Laal maas. This one pan fiery hot curry features succulent mutton in spiced delicious sauce. Customize the spice level with the right amount of chilies. This classic dish tastes even better when served with naan or steamed rice.
A deliciously good curry always call for the usual ingredients like your favorite protein, spices, plus a handful of fresh herbs. But, how about a simple curry with red chilies taking the centerstage?
Mathania red chilies are the key ingredients of this laal maas recipe imparting the beautiful red color and spice depth. These classic chilies are not easily available, so feel free to switch up with Kashmiri red chilies or regular red chilies. You can also add some tomato paste to attain that gorgeous color.
Laal Maas or Spicy Mutton Curry Recipe
In fact, red chilies add a whole new dimension to this curry, in terms of color and heat level. To reduce the heat, I also added a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste to the red chili paste.
To make this curry, start with soaking a handful of dried red chilies in hot water. Drain and grind to a smooth paste.
Now, you can start with making the delectable sauce of this laal maas recipe. Fry mutton in plenty of ghee. Apart from red chilies, one of the key ingredients of this recipe is ghee. And don’t forget the seasoning. Once the mutton pieces are lightly browned, add the dried spices including bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon stick, green cardamom pods and black cardamom pods.
Fry these spices for about one minute followed by stir frying minced garlic and ginger. Next, fry the onions until they turn soft and translucent. At this stage, you can add in ground turmeric, ground coriander and ground cumin. Fry for a minute or two until fragrant.
Add in red chili paste and yogurt. Yogurt makes the meat super tender and delicious. Cover with water. Give it a quick stir. Now, cook until tender. This will take about 1 to 1 and ½ hours. Finally, stir in the garam masala.
The final tempering in mustard oil makes this laal maas dish so unique. I used ghee instead of mustard oil. All you need to do is fry garlic, ginger and add it to the curry.
So unique yet super delicious!
More Mutton Recipes:
Laal Maas | Spicy Mutton Curry | Video
Ingredients
- 15 dried red chilies
- 3 tablespoons ghee
- 1 kg mutton leg or shoulder, cubed
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 3 cloves
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 1 black cardamom pod
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger ginger paste
- 3 large onions peeled and sliced
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander coriander powder
- ¼ cup yogurt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- Water
- Salt to taste
- Chopped coriander cilantro leaves, to garnish
Tempering:
- 1 tablespoon ghee 2 teaspoons mustard oil for authentic taste
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and sliced
- 1 - inch ginger peeled and sliced
Instructions
- Soak dried red chilies in hot water for about 15 minutes. Drain. Transfer to a food processor. Grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.
- Heat 3 tablespoons ghee in a large frying pan or skillet over high heat.
- Add mutton. Season with salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 5-7 minutes or until browned.
- Add bay leaves, cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon stick. Sauté, stirring, for about 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add garlic and ginger. Sauté, stirring, for about 2 minutes or until aromatic.
- Add onions. Sauté, stirring, for about 2-3 minutes or until soft and translucent.
- Add ground turmeric, ground cumin and ground coriander. Sauté, stirring, for about 1 minute or until aromatic.
- Add red chili paste, yogurt and lemon juice. Add 1 and ½ cups water. Stir to combine. Season with salt.
- Cook, covered, for about 1 and ½ hours or until tender. Add more water if required. Stir in garam masala. Heat through. Remove from heat.
- To make the tempering, heat 1 tablespoon ghee in a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and ginger. Sauté, for about 1 minute or until aromatic. Pour tempering over the curry. Stir to combine. Garnish with coriander (cilantro) leaves.
Make this in instant pot:
- With instant pot on sauté mode, stir fry mutton. Continue until step 8 . After that, cover the instant pot with lid. Cook for about 20 minutes for boneless mutton and 35 minutes for mutton with bone. Release pressure naturally. Remove lid. Stir in garam masala and tempering. Garnish with coriander (cilantro) leaves.
Make this in slow cooker:
- Make red chili paste. Follow the cooking instructions until step 8. After that, transfer the curry to slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Stir in garam masala, tempering and coriander (cilantro) leaves.
Video
Notes
- Dried mathania chilies are used in the classic recipe, however, you can also use Kashmiri red chilies or regular red chilies
- You can add a little tomato paste to red chili paste for color
- For maximum flavor, fry mutton in ghee.
- The initial step of frying mutton is also crucial in this recipe
- Contrary to most curry recipes, this dish requires more garlic than ginger
Nutrition
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