Recipe for Tamilnadu style mutton biryani made in the pressure cooker. Easy recipe with biryani masala made from scratch. With step by step pictures.
Vinodh’s sister Shree Vidhya got married about an year and a half back. I still remember this chat that I had with her that time. It was an arranged marriage and one of the nice things about arranged marriages are the few lovely lovely days that leads from engagement to the wedding. Its so cute a scene to see the bride and the groom glued to their phones. Those are “love is in the air” days. We were chatting and I asked her what kind of food Krishna (our maaplai) liked? She told, Akka, he is a foodie. He likes Mutton Biryani. I asked, what else? Mutton Biryani was the answer again. So I understood that he was a biryani aficionado. After the wedding, Shree told that her MIL makes the most delicious Mutton Biryani. I met Shree’s MIL, Radha Akka at a function just a few days after the wedding and told her that I wanted to try her biryani. Sadly, we left to Hong Kong just a few days later after that. So the biryani had to wait. We visited them a few weeks back and got to try the legendary mutton biryani. Oh my! Oh my! every single morsel was so delicious. I sat with Radha Akka after lunch and I pestered her for the recipe. She was so sweet to share the recipe. So the secret of our family’s Maaplai Veetu biryani – here for you my lovely readers. Do try it at home. Happy marriages are made with biryani! Here is a picture of Shree with her MIL Radha Akka.
Biryani Masala
The secret to this biryani is home made biryani masala made from scratch. Radha akka makes this masala powder in huge quantities and uses it in all her non-veg preparations. I have toned down the recipe. Here is what you will need.
Dry roast the ingredients in a low flame until fragrant and the poppy seeds are nice and brown.
Note: If you are living in the middle east or any other country where you cannot source poppy seeds, just omit it from the recipe. I just learnt from one of my readers that having poppy seeds can land you in jail in those countries. Poppy seeds are treated as narcotics I believe.
Once the roasted ingredients are cool, grind to a fine powder. Set aside. I use my trusty Panasonic mixer for grinding masalas. It does a fine job for grinding masalas in small quantities.
Prep Work
You will need to make two pastes. Ginger-garlic and small onion / shallot. (If you cannot get small onions, substitute shallot). Grind the ginger and garlic with few tablespoon of water to a smooth paste. Set aside. Grind the small onion / shallot to a smooth paste. Set aside.
Marinating the Mutton
Add two teaspoon of the ground ginger garlic paste to the mutton. Add in the plain yogurt (curd) and salt. Let the meat marinate for 20-30 minutes.
Note: If you want the meat to be very tender, add a teaspoon of ground raw papaya paste. This is an optional ingredient but it yields extremely tender meat when cooked. Do not add more as the meat will disintegrate.
The rice
Radha akka was very particular that she uses only aged basmati rice for her biryani and she likes the brand Lal Qilla.
We have used 600grams of mutton and 400ml of rice today. Soak the rice in water for 20 minutes. Soaking the rice is the secret to a good fluffy biryani. The grains does not become a mush while cooking.
Cooking the biryani
I have used a 5 liter pressure cooker for making the biryani today.
You will need the following aromatics. Get them ready before you fire the stove.
Heat peanut oil and ghee in a pan until hot. Add in the aromatics.
Add in the sliced onions, slit green chillies and fry till the onions are well browned and caramelized. I have used around 6 green chillies today. If you want a spicy biryani, use upto 10 chillies.
Add in the chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves and fry for a minute.
Add in the remainder of the ginger garlic paste. Fry for a couple of minutes. Add in the small onion / shallot paste and fry for a couple of minutes more until the mixture is dry.
Add in the red chilli powder and coriander powder. Fry for a minute.
Add in our homemade freshly ground biryani masala. Fry for a minute.
Add in the marinated mutton. Saute well for a couple of minutes so the masalas coat the meat evenly.
Add in half a cup of water. Remember that I have not added any salt to the pan. We have already marinated the mutton with salt.
Cover the pan and pressure cook for 5 whistles. Switch off the flame and wait for the pressure to release naturally. Open the cooker and taste the mutton. If the mutton is under done or not tender, cook for 2-4 more whistles.
Remove the meat from the pan and measure the gravy/sauce remaining. I had about 400ml of gravy.
The water ratio
We will be using 1 rice : 2 water/liquid for this biryani.
Add the meat back to the pan and add in the required water. We have used 400ml rice. So we will need 800ml water/liquid. As I already had 400ml of gravy liquid, I have added just 400 ml of water. Be cautious on water + gravy measurement.
Once the liquid comes to a boil, add in the soaked and drained rice. Add in the remaining salt. Taste and adjust for the salt seasoning.
Cover with a lid/plate and cook for 5 minutes on medium flame till the rice has absorbed almost most of the liquid.
The biryani mixture should be half done but still be wet with visible liquid like the picture shown below.
At this stage, reduce the flame of the stove to a sim and cover the pan with the pressure cooker lid and cook for one whistle. Switch off the flame and wait for the pressure to release naturally.
