Mutton Dum Biryani- Kolkata style

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Ours is a Biryani loving family. Growing up in West Bengal whenever it comes to making Biryani at home, I ended up cooking Kolkata style Biryani only. I’ve tried many other Biryani variations at different restaurants/Food joints, but the real love lies in Dum Biryani. The aromatic rice grains, spice-coated tender meat pieces, and the amalgamation of meat and rice cooked together in layers is something magical! Though Chicken Biryani is my favourite version but my family loves Mutton Dum Biryani more. I’m sharing here the best version of Mutton Biryani which we love to cook at home. This is a tried and tested recipe, I hope you’ll love cooking it for your family & friends. 🙂

Mutton Dum Biryani
Mutton Dum Biryani

Mutton Dum Biryani

Serves: 4-5 People

Ingredients for Mutton

  • Mutton- 700g (curry cut)
  • Medium-sized onions- 3 (thinly sliced)
  • Green chilies- 4-5 (halved)
  • Meetha Attar
  • Mustard oil- ¼ cup
  • Garam masala powder- 1/3 tsp
  • Salt to taste

For marination

  • Raw papaya- 150g (grated)
  • Birista/Crisp fried onions- 1/3 cup
  • Kashmiri mirch powder- 1 tsp
  • Cumin powder- 1 tbsp
  • Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
  • Yogurt- 200g
  • Ginger-garlic paste 2 tbsp
  • Rose water- A few drops
  • Keora water- A few drops

For tempering

  • Dry red chilies- 2 (halved)
  • Green cardamom- 3 (roughly crushed)
  • Whole black peppercorns- 8-9 (roughly crushed)
  • Cinnamon stick 1″ pieces- 4-5
  • Cloves- 2-3
  • Bay leaf- 2

Method

Marinate the freshly washed mutton pieces with all the ingredients mentioned for marination. Keep aside for 4 hours, overnight marination is even better.

Marinating the Mutton
Marinating the Mutton

Heat oil in a kadai/deep frying pan, temper with all the ingredients mentioned for tempering. 

Add sliced onions, fry over medium heat until light brown in color. 

Now add the marinated mutton with salt and green chilies. Mix well, cover and cook over low heat. The mutton gets cooked without water. If you see that the mutton is drying up too much during the cooking, add some hot water to adjust the gravy.Stir in-between and cook until the mutton pieces are cooked through. It takes around 1 hour to cook the mutton.

Add a few drops of meetha attar and garam masala powder at the end. Mix and remove from the heat.

Cooked Mutton for Biryani
Cooked Mutton for Biryani

Ingredients for rice

  • Basmati rice- 500g (wash well and keep aside)
  • Green cardamom- 3 (roughly crushed)
  • Bay leaf- 2
  • Star anise- 1
  • Salt to taste

Method

Boil enough water in a deep bottom pan. Add the washed rice along with star anise, bay leaves, green cardamoms and salt. After the rice gets cooked, drain, and keep aside uncovered. Care needs to be taken so the rice doesn’t get overcooked.

For layering and sealing

  • Mace/Javitri powder- ½ tsp
  • Nutmeg /Jaiphal powder- 1/3 tsp
  • Garam masala powder- ½ tsp
  • Ghee/Clarified butter – ½ cup
  • Saffron- 1 fat pinch
  • Milk- ½ cup
  • Rose water
  • Keora water
  • Meetha Attar
  • Birista/Crisp fried onions- for sprinkling on top
  • Potato- 3 medium-sized
  • Boiled egg- 3 (cut into halves lengthwise or use whole boiled eggs, the choice is yours)
  • Slitted green chilies- 3-4 (optional)
  • Aluminium foil

Method

Soak saffron in warm milk, and keep aside.

Peel the boiled potatoes and cut into halves horizontally. Heat oil in a kadai/deep frying pan, fry the potatoes with turmeric powder and salt over medium heat until they turn golden. Remove them from the kadai, and keep aside.

You can fry the boiled eggs with a little salt and turmeric powder before cutting into halves, this step is optional.

Grease a deep bottomed pan with ghee. Add rice in the first layer. Now add a layer of mutton pieces along with the gravy. Add gravy carefully, in small quantity at a time. Otherwise, the biryani will look like ‘Mutton and rice curry’.  (read notes)

Layering with Eggs & Potatoes

Layering with Eggs & Potatoes

Place potato pieces in between. Sprinkle some ghee, along with a few drops of rose water, keora water, mace and nutmeg powder, 1-2 green chilies, and saffron milk. Repeat this process of layering rice and mutton one more time. 

Finish the layering with a final layer of rice. Place the boiled eggs on top, yolk side down, push them gently in the bed of rice a little bit. Sprinkle a generous amount of ghee on top. Garnish with birista, a few drops of meetha attar, and garam masala powder.

Seal the top of the pan with aluminium foil and close with a tight fitting. Turn on the heat, now put the biryani vessel on top of a tawa. Keep the heat low. Put on dum for 25 minutes (read note).

Final look before the Dum
Final look before the Dum

Remove from the heat. Your delicious Kolkata style Mutton Dum Biryani is done. Uncover the Biryani pot, serve hot with raita and other accompaniments. Enjoy!

