The one I am sharing here is my mom’s recipe and is made with basic ingredients. It is not too spicy nor hot and is just made with very little ghee (clarified butter) which brings out the flavors of spice powders and mutton. However if you are not going to serve it right away, then it is good to make it with any cooking oil. This mutton fry can be served as a appetizer or as a side with rice, chapathi/ roti/ paratha. I have made it to a dry dish, But if you like to have a bit more of gravy, just take it off from the pan a bit early without evaporating the gravy completely. The most important ingredient in this dish is dried coconut (copra) which lends a unique aroma and taste. However if you do not have it, you can also replace it with poppy seeds or fresh coconut. Both these substitutes do not lend that unique aroma as dried coconut. If you do not have both dried coconut and poppy seeds, then you can just skip it. It will still taste good. Choose tender & bone-in mutton as it tastes the best. For more Indian mutton recipes, you can checkMutton curryEasy mutton biryaniKeema recipeMutton kormaKeema kabab
Preparation for Mutton Fry
- To make this dish, we will need to dry roast & grind the spices. Alternately you can also use any other readymade meat masala or garam masala. Add the following spices to a pan and dry roast on a low flame until lightly aromatic:
2 tablespoons coriander seeds4 dried red chilies2 inch cinnamon piece4 to 6 cloves6 green cardamoms. Then add 1 teaspoon fennel seeds and ¾ teaspoon cumin. Roast for a min. Add 3 tablespoons coconut or poppy seeds. Turn off the heat & roast with the residual heat in the pan. Cool all these and make a fine powder.
- Wash mutton and drain completely. Add ginger garlic paste, salt, turmeric and half of the masala powder prepared above. I use 1 tsp ghee for flavor and this is optional. You can also use ¼ to ½ teaspoon chili powder if you prefer the dish hot. If using any other masala powder please check the instructions on the pack. For most brands you can use about 3/4 to 1 tbsp masala powder.
- Mix everything well. You can also use curd/ yogurt or any meat tenderizer. I have not used any here as I have used lamb meat which was tender. Marinate and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours. I usually set aside for 30 mins and carry on. But it is highly suggested to use curd and marinate for 3 to 4 hrs if the meat used is not tender.
- Pour water and mix.
- Cook on a low heat for 10 mins and then on a medium heat until soft. You can do this in a pot or pressure cooker. I pressure cooked for 5 whistles, this may vary depending on your cooker.
- Mutton must be cooked soft and must fall off the bone easily. If using boneless mutton then try to cut a piece with fork you must be able to do it easily.
How to Make Mutton Fry
- Heat a pan with ghee or oil. If not going to consume right away then use oil. Add garlic (optional), green chilies and curry leaves. Saute well until all the 3 ingredients smell good.
- Add pepper powder and the other half meat masala powder. If using ready made powder, take care not to use a lot. You can also skip using masala at this stage if you do not prefer. Stir the masala in ghee/oil.
- Pour the cooked mutton along with the stock (mutton cooked water).
- Add salt if needed. Mix and cook until the gravy thickens and masala clings on to the mutton. You can turn off the stove at any stage
- Andhra mutton fry is made dry, all the masala clings to the mutton. Turn off the heat. If you like you can also add some chopped coriander leaves. Serve mutton fry with lemon juice sprinkled. It can be served with rice or roti or bread. Related Recipes