Mutton Chops (Lamb Chops) are a delicious appetizer, especially popular on Eid in Pakistan and India. This recipe is perfect for meat lovers, and I've found a way to make juicy, tender chops that are then pan-fried to become crispy. Serve them with this mint raita, as a dipping sauce.
Here are some more delicious meat recipes to try: Mutton Karahi, Chapli Kabab, Keema, and Yakhni Pulao.
Jump to:
About this Recipe
Sometimes also called mutton chaap fry, this appetizer is popular in Pakistan and India. It is made with mutton chops (meat cut from the ribs of the goat) but can be easily made with lamb as well.
We love to make these spicy mutton chops at Eid ul Azha, but they can be enjoyed year-round, mostly made on the grill. But no worries, we can make equally delicious lamb chops at home too, without a grill!
We cook the meat in a masala of tomatoes, onions, and whole spices. I like to pressure cook them in my Instant Pot, as this is a tough cut of meat, and takes time to cook. Once the meat is cooked to about 95%, we take them out of the masala and dip them into a coating of besan (gram flour), lemon juice, and tandoori masala.
They are then pan-fried to become all crispy and scrumptious. Squeeze over some lemon juice, and serve with our favorite dipping sauce.
Are Lamb Chops and Mutton Chops the Same?
Lamb meat is the meat that we get from a young sheep, under the age of 1 year. Mutton on the other hand is meat derived from older sheep, about 2 to 3 years old. To learn more about the differences, you can refer to this informative article.
Lamb chops are more tender and have a higher fat content. Mutton chops on the other hand have a tougher texture and are bolder in flavor. If cooked in a pressure cooker, it also becomes tender and delicious.
There's another key difference in what is considered mutton in different parts of the world. In Pakistan and India, mutton often refers to the meat of a goat, which is a different animal from sheep.
Since I live outside of Pakistan, it was difficult to source mutton for this recipe, so I used lamb. Since the two are so similar, it's easy to swap them.
Why this Recipe Works
- No Marination: Most recipes call for marinating the meat beforehand to make them tender. But since we are using the Instant pot, we can easily skip this step! I also use this same trick to make my Mutton Karahi, which also turns out so tender and juicy!
- Make Ahead: This is an easy recipe to make ahead. Just pressure-cook them the night before, and store them in the fridge. When you are ready, you can coat them into the gram flour mixture, and fry until golden brown and crispy.
- Perfect Appetizer for Dinner Parties: These chops are an impressive, yet easy appetizer to make for dinners with your loved ones. Everyone will love them!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Pressure Cooking:
- Chops: You can use either lamb or mutton. I was only able to source lamb, so that is what I used for this recipe. But both the meats are so similar, that they can be easily swapped.
- Tomato & Onion: To make a base masala for the meat to cook in.
- Whole spices: You will need bay leaves, green cardamom, cinnamon, and black cardamom. Sometimes the meat can have a slight gamey smell, so these whole spices help in getting rid of it.
- Ginger garlic paste: You can use ready-made ginger garlic paste from the store, or use my homemade version.
- Yogurt: Helps to make the meat even more tender and juicy.
- Powdered spices: crushed cumin and coriander, lal mirch powder, kashmiri lal mirch and salt.
Coating & Frying:
- 1/2 cup gram flour (besan)
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon tandoori masala (optional): This is an optional ingredient, but adds a delicious flavor and color to the chops. You can either make your own tandoori masala spice blend at home, or use a ready-made mix like this Shan Tandoori Masala.
- 1/4 cup oil for frying
How to Make Mutton Chops Recipe
Pressure Cooking:
- Turn on the saute mode in the Instant Pot, and heat the oil.
- Add all the ingredients, except the mutton chops and yogurt. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the meat and yogurt, and mix well.
- Cancel the saute mode, and place on the lid of the instant pot. Turn the pressure valve to sealing mode.
- Pressure cook for 15 minutes. Let it natural release for 10-15. Then do a quick release by turning the pressure valve to venting.
- Remove the lid, and check the mutton chops. They should be about 90% cooked.
- Switch on the saute mode, and cook for 7-8 minutes until you can see the oil separating from the curry.
