How To Make Sylvia’s Crazy Good Must Try Mutton Biriyani

Welcome to another episode of who’s biriyani is it anyway. No just kidding. This is a recipe post though. Without further ado.. let’s dive right into the recipe.

Ingredients

Mutton – 1 Kilogram (Kg)
Onion – 1/2 Kg
Tomato – 1/4 Kg
Green Chillies – 8 Whole
Fresh Mint – 1 Bunch
Cilantro – 1/2 Bunch
Red Chilli (Cayenne) Powder – 1-2 Tablespoon (Tbsp)
Garam Masala Powder – 1 Tbsp
Yogurt – 1/2 Cup
Lime Juice – 1 Whole
Vegetable Oil – 100 grams (gm)
Ghee – 20 gm

Spices:

Cinnamon stick – 2-3
Cloves – 15
Bay leaf – 2
Cardamom/Elaichi – 5
Star Anise – 2 small pieces

Method:

Mutton Gravy for the biriyani:

Heat the oil and ghee in a large pot.
When oil is hot, add the spices and sauté for 30seconds.
Add sliced onions and sauté till golden brown.
Add red chili powder and garam masala.
Continue to sauté till raw smell is gone.
Add the mutton.
Add tomato, green chillies, mint, cilantro and lime juice. Mix everything well.
Add the yoghurt
Add enough salt to account for the mutton and the rice. ~6-7 full teaspoons.
Cover and cook for 45 minutes on medium flame till the mutton is cooked. Alternately, pressure cook for 15minutes.

Rice Preparation For the Biriyani

In the meantime, in another large pot, cook basmati rice to ~60% doneness. Then, drain the rice of water and transfer rice to a separate dish.

Fried Onions To Top Biriyani

Heat oil in a pot/deep dish. Thinly slice 3 whole red onions (use a mandolin to achieve extremely thin slices). Test readiness of oil by dropping in a slice of onion. If it bubbles and rises to the top, the oil is hot enough. Drop in the sliced onions and fry until golden brown. Strain onto a plate with paper towels to catch excess oil. Set aside.

Biriyani Layering

In the same large pot that was used to cook the rice, start by layering an even layer of rice. Follow with an even layer of the cooked mutton gravy. Repeat with a layer of rice and mutton. Continue until all rice and mutton are used up.
Garnish with fresh cilantro and the fried onions. Cover the pot with a lid and wrap aluminum foil all over to fully seal the pot. Also, weight the top of the pot with a heavy pan/brick/canned tins to enhance sealing. Place over a low flame for 20 minutes. Remove from the stove and mix well.
Dum style mutton biriyani is ready to serve!

Footnotes

As you already know, I like recipe blog posts to get to the point i.e. the recipe as soon as possible, preferably at the very top of the post. That’s exactly what all my recipe posts look like. But for the curious reader who is interested in learning more about the recipe owner or other tidbits surrounding the post, I make sure to include this at the very end. If you’ve made it this far and still reading, good job! Read on for a few interesting facts..

About Sylvia

The owner of this delicious recipe is my sister Sylvia. She is a recipe queen in her own right and whips this biriyani up like a boss! Similar to mine, her recipes are an evolution over time from several trial-and-error attempts, tweaks and changes along the way and adaptations from various sources that have influenced her cooking. This one is a must try! Give it a go and of course feel free to add your personal touch to it to make it your own.

Fun Fact

An interesting tidbit from my sister – The pot featured in the pictures here is the one she has been using to make biriyani for over more than ten years! She first bought it in the United Kingdom during her stint in London working for a pharmaceutical company. One of the things we all do when in a new and unfamiliar location is to setup our surroundings to mimic or recreate familiarity – that fragrance we know and associate with home, the colors that remind us of where we came from and of course foods and inanimate things that convince our minds that this is home. The biriyani pot made this list obviously 🙂

If you’d like to read more about my recipes, click here. Or, if you are curious to read about other topics altogether, feel free to start here.