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Mutton handi is slow-cooked and develops its amazing earthy taste through cooking in a traditional clay pot. The dish contains soft mutton chunks, which are cooked with yogurt and fried onions together with a variety of spices and fresh herbs and whole garlic cloves. Everything gets sealed up and cooks on low heat. The cooking method makes the meat extremely tender while creating a thick, flavorful gravy that carries all the spices into the dish. The dish gets its rich flavor from ghee and oil, while mint and coriander provide a fresh taste. Check out my simple recipe to see how to make mutton handi at home.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Mutton handi is a popular North Indian and Mughlai-style dish, especially served on special occasions and at family gatherings.
It is best served with naan, tandoori roti, paratha, or plain steamed rice.

Mutton handi has a spicy, creamy, and earthy taste.
Other similar recipes are dum mutton, mutton korma, and mutton rogan josh.

The Ingredients:

To cook the mutton:

1 kg mutton (cut into small pieces)
100 grams curd (whisked)
3 tsp coriander powder (dhania)
½ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
½ tsp red chili powder
4 pieces green chilies (slit)
4 pieces dry red chilies (whole)
5 pieces green cardamom pods (hari elaichi)
3 pieces mace (javitri)
2 pieces black cardamom pods (badi elaichi)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
10 pieces black peppercorns (kalimirch)
5 pieces cloves (laung)
3 pieces bay leaves (tejpatta, torn in half)
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
½ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
Mint leaves (a few, chopped finely)
Coriander leaves (a handful, finely chopped)
3 pieces onions (medium size, fried)
2 garlic bulbs (lassan, whole, unpeeled)
4 tbsp cooking oil (left after frying onions)
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
Salt as per taste
Wheat flour dough (as required for sealing the lid of the handi)
200 ml water (1 cup)

For garnishing:

Green chilies (a few, slit)
Coriander leaves (a few, finely chopped)
Ginger julienne (a few)

My aunt spends weekends making old-style meals, slow and steady. One day I visited her place while steam curled up from a clay pot tucked under a ring of dough. As I stood beside her, the rich, warm, and deep smell hit me. I asked her how she locks that taste in. Her answer unfolded quietly: soak the meat first, then low heat for hours. Words went into my notebook fast, like catching smoke.

I made it one weekend at home for my husband and two sons. The dish turned out to be good, rich, and deep. My husband couldn’t stop talking about the thick and tasty sauce while the kids dipped naan into it and ate every bite with rice. Seeing their faces light up filled me with quiet joy. Finding this old family dish felt like stumbling on something rare and real.

How to Make Mutton Handi? (Step by Step Guide with Images)

Step 1: Take 100 grams of whisked curd, 3 tsp of coriander powder (dhania), ½ tsp of Kashmiri red chili powder, ½ tsp of regular red chili powder, 4 pieces of slit green chilies, 4 pieces of whole dry red chilies, 5 pieces of green cardamom pods (hari elaichi), 3 pieces of mace (javitri), 2 pieces of black cardamom pods (badi elaichi), 1 tsp of cumin seeds (jeera), 10 pieces of black peppercorns (kalimirch), 5 pieces of cloves (laung), 3 pieces of bay leaves (tejpatta, torn in half), 2 tbsp of ginger garlic paste, and ½ tsp of turmeric powder (haldi). Follow it up with a few finely chopped mint leaves, a handful of finely chopped coriander leaves, and finely sliced fried pieces of 3 pieces of medium-sized onions. Add small pieces of 1 kg mutton, 2 whole and unpeeled garlic bulbs (lassan), 4 tbsp of cooking oil (left after frying onions), 2 tbsp of ghee (clarified butter), and salt as per taste.

Step 2: Mix them all very nicely. Seal the trim of the handi with wheat flour dough as required and press the lid. Cook over a medium to low flame for 2 hours, shaking the handi carefully a couple of times in between.

Step 3: Use a knife to remove the lid. Check the doneness of the mutton. Remove the whole garlic bulbs.

Step 4: Add 200 ml or 1 cup of water, preferably warm. Check the thickness of the gravy.

Step 5: Squeeze the garlic bulbs now. Mix nicely and let it come to a boil. Check the final consistency. Remove from the flame. Garnish it with a few slit green chilies, finely chopped coriander leaves, and ginger julienne.