After a couple of decadent sweets and desserts, it’s time for some fiery hot red mutton curry, which isn’t just indulgent and sinfully spicy hot but also finger-licking good too. Laal Maas or Rajasthani red mutton curry is goat meat curry from the regions of Rajasthan, India. For the uninitiated, it’s a red meat curry prepared in a sauce of curd and hot spices, especially red chilies. The dish is typically very hot and rich in flavors, but takes a very little time to prepare and is really simple to cook too. If you talk about regional Rajasthani cuisine, you can’t miss mentioning about Laal Maas. It is prepared with few ingredients (spices, specifically), unlike many other traditional curries in India. I believe, the red vibrant color of this curry truly represents this colorful state of India, called Rajasthan. I had to try my hands on this recipe, not because it was on my list of recipes to try. But, it was meant for a potluck dinner, I was supposed to attend this weekend. That dinner had to be postponed due to some reasons, but I didn’t want to delay trying this recipe. Because, after I read about how easy it was and having tasted authentic Rajasthani meal couple of times in past, I knew it had to be a winner. And, I am super glad that I cooked this curry and it came out really delicious. All I needed was some whole wheat flatbreads to dunk into this spicy hot curry. Although, the recipe calls for red chili powder, but you could adjust, depending upon how hot you want your curry to be and then replace the hot red chili powder with Kashmiri chili powder, which is not that hot but gives the curry a very vibrant deep red color.


- 1 kg mutton (with bones, cut into 1 inch pieces)
- 1 1/2 cup curd
- 5 tbsp mustard oil
- 6 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 black cardamom
- 3 medium red onions, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 tsp red chili powder (adjust, as preferred)
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste (freshly prepared)
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 1 1/2 cup water
- chopped coriander leaves
- Heat the mustard oil in a large heavy bottomed pan on high heat till it starts to smoke. Take off the heat and let it cool.
- Heat the mustard oil again on a medium heat and add the cloves, cardamom and bay leaves and sauté for a couple of minutes, till the spices start to crackle.
- Add the sliced onions to the pan and fry them on medium heat till they turn golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for 1 minute. Add the mutton and cook for about 10-15 minutes, till it starts to get charred on the sides. This helps to keep the moistness of the meat intact.
- Bring the flame to low heat and add the yogurt, red chili powder, Kashmiri chili powder and turmeric. Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic, water, salt and ghee in the final step and cover the pan to lock the steam inside and cook for about 45-50 minutes, covered on low heat, or until the meat has completely cooked through. Add some more water in between, if you desire more sauce.
- Garnish the cooked mutton with chopped coriander and serve with whole wheat chapatis.
- Freshly prepared ginger garlic paste tastes much better than the one readily available in the market.
I love this super spicy curry! Beautiful pictures!
Oh, what a delicious meal! Love mutton curry! 🙂