Lazy Sundays with Chettinad Mutton Chops

May 22

Sunday afternoons at the Muthiah household were meant for indulgent meals, followed by snoozes, a time for all of us to wind down. While weekday dinners were for experimenting, Sundays were when the traditional recipes came out – Kepai Koozhu (ragi / finger millet porridge) with maangai paruppu (mango dal), rice with karuvaadu kuzhambu (dried salted fish curry) or uppukandam kuzhambu (a Chettinad special – dried salted mutton curry) or Mutton Chops. Ayah’s Sunday lunches were something the darling daughters looked forward to and salivated over.

The Chettinad Mutton Chops that Ayah made, learnt from the Settu Samaiyakarars (wedding cooks), was a delicacy indeed. Juicy ribs of mutton, simmered to succulent perfection in a spicy gravy and then deep fried in a crispy egg batter, served with the rice mixed with the leftover flavoursome gravy – ah, heaven indeed and deserving of a short nap thereafter. As I have often said, Ayah made things difficult for us by not writing down her recipes and so, over the years, I have come to rely on a few books / blogs to fine tune my recipes. In no particular order, Solai's True Kitchen, The Chettinad Cookbook (by Meyammai Murugappan & Visalakshi Ramaswamy) and The Bangala Table (by Meenakshi Meyappan and Sumeet Nair) are my go-to references. Many have asked me which one I would choose as my favourite – the honest answer to this is “I don’t know”! I usually look at all three, start with one of the recipes that I think is closest to my memories, modify and double (and sometimes triple) test them until the final product is similar to what I remember from my childhood – and in the process annoy the young apprentice and my taste testers no end!

As I slave over my recipe testing, I marvel at the skill and patience of the settu samaiyakarars (wedding cooks) of Chettinad. These men and women who cater anywhere between a 1000 to 30,000 meals a day and don’t bat an eyelid when forecasts and actuals don’t match - “800nu sonnanga, 1200 vandaanga - samaalichitom”! (They said 800, but 1200 turned up, we managed!). They are often seen as symbols of status and are much in demand – many a wedding date revolves around the availability of the maistries (the head cook of the settu). No mention of the settu samaiyakarars is complete without a discussion about America Natesan, originally from a village called Nedungudi, near Chettinad. The nonagenarian who had a stint in the US, has trained a number of cooks who have since gone on to become maistries themselves. State secrets of Chettinad cuisine aside, if you want to learn about relationship marketing, Natesan is the man to learn it from – at over 90, he’s still at the forefront of his son’s and grandsons’ cooking assignments, and remembers over four generations of his clients by name and village. It is quite common at weddings, ours included, for Natesan to be a bigger celebrity than the bride and the groom – for he often would know more of the guests than the young couple! As the better half wryly commented many years ago, “I barely knew a tenth of the 800 people that turned up for my wedding”! Natesan would’ve trumped you, my love!

Back to the Mutton Chops - the first mutton dish on Ayah’s Kitchen Rediscovered deserves a discussion of mutton over lamb. If you grew up in India, you’re more likely to prefer the gaminess of the darker mutton. However, I got married into a family that has lived overseas for over two generations and prefers the delicate flavoured and, in their opinion, more tender lamb. Lamb is more popular and readily available overseas and so this is what I usually use and find it an acceptable substitute. For those of you living overseas, if you still haven’t adjusted to the flavour profile, some books I’ve read talk about soaking the lamb in coconut milk for a couple of hours to make it more palatable – I’m not sure if it makes a difference since I haven’t done it before, but it may be worth a try. Either way, we hope that this is one dish that makes it to your indulgent lunch menu on a lazy Sunday.

The apprentice, not a big fan of lamb or mutton prior to this, approves of the recipe and gives it a Medium rating.

Chettinad Mutton Chops Recipe

Print Recipe

Notes:

1. Whether your use mutton or lamb chops for this recipe is entirely up to you, depending on your preference and availability. The recipe has been tested with both - it is possible that depending on the mutton you buy, cooking times in the pressure cooker may differ slightly.

2. The original recipe calls for Indian shallots; however, you can substitute with regular onions or small white onions as show in the picture below.

3. While this recipe is for Chettinad style mutton / lamb fried chops for an indulgent meal, you could use the same recipe to make a great mutton / lamb curry - just make sure you used diced lamb instead of chops. I have to say chops are fun though, especially for the kids.

4. If you do not have the pressure cooker, increase the water to 1 cup and cook covered in a thick bottomed pan for about 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

½ kg mutton / lamb chops
~400 ml cooking oil to fry

For the gravy:

2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 large tomato, minced
Salt to taste (~1 ½ teaspoons)
½ cup water
To grind:

1 inch ginger, peeled and cut roughly
6 pods garlic, peeled and cut into halves
1 ½ tablespoons red chilli powder (increase if you want it more spicy)
1 tablespoon aniseed (fennel seeds / sombu / saunf)
½ tablespoon cumin seeds (jeera)
10 Indian shallots (chinna vengayam), peeled or 1 large onion, diced (½-inch cubes)

For the coating:

2 eggs, beaten
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Grind all the ingredients listed under masala, in a blender. You most probably will not need water because the onions will release water. However, if you need to, add a tablespoon at a time.

2. In a large pan or pressure cooker, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add ground masala and cook until oil starts to separate – this will take 2-3 minutes.

2 tablespoons oil to sauté the masala

3. Add the tomato and the salt to the pan – cook until the tomato softens, another 2-3 minutes.

1 large tomato, minced
Salt to taste (~1 ½ teaspoons)

4. Next add the chops and stir until the meat is coated with the masala. Then add the water and mix again.

½ kg mutton / lamb chops
½ cup water

Add the tomatoes & salt and sauté until soft

Add the chops and mix until well coated with the masala

5. Once the gravy starts bubbling, close the pressure cooker / pan and cook. If using a pressure cooker, after the 1st whistle, reduce the flame and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.

6. After 10 minutes, once the pressure releases, open the cooker. The chops should be well cooked and the gravy should have thickened. Skim off any excess oil and let it cool down completely.

Note:

1. If using a pan to cook the meat, make sure you have a thick bottomed pan. Increase the water to 1 cup and cook covered (on medium heat) until meat is tender - this should take about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn. Add more water if needed.

2. At this stage, you can serve the chops as a curry as well, and omit the next few steps.

Once the pressure is released, the chops should be cooked and the gravy thickened

7. Once the chops have cooled down, heat the oil for frying in a frying pan.

8. While the oil is heating, beat the eggs with the turmeric and salt in a bowl.

2 eggs, beaten
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ teaspoon salt

9. Once the oil is heated, dip the chops, one at a time in the eggs, make sure they are well coated and drop into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides. You can fry a couple at a time if you pan is big enough.

~400 ml cooking oil to fry

10. Serve hot as a side dish with rice. If there is any masala remaining, serve separately or mixed with the rice.