Mutton Soup (Aatukaal Paaya) - Best Side Dish for Idly

1/4 kg of mutton is used. Small pieces are mutton tastes better for this recipe. Bones (thigh bone) also can be used for this recipe, to make it taste better.

Ingredients Required

Oil

Mutton (cleaned) - 1/4 kg 

Onions - 2

Tomatoes - 4

Green Chillies

Red Chillies

Cinnamon Sticks

Bay Leaves (biriyani elai)

Powdered Fennel Seeds (Perunjeeragam / Soombu thool)

Black pepper powder

Corriander powder

Ginger-garlic paste

Curry leaves

Fresh Corriander leaves

Freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

Procedure

1. In a pressure cooker, add some oil. Fry the spices ( Cinnamon sticks and Bay leaves) till it emits a lovely aroma. Then add sliced green chillies, red chillies, curry leaves, diced onions and a pinch of salt. Saute well. Add ginger garlic paste after the onions become translucent. Saute well, until the raw smell fades away. Now add the mutton pieces into this. Saute.

2. Add the diced tomatoes and saute till it is cooked. Add 3-4 tablespoons of Corriander powder (depends on how thick or how dense you want the soup to be), Black pepper powder (1 tablespoon), Powdered Fennel Seeds (1/2 tablespoon). Saute well and add some water for the mutton to cook. Add salt (as per taste), turmeric powder ( a pinch). 

3. Allow the mutton to be cooked well (6-7 whistles). Open the pressure cooker after the pressure goes down and add some freshly squeezed Lemon juice and some fresh corriander leaves. Allow it to reach a boiling state. Turn off the heat and the soup is ready to serve. 

The mutton soup is ready and it tastes best when served on top of idlies (rice and lentil cakes). 

Mutton Biryani (Dum Biryani)

For 1.5 kg of mutton, the following are the required ingredients.

Ingredients Required

Oil
Cardamom (elakai) - 4 pieces
Cloves (kraambu) - 5 pieces
Cinnamon Sticks - 2 small pieces
Bay leaf (biryani elai)- 2 leaves
Onion - 4+4 (in 2 separate bowls)
Tomato - 5+5 (in 2 separate bowls)
Mutton - 1.5 Kilograms
Turmeric powder - 4 tablespoons
Red Chilli Powder
Salt
Ginger garlic paste
Green Chillies - 6 or 7 depending on the level of spiciness required
Coconut milk (the quantity is explained below)
Mint leaves
Corriander leaves

Procedure 

Step 1: Cook mutton with the spices (Do not throw away the water used to cook the mutton) 

             In a pressure cooker, add some oil, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves. Saute till it emits the aroma. Add one bowl of chopped onions. Saute well. Add some salt for the onions to caramelize a bit faster. Then, add 2 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste and saute. Add one bowl of chopped tomatoes now and mix it well until it is cooked. Add all the mutton to this mixture and mix it well. Add a little turmeric powder, 1.5 tbsp red chilli powder, salt (to taste). Pour some water (to the level where the mutton is immersed in water). Mix all the ingredients and close the lid of the pressure cooker with the whistle. Allow it 5-6 whistles (until the mutton is well cooked; it depends on the pressure cooker).

Step 2: Preparing the spices for the Biryani rice

             In the same pressure cooker, empty the contents and use it to cook the biryani rice. The ingredients are similar to step 1 with only a few changes to be made. 

             

             Add some oil,  cardamom, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves. Saute till it emits the aroma. Add one bowl of chopped onions. Saute well. Add some salt for the onions to caramelize a bit faster. Then, add 2 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste and saute.
            Now make a paste out of the green chillies and the mint leaves using a Mixie. Add this paste along with the ingredients and saute till the raw smell of the chillies go away. Add the other bowl of tomatoes which is left. Saute till it gets cooked. Add salt to taste.
           Add the cooked mutton first (drain it, but don't throw away that water). Don't add the water which was cooked along with the mutton now. We have to first measure it.

Step 3: Measuring the water and rice

            For 1 cup of Basmati rice, 1.5 cups of liquid is needed. The liquid consists of 3 portions. 

1. Water from the cooked mutton

2. Coconut milk

3. Water

           First measure the water from the cooked mutton and pour it in the biryani vessel (pressure cooker with the ingredients in step 2). Now measure some coconut milk and pour it. For the remaining measurement, add water. 

           So, for example, if you are using 2 cups of Basmati rice and if you have 1 cup of water from the cooked mutton, the total liquid needed for 2 cups  of Basmati rice is 3. So,

you can either add:

1 cup of coconut milk and 1 cup of plain water (1+1+1=3) or

1.5 cups of coconut milk and 0.5 cups of plain water (1+1.5+0.5 =3)

It may vary depending on your taste preferences. 

Step 4: Concluding the Dum Biryani

             Mix all the ingredients and taste check it. Add the rice now. Close the lid of the pressure cooker with the whistle. Turn it off after 12 minutes and do not open the lid until the pressure is down. Add fresh corriander leaves while transferring it to a hot box or any other vessel. Try not to mix the rice too much with a spatula because the long basmati rice may break. 

That's it. You can enjoy the hot, spicy, Mutton Dum Biryani now. :)

Let me know how it comes out for you in the comments. :)