Notes:

  • While layering the biryani you don’t need to use up all the mutton gravy in-between the layers. Serve the extra gravy along with the biryani later.
  • Add the Keora water carefully to the Biryani, a little over the quantity might make the Biryani bitter.
  • The thumb rule of the Dum timing depends on how much moisture is there in the Biryani. If the Biryani has more liquid the time duration needs to be adjusted and vice versa for less moist biryani.
Mutton Dum Biryani
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Mutton Dum Biryani

Kolkata style Mutton Dum Biryani is a rich, aromatic one-pot meal where mutton and rice cooked in layers by following the Dum method. I’m sharing the best version here how to cook it at home.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Keyword biryani, gluten-free
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings 5 People
Author Chandrima

Ingredients

Ingredients for cooking Mutton

  • 700g with bone- Mutton (curry cut)
  • 3- Medium sized onions (thinly sliced)
  • 4-5- Green chilies (halved)
  • Meetha Attar
  • ¼ cup- Mustard oil
  • 1/3 tsp- Garam masala powder

For marination

  • 150g- Raw papaya (grated)
  • 1/3 cup- Birista/Crisp fried onions
  • 1 tsp- Kashmiri mirch powder
  • 1 tbsp- Cumin powder
  • 1 tbsp- Coriander powder
  • ½ tsp- Turmeric powder
  • 200g- Yogurt
  • 2 tbsp- Ginger-garlic paste
  • A few drops- Rose water
  • A few drops- Keora water

For tempering

  • 2- Dry red chilies (halved)
  • 3- Green cardamom (roughly crushed)
  • 8-9- Whole black peppercorns (roughly crushed)
  • 4-5- Cinnamon stick 1" pieces
  • 2-3- Cloves
  • 2- Bay leaf / Tej pata

Ingredients for rice

  • 500g- Basmati rice (wash well and keep aside)
  • 3- Green cardamom (roughly crushed)
  • 2- Bay leaf / Tej pata
  • 1- Star anise
  • Salt to taste

For layering and sealing

  • ½- Mace/Javitri powder (grounded to a fine powder)
  • 1/3 tsp- Nutmeg /Jaiphal powder
  • ½ tsp- Garam masala powder
  • ½ cup- Ghee/Clarified butter
  • 1 fat pinch - Saffron
  • Rose water
  • Keora water
  • Meetha Attar
  • For sprinkling on top- Birista/Crisp fried onions
  • 3- Medium sized potatoes (boiled)
  • 3- Boiled eggs (cut into halves lengthwise or use whole boiled eggs, choice is yours)
  • 3-4- Slit green chilies (optional)
  • Aluminium foil
  • ½ cup- Milk

Instructions

Preparing the Mutton

  1. Marinate the freshly washed mutton pieces with all the ingredients mentioned for marination. Keep aside for 4 hours, overnight marination is even better. 

  2. Heat oil in a kadai/deep frying pan, temper with all the ingredients mentioned for tempering

  3. Add sliced onions, fry over medium heat until light brown in color. 

  4. Now add the marinated mutton with salt and green chilies. Mix well, cover and cook over low heat. The mutton gets cooked without water. If you see that the mutton is drying up too much during the cooking, add some hot water to adjust the gravy.

    Stir in between and cook until the mutton pieces are cooked through. It takes around 1 hour to cook the mutton.

  5. Add a few drops of meetha attar and garam masala powder at the end. Mix and remove from the heat.

Preparing the Rice

  1. Boil enough water in a deep bottom pan. Add the washed rice along with star anise, bay leaves, green cardamoms and salt. After the rice gets cooked, drain, and keep aside uncovered. Care needs to be taken so the rice doesn’t get overcooked.

Assembling the Biryani layers & Dum

  1. Soak saffron in warm milk, and keep aside.

  2. Peel the boiled potatoes and cut into halves horizontally. Heat oil in a kadai/deep frying pan, fry the potatoes with turmeric powder and salt over medium heat until they turn golden. Remove them from the kadai, and keep aside.

  3. You can fry the boiled eggs with a little salt and turmeric powder before cutting into halves, this step is optional.

  4. Grease a deep bottomed pan with ghee. Add rice in the first layer. Now add a layer of mutton pieces along with the gravy. Add gravy carefully, in small quantity at a time. Otherwise, the biryani will look like ‘Mutton and rice curry’.  (read notes)

  5. Place potato pieces in between. Sprinkle some ghee, along with a few drops of rose water, keora water, mace and nutmeg powder, 1-2 green chilies, and saffron milk. Repeat this process of layering rice and mutton one more time. 

  6. Finish the layering with a final layer of rice. Place the boiled eggs on top, yolk side down, push them gently in the bed of rice a little bit. Sprinkle a generous amount of ghee on top. Garnish with birista, a few drops of meetha attar, and garam masala powder.

  7. Seal the top of the pan with aluminium foil and close with a tight fitting. Turn on the heat, now put the biryani vessel on top of a tawa. Keep the heat low. Put on dum for 25 minutes (read note).

  8. Remove from the heat. Your delicious Kolkata style Mutton Dum Biryani is done. Uncover the Biryani pot, serve hot with raita and other accompaniments. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

  • While layering the biryani you don't need to use up all the mutton gravy in-between the layers. Serve the extra gravy along with the biryani later.
  • Add the Keora water carefully to the Biryani, a little over the quantity might make the Biryani bitter.
  • The thumb rule of the Dum timing depends on how much moisture is there in the Biryani. If the Biryani has more liquid the time duration needs to be adjusted and vice versa for a less moist biryani.
Mutton Dum Biryani
Mutton Dum Biryani
Mutton Dum Biryani
Mutton Dum Biryani
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4 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Amazingly explained this delicious recipe with ingredients….love your photography as well..wish to make this one day and impress my friends 😆😀

     

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