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How do you make a dish that is rich yet simple to make? This Mutton Keema Biryani without food colour is that simple and tasty recipe that can be a star dish of your dinner hosting for your friends and family.
Usually when I speak about making biryani, I always mention that its quite a lengthy process but to all my foodie friends, biryani lovers and everyone else in between the simplicity of this Mutton Keema Biryani recipe will for sure blow your mind.
I would rather describe it in 4 words:
- Easy
- Quick
- Simple
- Tasty
No, I am not kidding. I know its hard to believe that biryani and quick. I can understand I felt the same to.
To be honest, it can be made really quick if you manage your time correctly. You will find more information on this later in this blog post.
This recipe has been born out of my bored mind which at one point in time was thinking about what I could make with mutton keema. I have used my mother’s chicken biryani recipe and substituted the chicken pieces to mutton keema. This time around I used her authentic way of preparing it that is by eliminating my variation of using packet masala and food colour.
Page Contents
Saffron Natural Food Colour
In this Mutton Keema biryani recipe I have used natural food colour i.e. by using Saffron. There are different varieties of saffron available depending on its quality you can pick up any from the list below, that’s if you do not have one already.
Well to be honest you can even avoid using it completely and do without any natural colour to. It is totally upto you and your preference. If you would like to know more about Saffron then you can do so on Wikipedia.
Tips on how to cut short the overall time in making Biryani
I always follow the below steps SIMULTANEOUSLY while preparing for biryani which cuts down the overall cooking time considerably.
- The first thing you should do is wash the mutton mince and put it on a sieve to drain out the excess liquid
- While the excess liquid is being drained out from the mutton mince, wash and soak the rice as the soaking time required is around 45 mins.
- Then pressure cook the mutton mince as mentioned in the instruction below. As this step would take around 10 mins, continue preparing for the recipe
- Now grind the masala paste and keep it ready.
- Chop the onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves and mint leaves and set these aside.
- Lastly once 10 mins are done and the pressure cooker is releasing its steam naturally, continue with frying the onions in a wide cooking pot on another flame.
All of these steps I finish within 10 mins while the mutton mince is getting pressure cooked and releasing its steam naturally. If you manage your time in this manner your overall time in making biryani will reduce considerably.
Recipe benefits for people suffering from food allergies
Another plus point of this recipe is that you can make it allergy friendly in many ways, like I did in this recipe.
- Nut free
- Soy Free
- Free from sunflower seed oil, as I have used rice brain oil
- Potato free
- Egg free
What to serve with Mutton Keema Biryani
Having friends and family over? Would like to have a 3 course easy yet lavish menu? then the below combinations would be the best party pleaser.
FAQ on Mutton Keema Biryani
Mutton Keema is nothing but ground meat (Mince) of a goat or beef. Keema is also known as Kheema or qeema.
No, in this recipe I have only used natural food colouring that is Saffron.
Firstly wash it well to remove the excess blood and then when you are pressure cooking it add a little of ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and salt. As mentioned in this recipe.
Yes, you can replace the ginger piece and garlic pod mentioned in “Masala paste ingredients” to 2 tbsp of ginger garlic paste.
Yes, you can definitely add potatoes to this dish. Since I have made it allergy friendly hence I didnt use potatoes.
Firstly cut the potatoes in 4 quarter and add it to the cooking pot when you have fried the onions to golden brown.
Yes, you can add boiled eggs after you have layered the dish and are just about to set it for simmering. I have not used eggs as this is an allergy friendly recipe.
I have tried this recipe only with sunflower cooking oil, rice bran oil and clarified butter (ghee).
No, as I have used yoghurt in it.
If you have tried out this recipe or anything else from our blog then we would love to hear your feedback. Please give it a rating and leave a comment in the section below or tag a photo @family.fun.tech and #familyfuntech on Instagram. Thank you!
