Rajasthani Laal Maas Recipe | Laal Maans | Ratto Maas
Laal Maas is a delicious mutton curry from Rajasthan. It has a fiery red gravy that's full of flavor and spice. The dish uses yogurt, spices, and a special chili called mathania chili. This chili is only found in Rajasthan and gives the curry its unique taste and red color. Here's the Recipe of Laal Maas for you to try at home.
Servings 6 People
Calories 619kcal
Cost Rs 1200
Equipment
- 1 vessel with lid heavy-duty to cook mutton
- 1 metal spatula
- 4-5 Bowls
- 1 Chopping Board
- 1 Knife
Ingredients
- 1 kg Mutton with bone
- 300 g Onion
- 2.5 tablespoon Garlic Paste
- 1.5 tablespoon Ginger Paste
- 75 g Ghee
- 1.5 teaspoon Salt
To make Mathania Chili Paste
- 20 Mathania Chillies
To make Spice Paste
- 250 g Plain curd/ Plain Yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoon Red Chili Powder degi mirch
- 3 tablespoon Mustard Oil
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Whole Spices
- 2 Cinnamon Stick
- 5 Green Cardamom
- 5 Cloves
Instructions
Marination
- In a bowl, place 1 Kg of curry-cut mutton with bone. Include 1.5 teaspoon of salt, 1.5 tablespoon of garlic paste, and 1 tablespoon of ginger paste.
- Mix well and let the mutton sit at room temperature for a minimum of 3 hours. If feasible, allow the mutton to marinate for a duration of 8 hours.
Mathania Chili Paste
- To make a delicious Laal Maas dish with about 1kg of meat, you'll need to have 20 Mathania Chilies on hand.
- Start by slicing the 20 Mathania Chilies and removing their seeds.
- After that, soak the chili skins in a bowl of hot water for half an hour, and discard the seeds.
- Once they're soaked, take 2 tablespoons of water from the soaking bowl, along with the chilies, and blend them into a thick paste.
- Lastly, peel and roughly chop 300g of onions.
Spice Paste
- In a bowl, place 250g of Plain curd.
- Combine 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder, 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder, 1 teaspoon Degi Mirch, and 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder. Thoroughly mix the ingredients together.
- Next, add 1 teaspoon Salt and 3 tablespoon Mustard Oil to the mixture, then continue mixing.
- Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature.
Prep Work
- Finally, peel and roughly chop 300g of onions.
Cooking
- Start by heating 75ml of ghee in the pot.
- Once melted, add 2 cinnamon sticks, 5 cloves, 5 green cardamom pods, and 4 bay leaves to temper the ghee.
- Next, add the chopped onions and fry them for 3 minutes over medium heat, being careful not to brown them.
- After that, add the marinated mutton and fry it on low heat for 5 minutes.
- You'll notice the mutton lightly browning.
- Now, add 1 tablespoon of garlic paste and ½ tablespoon of ginger paste, and continue to shallow fry for another 5 minutes.
- At this point, the mutton will start releasing moisture.
- Add the Mathania chili paste and mix well. Cook for 10 minutes over low heat.
- I recommend rinsing the bowl with 3 tablespoons of water and adding it to the pot.
- You'll see that the mutton not only releases more moisture but also takes on a vibrant red color.
- Finally, add the spice paste and mix thoroughly. In the bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of water and add it to the mixture.
- Stir continuously as you slow-cook the ingredients over low heat for 10 minutes. Throughout this process, avoid covering the vessel with a lid and continue stirring.
- The mutton should have been cooked for a total of 30 minutes over low heat, following different steps. Now, reduce the flame and cover the mutton with a lid. The cooking time for the laal maas will vary between 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the quality of the mutton.
- Every 15 minutes, you can open the lid and stir it. After 45 minutes, check if the mutton is fully cooked. If not, cook it for an additional 10 minutes. In my case, it took 1 hour instead of 45 minutes after covering with the lid. This implies that you should cook the mutton for at least 1.5 hours over low heat to achieve the desired flavors of the iconic Laal Maas.
- Once the cooking process is complete, turn off the flame. Allow the Laal Maas to rest for 2-3 hours before serving. This resting period will ensure that the flavors are fully infused.
- Serve Laal Maas hot with your choice of carbohydrate such as rice, roti, naan, pulao etc and enjoy this delicacy.
Video
Notes
- Don't worry, using this amount of chilies won't make your Mutton Curry overly spicy. Trust me, the true essence of Laal Maas lies not in its spiciness, but rather in the vibrant color and well-balanced flavor that these iconic Mathania Chilies bring. The key is to cook the meat for hours with this specific type of chili, allowing the chilies to release their natural sugars and create a stunning hue. Traditionally, Laal Maas doesn't call for Kashmiri Red Chili or Tomatoes. To achieve the distinctive red color and, more importantly, the unique flavor, it's essential to use Mathania Chilies.
- Personally, I like to save these seeds and use them to grow chili plants in the future.
- Although some argue that traditional laal maas do not include Cumin and coriander, the modern version in Rajasthan commonly includes these spices. Personally, I enjoy the taste of both but feel free to omit them if desired.
- The mustard oil not only provides a distinct pungent flavor, but also helps balance the fat in the dish.
- I prefer to cook Laal Maas on Sundays. I aim to begin preparing the dish at approximately 2 p.m. and finish cooking it by 4 p.m., allowing me to serve it for dinner in about 5 to 6 hours.
- Use a sturdy, lidded pot to make laal maas; avoid using a pressure cooker. The key to achieving the right flavor is slow cooking, which allows the chilies to release their sugar content.
Nutrition
Serving: 150g | Calories: 619kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.1g | Protein: 53.1g | Fat: 36.6g | Saturated Fat: 14.8g | Cholesterol: 192mg | Sodium: 9886mg | Fiber: 2.3g | Sugar: 8.8g
