When you are ready to cook the mutton curry, leave the cold marinated mutton out on the kitchen counter (for 30 mins) to bring the meat closer to room temperature. Meanwhile chop and prepare the following ingredients:

• 1 cup onions fine chopped or processed
• ¾ cup (1 large) tomatoes pureed or chopped
• 1 to 2 green chilies slit or chopped (optional, leave out for low heat)
• 1 sprig curry leaves if you want or use a bay leaf

Make the Mutton Curry

3. Heat a heavy bottom pot or pressure cooker with 2 tablespoons oil. Add 1 inch cinnamon piece and 3 green cardamoms. (Optionally, If you want you can also use other whole spices like 2 to 3 cloves, 1 bay leaf and half teaspoon cumin seeds. But I am not using here.)

4. Add the onions and green chilies.

6. Saute until the onions turn golden. You don’t need to brown them as they will eventually dissolve in the curry due to long cooking time.

7. Reduce the flame completely, as low as possible. You will need to cook on low heat until you add tomatoes at a further step. Add the marinated mutton.

8. Saute for about 5 to 7 mins.

9. You will see mutton begins to release moisture.

10. Stir in 2 teaspoons meat masala powder or garam masala. I used Everest meat masala. This curry gets the flavor from the masala used. SO make a good choice.

11. Stir in the curry leaves as well.

Make Mutton Gravy

12. You will see that oil begins to separate.

13. Time to add in the tomato puree or chopped tomatoes.

14. Increase the heat to medium and saute for another 5 to 7 mins, until the raw tomato flavor reduces. Mean while bring water to a boil in another small pot. If you are pressure cooking, you will need ¾ cup water and if you are cooking in a pot/Dutch oven you will need 2 cups to start off.

15. Pour hot water and give a good stir. Pressure Cooker: Cook covered on a medium flame for 4 to 5 whistles, depending on your cooker and the quality of meat. Too Cook in a Pot, bring the curry to a gentle boil. Cover and cook on a medium heat until tender, adding more hot water as needed. It takes about 1 hour 30 minutes. Keep stirring every 12 to 15 minutes, and more often as you near the finishing stage.

16. When the pressure drops, open the lid. Stir well and taste test. If you want you may add more salt or garam masala for more flavor. But mine did not need. If the mutton curry is runny, cook on a medium heat for a little longer until some of the liquid evaporates. Your mutton is cooked through when it is tender, flakes easily with a fork and falls off the bone easily.

Garnish Mutton curry optionally with chopped coriander leaves. Serve this mutton curry with plain rice or Tandoori Roti, Naan, Paratha, and Jeera rice . This Onion Salad, Kachumber and Cucumber raita go well on the side.

How to make the best mutton curry?

• Firstly to make a delicious mutton curry, the choice of meat is very important. Choose fresh and tender cuts as this helps to get soft & succulent mutton after cooking. Leg, shoulder, rump or a mix of all these is used to make a curry.
• Bone-in mutton yields a delicious and flavorsome gravy when it is slow cooked. The flavors from the bones and marrow seep into the gravy, making it thicker and has a thicker mouthfeel.
• Make sure your pieces are of the same size as this helps to cook evenly.
• Always marinate the mutton before cooking. Marinating helps to tenderize the meat & also cuts down the cook time.
• Do not add acidic ingredients like lemon or tomatoes to the pan before sauteing the mutton for a while. Most times both these acidic ingredients tend to make the meat tough when added before sauteing. So add tomatoes after sauteing the mutton.

Faqs

How to tenderize or marinate mutton for curry?

Yogurt also known as curd in Indian Cuisine is a natural meat tenderizer and works great. Make sure you marinate with yogurt along with some ground spices.

Which is the best part of mutton for curry?

It is a personal choice. The cuts attached to the bones yield a delicious gravy. Leg & shoulder cut are the best parts for curry. You can also include liver which enhances the flavor.

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