Authentic Dum Mutton Biryani

Mutton biryani is an aromatic rice dish made with layers of tender mutton pieces (or goat meat), fragrant basmati rice, deep fried onions and aromatic indian spices.

This mutton biryani recipe is easy to follow and is perfect for days when you are in a mood for feast. If you feel intimidated by mutton biryani, after following my recipe you no longer will!

In this post, I am breaking down the entire biryani making process in 5 steps. Once you understand and master these steps, you will be able to make perfect dum biryani using goat meat, mutton, lamb or even beef. (If you are looking for vegetarian biryani, here's my makhani paneer biryani I shared a few months ago).

I like to slow cook the mutton masala before layering it with rice, however I am including pressure cooker instructions for cooking mutton masala in this post if you wish to quicken things up a little bit.

About Biryani

Oh where do I even start? It's popularity can be gauged from the fact that it is impossible to talk about cuisine from the indian subcontinent without a mention of biryani. A loved dish with origins in Persia, present day biryani has transformed quite a bit while it traveled along the silk route.

Across the indian subcontinent, there are diverse versions of biryani, distinguished by the unique spice blends, the inclusion or exclusion of tomatoes, the addition of sour elements, and the specific order in which different layers are created.

Mutton biryani is an intricate dish as compared to a simple mutton pulao. With careful selection of spices, quality meat, and use of aged long grain basmati rice, the flavors seamlessly weave together and though there are a few steps involved, but trust me, making mutton biryani is not a complicated process.

My Recipe

Broadly, there are broadly 2 different ways in which mutton biryani is prepared in India.

1. One is kacchi mutton biryani in which kaccha or raw marinated meat and rice are layered and cooked together from start to finish.
2. The other is pakki mutton biryani in which paka hua or cooked meat is layered with cooked rice for a final steam. (My recipe)

Here are a few highlights about my mutton biryani recipe:-

• Being a north indian, the flavors of my recipe are inspired by Lucknowi style and Delhi biryani. While developing this recipe, my primary focus wasn't on adhering to a specific regional style, instead, on ensuring that the mutton biryani turns out to be aromatic and generously spiced.
• I have an affinity for spicy cuisine, but when it comes to biryani, I prefer rich flavors and enticing aromas rather than intense heat. Excessive chili powder can be overwhelming and will diminish the essence of this dish. In my recipe, I have tried to achieve a well-balanced biryani taste that leans towards subtle heat.
• When it comes to khade masale (whole garam masala) for the mutton base, my spice selection is similar to how I make goat curry.
• Growing up, I often heard a popular saying in our family about biryani - : while biryani is being cooked, its fragrance should reach at least seven houses down the street! The aroma of biryani should be delicate & appealing to the senses.
• To me, biryani is synonymous with dum cooking (cooking in a sealed pot). I haven't tested making biryani in a pressure cooker or instant pot, as I doubt I could do justice to this iconic dish through those cooking methods.

Choosing Mutton for Biryani

Choosing the right cut of meat is key in getting the texture of biryani right. This will ensure that your mutton or goat meat would cook to tender and soft. Meat should not be falling apart once the mutton masala base is ready for layering. That would mean that the meat is overcooked and it will disintegrate when you cook it with rice.

The halal shop I purchase meat from has a goat mix and I use the same while making my goat curry recipe. It is a mix of shoulder cut and the leg cut(preferably the back leg). Shoulder cut is known for its rich and marbled meat and if a good choice for biryani. Once cooked properly, the meat turns out really flavorful and tender.

The leg cut is meaty while being relatively lean and it renders itself beautifully to long cooking. The meat is cut in about 2 inch pieces and is bone-in.

If you are using lamb, use the lamb shoulder or lamb leg. You could use bone-in or boneless lamb.

5 Tips for Tender Meat

• Choose The Right Cut - As mentioned above, I go for meat from shoulder or leg areas.
• Marination - The overnight marination in yogurt, lemon juice, ginger & garlic and spices tenderizes the goat meat. The acidic elements like yogurt and lemon juice help break the connective tissue of meat and the salt penetrates the tissue to make it flavorful. Hence, aside from tenderizing, marination also imparts flavor to the meat.
• Don't Cook Cold Meat - It is best to cook room temperature meat. The higher the temperature difference between the hot oil and marinated meat, as soon as both come in contact, chances are that the meat will shrink and toughen.
• Slow Cook The Meat - Slow-cooking the mutton meat is a fantastic way to ensure that it becomes tender and gets time to absorb the rich blend of spices. Be it an any meat dish, deep flavors take time to develop. It takes 1 or 1.5 hour extra but the slow cooking allows the collagen in bones to break down, making the meat tender.
• Dum Cook The Biryani - For me, biryani is all about dumpukht cooking. Dumpukth or dum cooking involves slow-cooking of biryani in a airtight pot over a low flame or in an oven. This method finsihes off cooking the meat to perfectly tender & juicy.