Mutton Keema Biryani Without Food Colour
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker
- 1 Wide Cooking Pot
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Simmer Mat
- 1 Mixer Grinder
Ingredients
Mutton Mince Masala
- 1 Bay leaf
- 3 Green Cardamom
- 4 Cloves
- 1 Black Cardamom
- 3 Medium Onions Cut into fine cubes
- 2 Large Tomatoes Cut into fine cubes
- 2 Tbsp Yoghurt Beaten
- ⅓ Cup Fresh Coriander Leaves Finely chopped (set aside a little for garnishing)
- ⅓ Cup Fresh Mint Leaves Finely chopped (set aside a little for garnishing)
- ¼ Cup Rice bran oil Or any other cooking oil
Pressure cooking Mutton Mince
- 600 Grams Mutton Keema Wash well to remove blood from the mince and then place it on a sieve to drain excess liquid out
- 1 Tbsp Ginger Garlic paste
- ¼ Tsp Turmeric Powder
- ¼ Tsp Garam Masala Powder
- 1 ½ Cup Water
- Salt as required
Masala Paste (Grind the following into a thick paste using very little water)
- 1 ½ Inch Ginger Can substitute ginger and garlic to ginger garlic paste of 2 tbsp
- 1 Pod Garlic
- ½ Tsp Shah Jeera
- 2 Tsp Red Chili Powder
- 3 Tsp Coriander Powder
- 1 Inch Cinnamon Stick
- 3 Cloves
- 2 Green Cardamom
- ¼ Piece Nutmeg
- 2 Green Chillies
Boiling Rice
- 3 Cups Basmati rice or Long grain white rice
- 1 Javitri (Whole Mace)
- 3 Cloves
- 2 Green Cardamom
- 1 Inch Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Star Anise
Natural Food Colour
- ¼ Cup Milk
- 1 Pinch Saffron
Instructions
- Firstly before you start preparing the masala for the biryani, wash the rice in water and rinse, repeat this 4 to 5 times until the water comes out clear. This process discards the extra starch. Soak the rice in clean water for 45 mins to an hour or so this will make the cooked rice long and non sticky. Set it aside.3 Cups Basmati rice or Long grain white rice
- Before 45 mins of soaking are complete, place a cooking pot filled with ¾ level of water to heat up over high flame which you will use for boiling rice. Once its hot enough add the whole garam masala mentioned in ”Boiling Rice” ingredients list. Add salt as needed.Discard the water in which the rice was soaking then add the soaked rice to the boiling water. Cook until the rice is cooked ¾. Because we will cook it on simmer again after layering the entire dish together. Drain and set aside.1 Inch Cinnamon Stick, 3 Cloves, 2 Green Cardamom, 1 Javitri (Whole Mace), 1 Star Anise, Salt as required
- On slow flame place a pressure cooker, add all the ingredients mentioned in “Pressure cooking mutton mince”. Close it with a lid and fix the whistle.Pressure cook on slow flame for 10 mins. Once done switch of the flame and let the steam release from the pressure cooker naturally.Meanwhile you can continue with the recipe on the side.600 Grams Mutton Keema, 1 Tbsp Ginger Garlic paste, ¼ Tsp Turmeric Powder, ¼ Tsp Garam Masala Powder, Salt as required, 1 ½ Cup Water
- While the mutton mince is getting pressure cooked on the other side you can grind all the ingredients mentioned in “Masala Paste” using a mixer grinder. Once done set it aside.1 ½ Inch Ginger, 1 Pod Garlic, ½ Tsp Shah Jeera, 2 Tsp Red Chili Powder, 3 Tsp Coriander Powder, 1 Inch Cinnamon Stick, 3 Cloves, 2 Green Cardamom, ¼ Piece Nutmeg, 2 Green Chillies
- On a medium flame place a wide cooking pot, add rice brain oil once hot add whole garam masala mentioned in “Mutton Mince Masala” ingredient list. Fry for 2 mins until the aroma is released.1 Bay leaf, 3 Green Cardamom, 4 Cloves, 1 Black Cardamom, ¼ Cup Rice bran oil
- Now add the finely chopped onions and continue to fry it until they turn golden brown and soft.3 Medium Onions
- Now open the pressure cooker carefully and add the entire contents of it in the cooking pot. Keep frying until all the water dries up.
- Once the water has dried up, add the earlier ground masala paste and continue to fry on medium flame. Make sure the masala doesnt stick to the bottom of the pan. To avoid that from happening while frying you can add little water at a time.
- Keep frying until the oil separates and you can start seeing it on top of the masala. Add some salt as required.
- Note: Be careful when you add salt. Make sure you add it in small quantities in every step and make sure you even taste it. So that the entire dish doesn’t become to salty.
- Once you notice the oil floating on top, add the finely chopped tomatoes.Continue frying them until they get soft and mushy and the water from the tomatoes dry up2 Large Tomatoes
- Turn the flame to slow and add the beaten yoghurt. Mix well and let it cook on low flame so that the yoghurt doesnt curdle.2 Tbsp Yoghurt
- In a cup microwave the milk for around 20 seconds (it should be warm and not boiling hot) and then once its warm add in pinch of saffron strands. Set it aside and allow it to sit for sometime.¼ Cup Milk, 1 Pinch Saffron
- Now returning back to the cooking pot once the taste of yoghurt gets well combined with the masala, add the chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves. Make sure the Mutton mince masala is not watery. It should be thick.⅓ Cup Fresh Coriander Leaves, ⅓ Cup Fresh Mint Leaves
- Now switch the flame off and in the same cooking pot layer half the quantity of rice over the mutton mince masala.
- Garnish it with a little of chopped coriander and mint leaves.
- Now layer the left over rice on top. Pour the saffron milk on the top layer and roughly mix it around lightly with a fork so that the milk and the natural colour spreads evenly.
- Cover the cooking pot with a lid. Usually the lid has a small hole on top for the steam to escape. Block that hole with a small piece of foil.
- On medium high flame place the simmer mat carefully. Once the simmer mat is hot enough turn the flame to low and then place the cooking pot.
- Let it simmer on low flame for around 10 mins until you see steam collecting underneath the lid.
- Once done switch of the flame and let it sit with the closed lid for sometime until you are ready to serve.
- Serve it hot with raita, pickle and/ or papad
Notes
- If you need help with any Herb or Spice listed in this recipe then refer to the guide: List of Herbs and Spices
Did you make this recipe?
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