- Remove them from the instant pot, and place onto a plate to cool.
Coating & Frying:
- In a bowl, mix together the gram flour, lemon juice and tandoori masala, until you achieve a paste like consistency.
- Coat each mutton chop in this mixture, making sure all sides are coated evenly.
- Heat oil in a frying pan, and place the mutton chops.
- Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce!
Helpful Tips
Tip #1: Before coating the mutton chaap, you should let it come to room temperature. This will allow for easy coating.
Tip #2: If you don't want to use gram flour for coating, you can dip the mutton chops into whisked eggs, before frying. Just take one or two eggs, lightly whisk with a fork, dip each piece into it, and then fry 2-3 minutes on each side.
Tip #3: You can also add a smoky flavor, by using a piece of coal.
To do this, you will have to place all the fried chap onto a frying pan.
Then heat a small piece of coal on your stove, and place it on a piece of foil in the middle of the frying pan. Add a few drops of oil onto the hot coal, and place a tight-fitting lid onto the pan. Smoke for 3-4 minutes. This process gives a BBQ-like flavor to the chops without a grill.
Recipe FAQs
You can either slow cook, or pressure cook to tenderize them. I prefer to use the pressure cook method as it's quicker, and the meat turns out soft and tender.
If cooking in the pressure cooker, it will take about 15 minutes, depending on the quality and cut of the meat. If cooking on stove top, it can take about an hour or more to make it tender.
Serving Suggestions
Sides: You can serve the chaap fry with kachumber salad, mint raita, roti, poori, or naan.
Rice: You can also pair them with rice recipes such as Beef Biryani, Chicken Pulao, or Matar Pulao.
Make it a complete meal: They can be served as an appetizer, so you can also serve it with mains such as mutton karahi, daal, or achari chicken or vegetarian recipes such as aloo palak and Indian potato curry.
Mutton Chops Recipe
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
For Pressure Cooking the Mutton Chops:
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 to mato roughly chopped
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon crushed cumin and coriander
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 3 green cardamoms
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lal mirch powder
- 1 teaspoon kashmiri lal mirch
- 1/4 cup yogurt
- 700 grams mutton chops or lamb chops
For Coating & Frying the Mutton Chops
- 1/2 cup gram flour besan
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon tandoori masala optional
- 1/4 cup oil
Instructions
Pressure Cooking:
- Turn on the saute mode on in the Instant Pot, and add the oil. Add all the ingredients and spices except for the mutton chops and yogurt. Stir and cook for a few minutes, and then add the mutton chops and yogurt. Stir until combined.
- Switch off the saute mode, and place the lid of the instant pot on, and turn the pressure valve to the sealing mode.
- Pressure cook for 15 minutes. Let it natural release for 10-15 minutes. Then quick release the rest of the pressure by pushing the pressure valve to venting.
- Remove the lid, and check the mutton chops. They should be about 90% cooked.
- Switch on the saute mode, and cook for 7-8 minutes while stirring, until you can see the oil separating from the curry.
- Remove the mutton chops from the instant pot, and discard the remaining masala.
Coating:
- In a small bowl, mix together the gram flour, lemon juice and tandoori masala (if using).
- Form a thick batter.
- Place each mutton chop into the batter, and lightly coat on both sides.
- Set aside.
Frying:
- In a frying pan, heat the oil to medium high.
- Place the mutton chops, and fry on each side for 3-4 minutes, until golden and crispy.
- Remove and transfer to a plate.
- Top with freshly chopped cilantro and sprinkle over fresh lemon juice. Serve with mint raita.
Notes
- Mutton Chops: You can also use lamb chops which are very similar in flavor, and have more fat.
- Tandoori masala: This is optional, but adds a delicious flavour so I highly recommend it.
- Cooking time: Cooking time may vary according to the meat, so you may have to adjust the instant pot pressure cooking a bit. I started with 12 minutes of pressure cooking, but the mutton chops were still not tender. So I pressure cooked them for another 3 minutes.
- Make Ahead: You can cook the chops one night before, and fry them right before serving.
- Storing: Mutton chops can be store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Leave a Reply