Meals · Hyderabad

Hyderabadi Mutton Masala

The everyday Hyderabadi home curry: mutton cooked with browned onions, yoghurt, tomato and a roasted paste of dry coconut, sesame and poppy seed, finished with fistfuls of mint and coriander.

Prep 20 min · Cook 60 min · Total 80 min + 30 min marinade · Serves 4

Ingredients

Marinade

• 750 g Mutton on the bone, curry cut
• ½ cup Plain yoghurt
• 1 ½ tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
• 1 ½ tsp Red chilli powder
• ½ tsp Turmeric
• 1 tsp Salt

Roasted paste

• 3 tbsp Dried coconut (kopra), grated
• 1 tbsp White sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp White poppy seeds (khus khus)
• 1 tsp Coriander seeds

Curry

• 4 tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp Shahi jeera (black cumin)
• 4 Green cardamom pods
• 4 Cloves
• 1 inch Cinnamon stick
• 3 Medium onions, thinly sliced
• 3 Green chillies, slit
• 2 Tomatoes, chopped
• 1 ½ tsp Coriander powder
• 1 tsp Garam masala
• ½ cup Mint leaves
• ½ cup Coriander leaves, chopped
• Salt to taste, to taste
• ½ Lemon

Method

1. Marinate. Mix the mutton with the yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, turmeric and salt and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
2. Make the roasted paste. Dry-roast the coconut, sesame, poppy and coriander seeds in a pan over low heat until the coconut is light brown. Cool and grind with 1/4 cup water to a smooth paste.
3. Brown the onions. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker or heavy pot. Add the shahi jeera, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon, then the onions and green chillies. Fry until the onions are a rich golden brown.
4. Fry the mutton. Add the marinated mutton and fry on high heat, stirring, until it changes colour and the yoghurt dries out. Add the tomatoes and coriander powder and cook until the tomatoes break down and oil shows at the edges.
5. Cook until tender. Stir in half the mint and coriander and 1 1/2 cups hot water. Pressure-cook to 5 whistles, then 10 minutes on low, and let it release naturally. On the stovetop, cover and simmer for 60 to 80 minutes, adding hot water if it gets dry.
6. Finish. Add the roasted paste and simmer uncovered, stirring, until the gravy is thick and the oil floats. Stir in the garam masala and the rest of the mint and coriander, check the salt and squeeze over the lemon. Serve with rice, chapati or bagara khana.

Tips

Brown the onions properly and fry the mutton until the yoghurt has dried: those two stages give the gravy its depth. Add the coconut paste only after the meat is tender or it catches in the cooker.