Gently fluff up the biryani and serve hot!
Biryani heaven!
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Poppy Seeds
- 1 sprig Curry Leaves
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Fennel Seeds
- 3 Dry Red Chillies
- ½ inch piece Cinnamon
- 1 Clove
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 inch piece ginger
- 12 small onions or 6 shallots
- 600 grams mutton
- ½ cup plain yogurt / curd
- 1 teaspoon salt
- part of the ground ginger-garlic paste ( 2 teaspoon)
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 inch piece cinnamon
- 2 cloves
- 2 cardamom
- 400ml aged basmati rice
- 2 tablespoon peanut oil
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- 3 onions, sliced (about 2 cups)
- 6-10 green chillies, slit
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- ¼ cup coriander leaves
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- Dry roast the ingredients for the biryani masala until brown and fragrant. Grind to a fine powder. Set aside.
- Grind the ginger-garlic paste and small onion / shallot paste. Set aside.
- Marinate the mutton with two teaspoon of ground ginger garlic paste, salt and yogurt. Set aside.
- Heat peanut oil and ghee in a pan until hot. Add in the aromatics.
- Add in the onions and green chillies and fry till brown and caramelized.
- Add in the chopped mint leaves and coriander leaves and fry for a minute.
- Add in the remainder of the ginger garlic paste. Fry for a couple of minutes. Add in the small onion / shallot paste and fry for a couple of minutes more until the mixture is dry.
- Add in the red chilli powder and coriander powder. Fry for a minute. Add in the freshly ground biryani masala. Fry for a minute more.
- Add in the marinated mutton. Saute well for a couple of minutes so the masalas coat the meat evenly.
- Add in half a cup of water. Cover the pan and pressure cook for 5 whistles. Switch off the flame and wait for the pressure to release naturally.
- Remove the meat from the pan and measure the gravy/sauce remaining.
- Add the meat back to the pan and add in the required water. We have used 400ml rice. So we will need 800ml water/liquid. Include the gravy along for liquid measurement. Once the liquid comes to a boil, add in the soaked and drained rice. Add in the remaining salt.
- Cover with a lid/plate and cook for 5 minutes on medium flame till the rice has absorbed almost most of the liquid.
- At this stage, reduce the flame of the stove to a sim and cover the pan with the pressure cooker lid and cook for one whistle. Switch off the flame and wait for the pressure to release naturally.
- Fluff up the biryani and serve hot!
Akka can we marinate the mutton and keep.in overnight in the fridge ? I want to try this recipe this week .
Hi Veena,
Sure you can do that.
Very simple resume
Can we use chicken instead of mutton for this?
the best biriyani i have tried so far. thanks to u and radha akka
Tried this recipe today for diwali .it was super duper hit at home. Thanks for the recipe
Happy Deepavali to you and your family! Thank you!
Hi mam
I was eyeing this recepie for a week. In a dilemma to try or not, finally i tried today on bakrid. 😳 wow really sumptuous biryani. For the first time i prepared mutton biryani and everybody’s comment was wow wow. Still dat exclamation wow hasn’t stopped. Thank you very much for ur recepie.
Hi mam can we use mushroom instead of mutton
Hi Suguna,
Of all the delicious dishes i have made from your recipes this by far is the tastiest and yummiest. My entire family loved the Mutton Biryani. Accolades flying every now n then, some for me, some for you n most of all to ‘Radha Aka’.
With your intensely illustrated recipes, Sunday meals are easy and fun to prepare.
Your blog is a true treasure when it comes to cooking traditional South Indian meals.
Thank you so much!
madam i need ingrendients (aronatics,masala)measure for making 1 kg briyani
I have tried this briyani recipe for the first time, it was so so yummy. Thank you of sharing this amazing recipe with us.
Thanks Marie.
Hi, Suguna ur biryani luks yummy……and so mouth watering….I will try to do this week.can we marinate mutton prior day night along with both pastes???
Sure Sujana. You can.
Its really amazing recipe.we loved it.I never thought I can make amazing briyani.Thanks for sharing your recipe.First time I am going to cook briyani for my parents and my in laws.Exciting.
i tried converting it’s lot of confusion.
Could you plz tell me measurements in kg?
400 ml rice is how much kg?
600 ml mutton is how much kg?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Sugan,
Standard cup measures are available in the market. Please use them. That will help
1 Cup = 240 ml
1 TBS = 15 ml
1 Tsp = 5 ml
Akka
Hope you doing good
Tomorrow I’m going to try this
Small doubt
Any particular reasons to avoid tomatos in this
Tomato add pana any changes in taste
Illa add paniralama
Akka solunga
Neenga enna ninaikuringa nu mattum solunga
The original recipe never used tomatoes. Not necessary. We are adding curd for sourness. That is enough!
Hello! I am wondering: is the mutton in this recipe boneless, or with the bone? I cannot wait to try this!
It is with bone.