Best Rice For Making Biryani

Choose aged, long grain basmati rice. Traditionally, sela basmati rice is used for making mutton biryani. Sela basmati rice is a variety of aged basmati rice that has been par boiled while still in husk. Not only does it remain firm while boiling and the dum pukht cooking process, but also the rice grains do not stick to each other.

Sela basmati rice is available in most indian grocery stores and online. You will definitely get a better price point at indian grocery stores, however, online is convenient. I go for this sela basmati rice brand (non- affiliate link) or similar.

If you cannot find it, choose aged, long grain basmati rice (non affilate link) or extra long grain basmati rice that's easily available in stores like Costco and Walmart.

Use only basmati rice, avoid using all other varieties of rice for making biryani.

Biryani Masala (Special Spice Blend)

I have tested this recipe with and without biryani masala. And there was a huge difference in taste profile between both the versions. You would ask why we are adding biryani masala if we add the individual ground spices.

The reason is that biryani masala is usually a blend of 15-18 or more spices that help develp complex flavors and aroma in a biryani. Using just basic ground spices is not sufficient. Biryani masala also helps homemade biryani taste closer to restaurant style biryani.

On most days, I simply use store bought biryani masala. We love the taste of bombay biryani masala (non affilate link) or sindhi masala in our homemade biryani. You could use homemade biryani masala too if you have a special recipe.

Other Biryani Ingredients

• Fried Onions - Also called birista. For me, fried onions are a must have in any biryani. You could use store bought fried onions or homemade. Instructions on homemade fried onions are included in the recipe card.
• Ginger & Garlic - Use homemade or store-bought ginger garlic paste. Helps in reducing the gamey taste of mutton.
• Ground Spices - coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder(or cayenne pepper), salt. The spices add an enticing flavor and aroma to the mutton masala.
• Whole spices - Bay leaves, cloves, black cardamom, cloves, mace, cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, black peppercorns.
• Yogurt - For marinating the goat meat. Full fat yogurt brings in richness as well as mild tang to the mutton masala. Make sure that the yogurt is not too sour. I use full fat Greek yogurt.
• Cooking Oil - If you are using homemade fried onions, use the same oil for cooking biryani.
• For layering - ghee, ginger julinnes,fresh cilantro(coriander leaves), kewda water.

Rice To Meat Ratio in Biryani

The ratio of rice and meat truly depends on your preference. In my family, everyone prefers more meat and less rice. For 1 kg meat, I use 3.5 (~700g) cups rice. But you can easily increase the rice quantity to 4 - 4.5 cups.

If you use more rice, you will need to adjust the salt quantity while boiling the rice. Also, please increase the quantity of biryani layering elements like fried onions, chopped cilantro and ghee that's drizzled while layering.

Instructions

Make Fried Onions (Birista)

I add fried onions while marinating the meat, similar to when I make mutton korma, as well use them while layering the biryani. When the sliced onions are fried over slow heat, the sugars in the onions break down (caramelization) and when the onions are golden brown, they develop a sweet and savory taste. 

When added to marinades, the deep fried onions add a unique richness and savory taste to the meat. During layering, they add texture to the overall experience of biryani.

Dont slice the onions too thin (they become pasty) or too thick(they don't crisp up well). Deep fry on low to medium heat to golden brown without stirring a lot.

Marinate The Mutton

1. Place goat or mutton pieces in a large bowl. Add coriander powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, salt, yogurt, ginger and garlic paste, deep fried onions and lemon juice. Add 1 tablespoon of oil(leftover from making fried onions).
2. Use your hands (best tools!) to coat the mutton very well in the marinade ingredients. Wear food safe gloves, else your hands will smell of spices and may get dyed with color from spices.
3. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to marinate. Overnight is preferable but 4-6 hours works too.

Slow Cook Mutton Masala

4. Pull the marinated mutton out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours prior to cooking.
5. Heat up oil in a large dutch oven (5qt or larger) on a low flame. Once hot, add all the whole spices (black cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf, mace, black peppercorn, cloves). Fry the spices for a few seconds taking care not to burn them.
6. Add the marinated meat . Sprinkle biryani masala over the meat and mix very well.
7. For initial 8-10 minutes you will have to stir around the meat regularly else the yogurt will curdle. Slowly the yogurt and meat starts to relase moisture. 2 lb of meat releases quite a bit of water while cooking and you should not need to add extra water. Once you notice enough water in the pot, cover the lid.

8. Let the meat cook on low medium heat for next 1-1.5 hours or as needed until the meat is tender. Meat should not fall apart from the bones, it should be fork tender at end of cooking. While the mutton is cooking, check a few times and make sure that there is enough liquid in the pot, else add a splash of water. We want to make a thickish mutton masala. The gravy should not be soupy else the biryani will become wet.

Using Pressure Cooker to Cook Mutton Masala

Follow the same instructions for cooking the mutton in a pressure cooker. Before sealing the lid, add ⅓ to ½ cup water (adjust depending on how much moisture your meat releases). Cook for 18-20 minutes on medium pressure or about 7-8 whistles. Please adjust the time as needed. Once you release the pressure naturally and check the meat, it should be fork tender, not fall apart.

