Laal Maas Recipe (Spicy Rajasthani Mutton Curry)
Laal Maas is a traditional Rajasthani goat mutton curry that is fiery, hot, and deep red. Use my recipe to make it at home in an Instant Pot or a stove-top pressure cooker.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
To Marinate The Mutton
- 1 kilogram bone-in goat mutton cut into 1and ½-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
For The Chili Paste
- 25-30 dried Mathania red chilies or dried Kashmiri red chilies
For The Curry
- 3-4 whole cloves (laung)
- 6-8 whole black peppercorns (kali mirch)
- 3-4 whole black cardamoms (badi elaichi)
- 3-4 whole green cardamoms (hari elaichi)
- 1 inch piece of whole cinnamon (dalchini)
- 6 tablespoons mustard oil or ghee
- 2 bay leaves (tejpatta)
- 2 cups thinly sliced onions
- 8-10 whole garlic cloves peeled
- 1 cup plain yogurt (dahi, curd) at room temperature and whisked
- 1 teaspoon Mathania red chili powder or Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
Instructions
Marinate The Mutton
- Wash the goat mutton and drain well.
- Mix the mutton with salt, ginger-garlic paste, and lime juice in a large mixing bowl.
- Keep the bowl in the refrigerator and let the mutton marinate for at least 2 hours or best overnight. Overnight marination yields better results because the acid breaks down meat fibers and the garlic penetrates deeply.
- Bring the mutton to room temperature before adding it to the cooker.
Make The Chili Paste
- Cut the chilies in half using kitchen scissors and discard the seeds.
- Soak the chilies in hot water for 15 minutes.
- Drain the water. Add the soaked chilies to a blender along with ¼ cup of water and blend until a smooth paste forms. Scrape the sides of the blender jar using a silicone spatula a few times when blending.
Make The Curry
- Add cloves, black peppercorns, black cardamoms, green cardamoms, and cinnamon to a mortar pestle and crush them lightly.
- Press the SAUTE button on the Instant Pot.
- Add mustard oil to the pot.
- Once the oil is hot, add the lightly crushed whole spices and bay leaves to the pot and saute for 3-4 seconds.
- Add onions and cook till slightly brown (8-10 minutes), stirring frequently.
- Now add garlic cloves and cook for another 5-6 minutes until the onions are nicely browned.
- Add goat mutton and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add yogurt and chili paste to the pot and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Now add Mathania chili powder (or Kashmiri red chili powder), turmeric powder, coriander powder, and roasted cumin powder, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add a cup of water to the pot and mix well. Close the lid and set the valve to the sealing position.
- Press CANCEL and set the timer to 25 minutes at high pressure.
- Once the pressure releases, check the mutton. It should be completely tender and pull away from the bone easily. The curry will also have a thin layer of oil floating on top.
- Adjust salt. If the gravy is too thin, simmer uncovered on medium heat for 5–8 minutes to reduce. Serve hot.
Do not rush this step. Properly caramelized onions are the backbone of the gravy’s sweetness and body.
Video
Notes
If you don’t like bone-in mutton, you can use 500 g of boneless mutton (cut into 1 and ½-inch pieces). The rest of the ingredients and the recipe can remain the same.
To make the curry in a stovetop pressure cooker, follow the recipe until you add the water, over medium-high heat. Close the lid of the cooker and pressure cook for 1 whistle on high heat. Now reduce the heat to low and cook for 25 minutes.
Add a teaspoon of garam masala and a tablespoon of ghee at the end of cooking for added flavor.
To give it a smoky, slow-cooked flavor, you can add a dhungar. Heat a piece of charcoal or a whole cinnamon stick over a direct flame until it is red hot. Keep a bowl in the center of the pan with the curry. Keep the hot charcoal in the bowl. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of ghee over the charcoal, then immediately close the pan lid. Let the curry absorb the smoke for 10-15 minutes. Remove the bowl and gently mix the curry.
Nutrition
Calories: 704kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 58g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 136mg | Sodium: 149mg | Potassium: 619mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 620IU | Vitamin C: 9.7mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 4.2mg