Ka tried this recipe it was so so yummy… am going abroad ka i need to pack this in bulk quantity.. can u pls give me the measurement for 1/4 kg or half kg so that i can double it up… expecting a positive reply .. thank u ka… will be going by this march 1 st week so pls ka… lovd u ka.. thanks in advance
Hi Lalitha. I have never tried this in bulk but you can try this.
3 tablespoon Coriander Seeds
2 1/2 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
3 tablespoon Poppy Seeds
10 sprig Curry Leaves
2 tablespoon Black Pepper
2 tablespoon Fennel Seeds
30 Dry Red Chillies
5 inch piece Cinnamon
10 Clove
Thanks a lot ka for ur prompt response .. how much will this come ka as i m planning to take it for at least 6 months to a year ka.. so that it will be easy for me to double it ka.. thank u so much ka… also i wanna buy weighing machine for kitchen .. can u tell me the name of the brand ur using n wr its available ka.
Or else if thats not possible can u share me ur chicken kurma masala powder in 250 gms or 500 gms measurement sista… that’s also ws very yummy ka… n weighing machine brand name venum ka a good one. Thanks in advance ka.
You can just double or triple the ingredients and it works fine. Thank you. Regarding weighing scale, I have one that I bought in the US. Not sure of which brand is good in India.
The masala goes rancid after 2-3 months. So do not grind in a big batch. You can always grind in a mixie once in two months.
Okie ka thank u so much ka
Super hit recipe. Really loved it.. Family really loved the style.. Thanks for posting
Thank you!
Hi Suguna,
I have tried your Radha akka’s briyani recipe, it came out so so well well. Thank you so much of sharing this recipe with us.
Thank you so much. Happy you liked it. Wish you and your family a very happy new year 2018!
Nice presentation. Looks delicious and mouth watering.
Hi Sugu, your Biryani looks very tempting. Is it possible to cook this Biryani in electric rice cooker. If so, what is the adjustments to be made? Thanks in advance.
Yes Ann, You can cook it in the rice cooker. Just after the water comes to a boil and you add rice, transfer to the rice cooker. Also use 1 Rice : 1.5 Water for fluffy biryani.
Hi Suguna
I am a regular follower of your blog.
Your recipes are awesome. Can I try this with recipe with chicken?
Thanks Raji. Sure you can.
First time i tried mutton briyani. It was an super hit and colour taste everything is perfect and same as picture. Thank u so much for the wonderful recipe. And also ur restaurant style kurma and vellai kurma is also awesome. 1st time i visites last week and tried these 3 recipes. Super. Will visit regularly.
Thank you so much!
Hi,
Please post chicken biriyani recipe with seeraga samba rice. I had tried it once but it turned out to be more like tomato rice. And also can this recipe be made with chicken also ? because we dont get mutton here in dubai.
That is a feel good post reading about people in your family. Briyani looks amazing! Can’t wait to try 🙂
Thank you so much!
Hi Suguna,
If we want to prepare biriyani masala in bulk, can we directly scale up the ingredients? If not, can you please post the quantities of ingredients to be used to prepare in bulk and store?
Y TOMATO IS NOT ADDED IN THIS BIRYANI
I want to make this recipe tomorrow but i am a little concerned with the water to rice ratio. I feel like i may mess up and end up having a watery biryani. How much water should be left behind in the pressure cooker if i want to cook the rice separately and then add it in to the cooker?
Hi….you are just awesome in the way you post your receipes….you relate them to some spl occasions and post pics also….your recipes are amazing…just like you .thank you kannama…..
Thank you!
First of all, I would like to say, thank you! I ran into your blog looking for some authentic Tamil Nadu dishes. This is some blog or I would like to say, “foodies heaven”. I have tried a few recipes and its always amazed with me some great flavors and taste!!! I do thank you for sharing your amazing knowledge with us who explore different cuisines, early starters and foodies! Great job on the archive! 🙂
I was wondering if you can help me with a question I have with this recipe. I’m allergic to peanut, hence do not use peanut oil. Is it essential to use peanut oil? If no, what would be the alternative? Would you also mind giving the measurement in cups, please?
Thank you so very much!
Hi Poornima,
You can use vegetable oil too.
We have used 400ml aged basmati rice. 1 cup is 240 ml. So 400 ml is around 1 and 3/4 cups (approx).
Thank you!
Hello Suguna ka
How have you been? It was a long Gap.. and you have compensated with good recipe.. Thank you
Thank you Priya.
Sure ka. Thank u so much ka
Akka apdiyae enna brand use panreenga ka peanut oil ku.. Pls tell me ka.
Akkaaaaa Semma treat … I used to come daily to see ur post finally periya treat koduthteenga akka… U never disappoint us ka. Love u akka am a big fan of biryani . The biryani pic itself looks yummy… Perfect biryani. Thank you ka. Akka pls give the measurement to make biryani masala in large quantities… Love u lotts…
With love
Lalitha
Thank you so much Lalitha. Means a lot to me.
mouth watering,will try this weekend..
sure. hope you like it!