Tip - I use up that time to prepare the different ingredients needed while layering biryani, for soaking the basmati rice etc.

Par Boil The Biryani Rice

8. Rinse the sela basmati rice 3-4 times under running water or until the water runs clear. Submerge the rice in excess water and let it soak for 30-45 minutes.
9. On the stove, place a large pot capable of holding 6-8 cups of water. Add salt, ghee, lemon juice, and whole spices to the water. Bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat.
10. Carefully, add the drained and soaked sela rice to the hot water. Stir gently using a rubber spatula 2-3 times to prevent the rice from sticking at the bottom.
11. Allow the rice to par boil over medium high heat until it reaches 90% doneness. Minimize stirring to avoid rice grains from breaking.
12. To Check Doneness of Rice - First method is to take a few rice grains and press them between your thumb and index finger; the rice should be soft yet slightly firm. The second method is visual inspection. You will notice that the rice grains will begin to float to the surface of pot as they near cooking. For 3 cups of rice, it takes approximately 5 to 6 minutes for rice to cook.
13. Drain the par boiled rice fully using a colander and then immediately start layering the biryani.

Layer The Biryani

14. There's no strict rule for layering a biryani. However, make sure to finish with rice layer at the top and try to make even layers if possible. This is how I make the layers bottom of top. I dum cook the biryani in oven so either I use a dutch oven or any oven safe dish large enough to hold all the biryani layers.

• 1 tablespoon melted ghee or cooking oil (to avoid rice from sticking to the dish)
• Half of parboiled rice
• cooked mutton masala
• fried onions, chopped cilantro & ginger julinnes
• remaining rice
• fried onions, chopped cilantro & ginger julinnes
• Drizzle of melted ghee and kewda water. You could add saffron soaked in milk. I don't use saffron.
• Sprinkle food color (use food grade powdered color). I don't use color.

Note - You could add fresh mint leaves, shahi jeera and green chillies while layering if you wish. Make it as fancy as you like as far as toppings go! 

Dum Cook Mutton Biryani

15. Place the biryani pot covred with a tight-fitting lid in a 200F preheated oven for dum cooking for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Alternatively, on the stove, heat up cast-iron griddle or tawa until hot. Place the covered cooking pot over it and reduce the flame to lowest. Let the biryani dum cook for the same duration. This indirect heat source maintains low enough temperatures to let the different flavors of different layers of biryani meld together.
16. Once dum cooking process is over, refrain from immediately opening the cooking pot. Allow the biryani to rest for 15-20 minutes to let the flavors settle.
17. Gently open the pot's lid and using a saucer plate, a soft spatula, or a rice spoon, delicately fluff and mix the biryani from the side of the pot. Serve with raita or a fresh salad.

Serving Biryani

• Mutton biryani is best served with a yogurt side dish (raita), green chutney, and a fresh salad like kachumber. Pickled onions also taste very good.
• If you are serving biryani for special occasions , you could add seekh kebab or shami kabab as accompainments.

Storage & Reheating

Mutton biryani tastes way better next day. I highly recommend making it a few hours ahead if you are serving on same day. Or plan leftovers. Store leftover biryani in an airtight container for 3-4 days, refrigerated.

To reheat, add the biryani to a non stick pan or pot(preferable), add a splash of water and cover. Let steam for 5-7 minutes or as needed. You could reheat in microwave as well. Be gentle with power level of microwave so that the meat stays soft and succulent.

Recipe Tips

• Saffron - If you want to use saffron, soak 10-12 saffron strands in warm milk and add to the top most layer while layering. I use only kewra for aroma. 
• Using Food Color - Sprinkle food grade colors (powdered) like yellow or orange at a few place on the top layer. 
• Quality of Meat - Use fresh meat and go for the cuts I have metioned for a tender and succulent meat pieces. If you are using frozen meat, thaw it properly before marinating it.
• Cooking Pot - You could use a heavy bottom cooking pot for making the mutton masala. For layering the biryani, use a wide and tall pot. Dutch ovens work great for layering, braisers do not. We want thickish layers of rice and meat.
• Season at every stage - The salt levels can change the entire chemistry of flavor and taste of biryani. Keep tasting while you cook. The mutton maslaa has to be nicely salty and intensely spiced at the end of cooking. We are layering it with boiled rice and once you mix the biryani, the rice will take on the flavors from the mutton masala. Make sure to salt the water in which you are boiling the rice well.
• Don't Skimp on Oil or Ghee - Biryani is a rich dish heavy on oil and ghee. The fats keep the rice fluffly while steaming as well as contribute to the overall satisfaction of the dish. If you skimp on oil, your rice will taste like steamed rice.
• Give It Time - Biryani making invloves a few key steps but nothing is overly complicated. If you give time and patience to your mutton biryani, it will turn out exceptionally delicious.
• Whole Spices - We indians are used to eating biryani, pulao or curries around the whole spices. If the whole spices bother you, you can tie them in a muslin cloth both for mutton masala and while boiling the rice. Remove the muslin cloth beofre layering the biryani.