Mutton Pilau
I have a standard, no-fail recipe for pilau, and it always gives excellent results. The basic method is the same (more or less), the ingredients are what differ. So once you have the base down, then you are guaranteed excellent tasty pilau every single time, be it chicken, veggie, mutton, beef, shredded meat or keema that you’re using in it. 🙂
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 250 gm mutton or lamb/goat pieces, on the bone (more if you want your pilau meatier)
- 300 gm basmati rice washed 2-3 times then soaked for half an hour. (1 and a half cups)
- 2 onions chopped
- 2 potatoes peeled and cut into 4 pieces each
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin/coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground roasted cumin powder
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste
- a bit of chopped coriander
Whole Spices
- 1 tbsp whole jeera/cumin
- 1/2 tsp whole pepper
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 cloves
- 2 cardamom
Instructions
- First, clean and wash the meat, then pressure cook or boil it with 4-5 cups of water, 1 tsp each of ginger and garlic pastes, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 grated tomato and 1 grated onion. If you’re using a pressure cooker, mutton/lamb should be ready in about 25 mins. If boiling in an open pan, it might take a little over an hour…so you will have to keep adding enough water to keep the meat completely immersed in the water at all times. Beef generally takes longer to cook than mutton/lamb.Once the meat is ready and tender, drain it and set aside. Reserve the soup for cooking the rice. For every cup of rice, you will need 1 and a quarter to 1 and a half cups of liquid (depending on the type of rice you are using). So check how many cups of rice you have, and adjust the liquid accordingly. If there is too much soup, reduce some. If there is too little, compensate by adding water.Heat a pan on the stove and heat the oil and butter. Remember that the rice will double after cooking, plus the meat and potatoes that will go in there, you will need to have enough space in the pan.Then add the whole spices. Cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper, cloves.Once they splutter in the oil, add your chopped onions. Fry them until they are translucent, stirring with a wooden spoon. If you want a darker pilau, fry the onions until they are dark and caramelised. Then add the potatoes followed by the turmeric and cumin/coriander powder.Let these fry for a few minutes, then add the garlic paste and a bit of chopped coriander.The aroma should by now be brilliant. Add in the boiled meat now. Stir together for a few minutes, then add the stock/soup and some salt. Let the stock simmer and taste for the salt. You should be able to feel the saltiness. If it feels just right, it means you have too little. Remember that the rice will need some salt too, so let the salt be enough that you can taste it to be a bit more than you would want. Not too much of course!When the water starts boiling, drain your rice (which should have been washed and pre-soaked for about half an hour) and add this rice to the stock. Sprinkle a bit of coriander on this, and stir a little. Let this cook on high heat for 2-3 minutes then reduce the heat to medium and keep cooking it whilst covered until the water diminishes, giving it a stir every now and then to make sure all the rice is cooked evenly and perfectly.Once you find there is very little water left in the rice, reduce the heat to the lowest point possible. Seal your pan by using a tight lid or wetting a kitchen towel and placing it over the pan then placing a lid on top of it.Leave the rice to continue steaming on very low heat for a good 10-15 mins. Switch off, and serve!
i love this recipe of yours
Salam, how do I know a if the cumin is freshly ground roasted?
W/Salaam, roast and grind it at home, that way you will know for sure. That’s what I do.
which is the best rice to use for pilau and biryani?
Depends where you are located. Some prefer sela rice or basmati.
Sorry to ask, but how do I roast it pls? And am I to roast the normal cumin seed? I cooked the pilau with the normal cumin and masha Allah it turned out great. I wonder how it will taste had it been I used the roasted cumin
Just place the cumin in a frying pan over very low heat and toss it around until it is lightly coloured and fragrant. Careful not to let the cumin burn, that would make it taste horrible.
Ok jazakillah Khair
Hello Ms. Fauzia…..I am a
Hello Ms. Fauzia…..I am a huge fan of your rcps…
I tried the mutton pilau and it was so yummy
Thank you so much for this rcp
assalamoalikum..i want to try
assalamoalikum..i want to try dis ..jz wantd to know it wont make much diffrnc if i vomit de potatoes,,wil it..?? my husband is nt a great fan of potatto so..:P
W/Salaam, yes you can leave
W/Salaam, yes you can leave out the potatoes. 🙂
assalamaolikum…i did this
assalamaolikum…i did this today n it turnd out really good alhamdulillah..again thanks to yu..n i jz added red chilli pwdr as i lyk evrythin really spicy..:) thankyou ..:)
what wud be the best
what wud be the best combination for this pilau dish?
Combination? You mean what
Combination? You mean what would you serve the dish with? I serve it with mango/carrot pickle or tomato chutney and fresh yoghurt.
Assalam wonder if can get
Assalam wonder if can get recipe for chicken pilau plz
W/Salaam, please type chicken
W/Salaam, please type chicken pilau on the search bar, it already is in this same folder. 🙂
Aswk. 2day I trief mutton
Aswk. 2day I trief mutton pilau.every thing
Line by line.bt d colot of f recipe id nt lik ur
Lik ur mutton pieces r red in color where as
Mine didnt get n e color.wht went wrong
Plz reply
Ah
The meat is not red, it is
The meat is not red, it is just the colour of the settings when the photo was taken. The meat is more of a brown colour. And that depends on the cuts of meat you use.
aslm.ramadhan kareem to you
aslm.ramadhan kareem to you.if we want to add green chilli ,at which stage and how much per cup of rice and i want as medium hot.jazakallah khairan.
W/Salaam, Ramadhan Kareem.
W/Salaam, Ramadhan Kareem. Yes you can, just add them with the potatoes or after frying the onions. About 2 chillies per cup of rice will do.
I tried this recipe last
I tried this recipe last night. I loved it.
Its truly a no fail recipe.
Hi Fauzia,
Hi Fauzia,
Thank u so so sooooo much for such a yummy recipe:-) Tried it and it came out wowwwwwwwwwwwwww:-) God bless u:-)
1)Does 1/2 tsp cumin/coriander powder mean half tsp of each powder?
I added 1/2tsp cumin pwd and 1/2 tsp coriander powder, my biryani had overpowered slightly with cumin in taste.
2)While cooking the mutton, 1 tsp black pepper means 1tsp of pepper corn?
I added 1tsp pepper corn, when eating this pilau got so many whole peppers in mouth.
Thank u soooo much:-)
Hi, thank you!! Dhana jeera
Hi, thank you!! Dhana jeera (cumin/coriander) is a kind of spice mix of both cumin and coriander powders. You can use just half tsp of this. And yes, 1 tsp peppercorn. A level tsp of this should be fine but you can always reduce to suit your preference. 🙂
plssss post the recipe of
plssss post the recipe of malai boti fouzia…
Recipe is already in the
Recipe is already in the chicken folder, please use the search bar at the top of the page to find the recipe.