Who’s in for a plate of flavourful Biryani? This evergreen classic needs no introduction…It’s aromatic, it’s heavenly, it’s super delicious and one of the most loved delicacies not just in India but across the globe. Anyone who’s ever had biryani knows that it’s a complicated dish. But, trust me, this is my hassle free method of cooking Mutton Biryani Recipe South Indian Style, so easy to follow in many ways in comparison to the traditional method of making Hyderabadi Dum Biryani without compromising on taste. I do not intend to compare the two, as each one has it’s own unique taste and both are a wonderful treat to biryani lovers like me!!
Biryani is a complete meal in itself, apt to suit all occasions….be it a hearty meal on a lazy Sunday afternoon when you do not want to cook an elaborate meal yet have a delicious one pot meal or it could be a part of a grand, scrumptious indulgence. 
Why call it South Indian Biryani?
The style of cooking Biryani in North India differs from the Southern states, hence I call it “South Indian Style”. This is a very easy recipe for making mutton biryani in a rice cooker or pressure cooker. The mutton is cooked first and then added to the rice and aromatics along with the liquid used for cooking mutton. Simply popping in a couple of aromatics while seasoning, such as bay, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, kalpasi and my own favourite, cardamom pods, will impart a subtle fragrance with less effort.
Don’t you remember your grandmother and mother working hard in the kitchen to assemble Mutton Biryani. Times have changed, now, we try to find ways to save time and energy. It’s not easy to recapture the magic & scent of your mother’s famous biryani or the love & work that went into it. But, I tried my best to put up my share of effort to recreate the magic to give you an easy recipe, which I have been making for years. This Mutton Biryani Recipe South Indian Style is loved by my family and friends, so hope you all will try out and enjoy!!
Off to Mutton Biryani Recipe South Indian Style!!
Easy Steps to prepare
Mutton Biryani Recipe South Indian Style:
- Marinate Mutton with ingredients under the section “To Marinate” and set aside for at least 1 hour. Firstly, add red chilli powder, turmeric, salt and mix well to infuse into the mutton pieces. Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix.
- It is even better if you can marinate it overnight.
- Wash basmati rice in the removable rice cooker bowl, drain the water and set aside till the rest of the process is completed.
- Transfer marinated mutton to a pressure cooker, add finely chopped onions and green chillies under the section “To Cook Mutton”.
- Close the lid and cook over medium high heat for about 4-5 whistles (or as per your pressure cooker instructions).
- Open the lid of the pressure cooker once the pressure subsides.
- Heat butter and oil under the section “To Season” in a large pan over medium heat and add all the dry spices under the section “To Season”.
- Fry for a few seconds till you get a nice aroma.
- Now add onions, green chillies under the section “Other Ingredients”and sauté for 2 minutes.
NOTE:
I’m using a combination of butter and oil, but you can go ahead and also use any one of them.
- Add ginger garlic paste and sauté for a minute.
- Now add mint leaves and fry for a minute.
- Drain the mutton pieces from the cooked mutton and add. Mix well, fry for a minute and turn off the heat.
NOTE:
Store the liquid from the cooked mutton to be used later to cook rice.
Cooking Rice & Mutton together in a Rice Cooker:
- Now add the mutton mixture to the previously washed rice in the rice cooker bowl.
- Add garam masala powder, required water (including the liquid from cooked mutton), salt and mix well.
NOTE:
- While adding water, first measure out the liquid from cooked mutton and then add normal water if required.
- You can also make the biryani directly in the pressure cooker.
- Turn on the rice cooker (follow the instructions of your rice cooker). In the earlier stages of cooking stir once or twice. Once the rice gets cooked, avoid mixing often.
- It’s best to allow the rice to rest (don’t open) for 5-10 min even after the cooking completion light has come on. Unplugging the rice cooker or taking the pot off of the heat for this period will minimise the amount of rice that sticks to the pot.
- With a rice spatula, flip through the rice very gently and serve.
- Serve with onion raita and any Non Vegetarian or Vegetarian gravy of your choice.
- Today I’m serving with chicken curry, boiled egg, sliced onions and lemon wedges.
- Mutton Biryani Recipe South Indian Style is full of flavour and you will not even need any gravy to complement it. In fact, I always like to have my biryani with some sliced onions, a squeeze of lemon and finish off with onion raita .
- Biryani is a favourite at gatherings. If you don’t know the trick, biryani tastes even better the next day.
A Quick Summary:
Mutton Biryani Recipe South Indian Style | Cooker Mutton Biryani
Ingredients
To Marinate:
- 1/2 kg Mutton with bones, clean and cut into medium pieces
- 1 teaspoon Red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Cup thick Yoghurt
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger garlic paste
- ½ cup Mint leaves tightly packed
- ½ cup Coriander finely chopped
To cook Mutton:
- Marinated mutton from above
- 1 medium onion roughly chopped
- 2 green chillies chopped
To Season:
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 2 inch Cinnamon sticks
- 6 Cloves
- 2 Cardamoms
- 3 Bay leaves
- Few Kalpasi flowers
- 2 Star Anise
- 3 Kapok buds
Other Ingredients to Fry:
- 1 large onion sliced
- 6 green chillies slit
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger garlic paste
- 3 Cups Basmati rice washed & rest for 20 minutes
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 5 cups water including liquid from cooked mutton
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Marinate Mutton with ingredients under section “To Marinate”. Set aside 1 hour.
- Add onions, green chillies and cook marinated mutton in a pressure cooker for about 4-5 whistles.
- Heat butter & oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add all the dry spices. Fry for a few seconds.
- Now add onions, green chillies and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add ginger garlic paste and sauté for a minute.
- Then drain and add cooked mutton pieces.
- Transfer the contents to the washed rice in the rice cooker bowl, add garam masala powder, required water(including liquid from cooked mutton), salt and mix.
- Turn on the rice cooker and serve when done.
Recipe Video
Notes
- The easiest way to go about this recipe is to marinate the mutton ahead of time. I usually marinate and refrigerate it overnight. This way, the process of making biryani the following day becomes easier and saves time.
- Spice levels can be adjusted with green chillies.
- To prepare biryani, the meat has to be very tender, so we pre-cook mutton before adding to rice in this recipe.
- You can use a combination of butter (or ghee) and oil or just one of them. I have used very little fat, but you can easily double it for adding richness to the texture.
- If you want the biryani to be on the softer side, you can use 1:2 ratio of rice to water respectively. Before adding water, also consider the liquid (gravy) formed while cooking the marinated chicken.
- If you do not have a rice cooker, you can also cook in a pressure cooker or a pot. Then, make sure not to overcook the biryani, which makes the rice mushy.
- Vegetarians can prepare vegetable biryani replacing mutton with veggies. Then rest of the process remains the same.
- You can double or triple the quantities respectively to suit your needs.
Do not miss out:
You might want to also check out other Rice Recipes from blog!!
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
Priya @asmallbite
Wow ! what a flavourful biryani,Sure treat for non – vegetarians….
Thank you priya 🙂