Attukal Paya – Mutton Paya – Lamb Trotters Stew

October 31, 2018 by Suguna Vinodh 43 Comments

Attukal Paya – Mutton Paya – Lamb Trotters Stew – ஆட்டுக்கால் பாயா. Recipe for spicy Mutton Paya. Serve with Idli, Kal Dosai, appam or idiyappam.

The first time I had Mutton Paya (we call it kaal soup) was with my father in his home town during a “Keda Vettu”. Keda Vettu is a function where a goat is sacrificed at the temple and is cooked and served to the family / relatives usually for lunch on occasions. My parents are pure vegetarians. But they never stopped me and my brother from our foodie adventures. So we were attached to my Periya Maama (Eldest Uncle) – on occasions like these for our foodie expeditions. He is a hardcore non vegetarian. He loved Mutton and especially offal made the right way. He was the one who introduced me to my first piece of meat. He was also the one who made me eat mutton legs. While we as kids were not too keen on eating a leg as it looked very unappetising, he just started us with the gravy. So it all started like that. We spent one to two Sundays at my aunts place a month and Sundays meant mutton kuzhambu (curry) with rice. Offal (mostly liver) was prepared separately for my uncle. I am not a great fan of offal but he just enjoyed eating on the table with all of us. The curry was always spicyyyy. The kids would get a dollop of ghee on top of the rice to offset the spicy mutton. He would serve the mutton bones to the children and we had to put in all our effort to make sure the bone marrow is eaten. After lunch we all would get a teaspoon of sugar too!!! The mutton was always super spicy yet tasty. All our noses would water for the next 20 minutes after lunch. We were always geared up and ready for the happy torture.

For Mutton Paya, Usually the broth is made and refrigerated and finished the next day for serving it for breakfast. This recipe is not difficult but takes time. Mutton legs takes a long long time to cook and cooking for a long time is the main reason for the rich flavor. The flavor comes from collagen as mutton legs are rich in collagen. The west is now embracing collagen as the new super food. If you plan for the dish accordingly, it can be made easily.
Note: This dish is usually served with Idli, Kal Dosai, appam or idiyappam. It does not go well with rice. Its usually made for breakfast.

Here is how to do Mutton Paya – Attukaal Paya
Cleaning the Attukal / Trotters
I have used four legs today. Usually in butcher shops, four legs are sold as a set. Please take care of cleaning the legs properly as dirt and hair needs to be properly removed.
First we need to clean the legs / trotters. Usually the legs are charred on fire by the butcher to remove the goat hair. So it will come mostly cleaned. Still there might be trace of hair and dirt that needs to be cleaned. Here is how to clean the legs.
Heat a liter of water in a big pan until hot. Add in a heaping teaspoon of turmeric powder.

Add in the attukal / trotters and let it boil for a minute. Remove from heat and strain.

Using a paring knife, slightly scrape the trotters to remove any of the residue hair and the blackened bits. Be gentle and make sure not to remove too much skin. Gently scrape the blackened bits as well. Wash well and set aside.

Cut each trotter into two-three pieces. Many people like to add the legs as whole but I like to cut it up. Its easier to cut the leg on the knuckle joint using a cleaver. The juices / collagen (trotters are rich in collagen) releases from the bones much better when cut and it cooks well too! Collagen is very good for health.

Making the broth
Take a pressure cooker and add in the cut up trotters, 1.5 liters water, a teaspoon of turmeric and a teaspoon of pepper. Trotters take a long time to cook.
Note: Always use a big pressure cooker so the juices do not spray up from the whistle while cooking. Using a bigger cooker will minimise the mess. I used a 5 liter cooker today.

Cook on a LOW FLAME for 90 minutes. Yes. that’s a long time and legs does take a long time to cook. Ignore the number of whistles from the cooker while cooking. Just set a timer.

Note: We did not add salt for making broth as it may hinder cooking. Mutton legs are a tough piece of meat.

After 90 minutes, remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure settle naturally. Mutton Leg broth is ready.
Note: If you are planning this dish for breakfast, make the broth and refrigerate over nite. The next day, you can just heat the broth and continue with the recipe. Headsup – The broth will become like a jelly when refrigerated because of the presence of collagen / gelatin which is a good thing. Do not be scared if you see “mutton jelly” – you are on the right track.

Masala Paste for making Mutton Paya
We will need to make a paste for making the paya. Here is what you will need.

Take a pan and add in a teaspoon of coconut oil or Indian gingely oil. Add in all the dry spices and saute for a minute till fragrant.

Add in the onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and the green chillies. The predominant spicy heat for the recipe is from black pepper and green chillies. If you want a spicy paya, add more green chillies according to your taste. Add in the salt. Saute for 4-5 minutes till the tomatoes are juiced down.
Note: We do not use dried red chillies or red chilli powder for this recipe

Remove from heat and let it cool a bit. Add the mixture to a mixie. Wash the pan with a cup of cooked mutton broth and add it back to the mixie. Grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.

Finishing Paste for Mutton Paya
Soak the cashews and the white poppy seeds in one cup of water for 10 minutes. Grind them along with the coconut and the water to a smooth paste. Set aside.

Making the stew
Take a heavy pan and add in a teaspoon of coconut oil or Indian gingely oil. Add in the sliced onion and the curry leaves. Saute for a couple of minutes. Add in the sliced tomatoes.

Cook the tomatoes for 2-3 minutes until very juicy. Add in the masala paste.

Add a cup of mutton broth to the mixie to wash all the masala paste sticking to the mixie. Add it to the pan.

Add in the remaining broth and the mutton pieces. Add in the salt.

Add in a few whole green chillies for flavour. Do not cut them. Let the stew simmer for 20 minutes.

Now add in the finishing paste.

Cover the pan with a lid and let the gravy simmer for 10 minutes.

The stew is ready.

Enjoy the attukaal paaya with idli.