Mutton fry is a spicy dish made with tender goat meat and freshly roasted and ground spices. This is a traditional recipe that my grandmother used to cook. Now, my mother, my sister-in-law and I follow this recipe. It is a village style recipe. Everyone in my family and all my friends are addicted to this dish. Nobody has stopped just with one serving. Honestly, the taste speaks for itself.

I admire this dish for its simplicity and taste. My grandmother and mother used to make this mutton fry for lunch. We just enjoy this fry in so many ways at home. Be it with boiled rice, biryani, roti or rasam rice, tastes divine with each and every combo. Tastes superb the next day as well. My dad, my brothers and me love adding some white boiled rice to the almost empty pan, wipe out all the gravy that is sticking to the pan and mutton and eat it right away from the pan. Of course we all fight for the final bite or sometimes for the whole almost empty pan. Food is full of memories right? Miss my Coimbatore days!

Can you believe that only 7 ingredients are used for making this mutton fry?

And, no ginger or garlic is used in this recipe. In village, its mostly a handful of ingredients are used in making any dish. The taste of the dish is so unique and lingers in the mouth for sometime. That is the specialty of gramathu samayal (Village style cooking).

The fresh goat meat, small onions and the freshly roasted & ground spices elevate this dish a level high. You will experience a wonderful flavor and nice aroma while cooking and eating this dish. I guarantee this dish will become your family favorite.

Once we get all the ingredients ready, it is very easy to cook. Lets get started with cooking this lip smacking Mutton Fry. Perfect for a weekend lunch / dinner. Serves 4. Preparation time is 50 mins.

Ingredients

• Mutton pieces and bones – 250 gms
• Small onions – 12
• Nallennai / Gingelly oil /Sesame Oil – 4 tbsp
• Salt – To taste

To roast and grind

• Jeera – 1.5 tbsp
• Pepper – 1 tbsp
• Dry red chillies – 10

Procedure

• Wash and clean the mutton pieces well and set aside.
• Peel and chop the small onions.

• In a small pan, add 1 tsp nallennai / gingelly oil and add the ingredients under roast and grind. Roast all the spices in medium flame till a nice aroma comes. Medium flame ensures that the whole spices do not burn.

• Transfer it to a small plate and let it cool down. Once it has cooled down, grind it to a fine powder.

• In a pressure cooker, add 3 tbsp nallennai / gingelly oil.
• Once the oil is warm, add in the small onions and saute till translucent.

• Add in the cleaned mutton pieces and bones. Add in 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder. Saute well and cook in high flame for about 2 mins, till the mutton releases some juice.

• Add in the ground masala powder and give a good mix. Let the masala cook for 2 mins.
• Now add 1 cup water to the mixie and wash off the excess masala sticking to it and add it to the pressure cooker along with 1 tsp salt.

• Once the mixture comes to a boil, close the cooker.
• Cook in high flame for 5-6 mins and simmer for 10 mins. Check notes in the end of the post for extra tips on cooking time of mutton.
• Let the pressure settle down on its own. Open the cooker and take a piece of mutton and check whether it is cooked or not. If it is not cooked, add in 1/2 cup water and cook in medium flame for 4 whistles.
• Check for salt and add if necessary.

• Transfer the contents to a wide cast iron pan or stainless steel pan. Simmer for 10 mins.

• The oil will float on the top and sides. The aroma will be so good. Now close the pan and give a resting time about 30 mins.

• Enjoy this delicious dish as a side-dish with biryani / steamed rice / rasam sadham / roti / idli / dosai / curd rice.
• This dish tastes good with almost any meal. Serves 4.

Notes

• Adding freshly ground spices gives a nice earthy flavor.
• You can double the quantity of the roast and ground ingredients and store this powder. Use it for any non-vegetarian curries or gravies.
• If using ready made spice powders, add 1.5 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp jeera powder and 1 tsp pepper.
• Small onions are the best for this recipe. If using big onions, use just 1/2 cup (chopped) onions, else it will give the fry a mild sweet taste.
• If you want more gravy, add in more water before closing the pressure cooker and also increase the quantity of masala.
• If you want to have a less spicy version, add in Kashmiri dry red chillies or reduce the quantity of whole pepper and dry red chillies. But taste might vary a bit.
• For more spicy version, use gundu vathal / round red chillies.
• Mutton we get here in the US is unpredictable. Sometimes it will not be that tender. That’s why I calculated the exact time. If you have a different way of following cooking time, feel free to follow it.
• If the mutton is very tender, cooking time is less. In Coimbatore we get very tender meat. My mother’s cooking time for mutton is High flame – 1 whistle, Sim – 2 whistles. The mutton will be perfect.
• Simmering the gravy is an important step. This enhances the taste and flavor of the mutton fry.