How To Make Punjabi Mutton Curry Recipe At Home?

Lip-smacking Mutton curry is a popular dish in the Indian household. Not just in restaurants and Dhabas, in community feasts also, mutton is relished specially with spicy gravy.

A year ago, when we were traveling to the Punjab region in the north, I found lip-smacking cuisine involving mutton which is made with simple ingredients and spices. Though not as versatile or suitable for experimenting as chicken is, mutton has it’s varieties of recipes from different parts of the Indian subcontinent.

Punjabi Mutton Curry, Rogan Ghosh, Mutton Kheema, Mutton Dhabha style are few of the most popular dishes.

Of these I am providing the recipe of authentic Punjabi mutton curry recipe here.

Mutton is hot favorite in the northern regions of India especially in the winter as it supplies the body with lots of heat and energy. Moreover, mutton is richer in iron and low on cholesterol unlike Chicken and Pork which makes it a healthier meat over others. 

Punjabi Mutton Curry Recipe

• Preparation Time: 30 minutes
  
• Cooking Time: 30-35 minutes
• Total Time: 1 Hour
• Servings: 3-4

For  Punjabi Mutton Curry, I have used homemade freshly ground garam masala and tomato puree which adds more fresh and natural flavors to the gravy.

So, before going to discuss about Punjabi mutton curry recipe, let us know how to prepare Punjabi Garam Masala as it is the main essence of this recipe. It is different from ordinary garam masalas as it has lesser but strong ingredients. 

Punjabi Garam Masala Recipe:

Required Ingredients:

1. 4/5 Green Cardamoms
   
2. One 2 Inch Cinnamon Stick
   
3. 8 Cloves
   
4. 3-4 Black Cardamoms
   
5. 8-10 Black Pepper
   
6. 8-10 White Pepper
   
7. 1 tsp Shahi Jeera

How To Prepare Punjabi Garam Masala At Home?

1. Heat Kadai and roast all the ingredients on medium flame till they become crisp.
   
2. Keep stirring to avoid burning.
   
3. This will take about 2-3 minutes.
   
4. Now turning off the flame, transfer all the ingredients to a flat plate for cooling.
   
5. Once they are cooled to normal temperature, transfer to a blender Jar (which is completely dry).
   
6. Now blend the ingredients nicely until they are nicely powdered.

Punjabi Garam masala is ready and can be stored in a jar.

Now let's move to the preparation of Punjabi Mutton Curry Recipe.

Ingredients To Prepare Mutton Curry:

1. I kg Mutton (Preferably Lamb) Cut in Medium Sized Pieces.
   
2. Garam Masala Powder 1 Teaspoon
   
3. 1 Tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
   
4. 2 Tablespoons Yogurt
   
5. 1 Tablespoon Whisked Cream
   
6. 1 Teaspoon Cumin Powder
   
7. 1 Teaspoon Coriander Powder
   
8. 2 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
   
9. 2 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
   
10. 1 or 2 Tablespoon Coriander Leaves Chopped
    
11. 1 Teaspoon Mint Leaves
    
12. 2 to 3 Tomatoes Chopped
    
13. 6 Green Chili Chopped
    
14. ½ Teaspoon Crushed Pepper (Optional)
    
15. 4 Onions Chopped
    
16. 4 Bay Leaf (Tej Patta)
    
17. 4 Green Cardamoms
    
18. 4 Cloves
    
19. 6 Tablespoons of Cooking Oil ( Preferably Mustard Oil)
    
20. Salt to Taste

How To Prepare Punjabi Mutton Curry At Home?

1. Wash the mutton pieces clean and drain away water.
   
2. Take mutton pieces in a bowl and marinate it with spices like red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and curd/ yogurt.
   
3. Refrigerate this for about 30 to 45 minutes.
   
4. By this time you can make tomato puree. Take broadly chopped tomato pieces( seeds removed) in a frying pan. Add a bit of salt and fry medium.
   
5. Then allow it to cool down. And transfer to a blender jar.
   
6. Grind them finely into a paste.
   
7. Now take few tablespoons of any cooking oil in a Kadai.
   
8. Add dry spices like Bay Leaves, cloves, cardamoms and fry for less than a minute.
   
9. Now add chopped onions to this and stir fry.
   
10. Add spices like turmeric, red chili and cumin powder and mix well.
    
11. Wait till the onions get medium brown and add ginger garlic paste to this. (If you prefer adding pieces of garlic and ginger, you can add it before onions. Once it is fried with nice aroma, then add the onions.)
    
12. Now add the mutton pieces we marinated earlier.
    
13. Fry this for about 20 minutes till you see the pieces turning brown and softening.
    
14. Now add tomato pieces and green chilis and mix well.
    
15. If you like it very chili, add crushed pepper corns here.
    
16. Let the tomato give out the moisture completely. This you can see as the oil separates to the sides of the pan.
    
17. At this point, you can add some amount of water so that there will be more gravy.
    
18. Turning to low flame, add garam masala and stir well all the ingredients.
    
19. Check salt and add as required.
    
20. Check sourness also. As curd was added , there will be some sourness in it. In case you want more sourness, add few drops of lemon juice.
    
21. If the gravy is too loose, you can heat the curry for about 2 minutes on high flame. If it is too thick, add water as required.
    
22. Just before turning off the flame, add 1 tablespoon of whisked cream and mix well. This is optional but will give a nice texture to the gravy.
    
23. Sprinkle freshly chopped coriander leaves and mix nicely.
    
24. Turn off the flame and sprinkle some mint leaves over it.
    
25. Close the lid and leave it for ten minutes.
    
26. Serve with Naan, Rice or Tandoori Roti and some pickle and papad.

Important Note:

1. Use mutton that looks pink not red. Red mean old animal while pink is the young animal.
   
2. Although some prefer cooking directly without marinating, I suggest marinating the pieces .
   
3. Take care of the amount of sourness you need as you will be using curd, tomatoes and lemon juice together in this recipe.
   
4. If curd is not added in marination,you can add it at a later stage also.
5. Adding salt in marination will make the mutton pieces dry. Adding salt while cooking will retain the juices of the pieces and keep them tender.
   
6. As Punjabis are very fond of Ghee, some people add a teaspoon of Desi ghee while cooking turning to low flame.
   
7. Do not heat after the cream is added. You like watery oiling gravy, cream can be avoided.

According to your preference for chili flavor, add red chili powder and peppercorns. Moreover, some people marinate with vinegar to make the pieces tender. Since, we are adding curd here so vinegar is avoided.

I have observed that in the countryside(or in Dhabas in Punjab), mutton curry tastes much better since the cooking style is different. They cook in Hadia (earthern pots) on burning wood which imparts a very earthy taste to the meat. Different from the earthy one, this recipe will definitely be worth trying.