Mutton Chaap Fry – Spicy Goat Ribs

This spicy tender Mutton Chaap (goat chops) recipe is the perfect appetizer slash Main to whip up today. Its super quick to make, and you don’t need any real cooking expertise to nail this recipe! Its fool proof! Just marinate, steam and grill! Its really THAT simple!

What is mutton chaap or Mutton chops?

“Chaap” is simply the Urdu/Hindi word for chops. A “chop” is called so, because it is a single piece of bone-in meat CHOPPED from a larger piece. Any part of the goat or sheep can be made in to a bone in meat chop; neck, leck, shoulders, ribs.

• Mutton Chop – Bone in meat from Older sheep And Goat
• Lamb chop – Bone in meat from Younger sheep.
• Beef chop – Bone in meat from a cow

Most common chop taken from a goat is from the ribs. For this recipe I’m using goat chops, but you can use the same recipe to make lamb chops or beef chops.

Although, Hugh Jackman in his Wolverine look is still first to show up when you google “Mutton chops”, and I mean that really IS something I don’t mind looking at, at all (forever Hugh fangirling)

What to serve Mutton chops with?

Ok, just so you know, I love food that can pretend to be 2 things at once! So naturally, I’m goign to sell you on this Mutton Chaap fry recipe because it works as an appetizer or a Main and it literally workss with all kinds of Cuisines. Here are some of my all time favorite serving suggestions:

• When served as as starter, pair with green chutney, onion slices and lemon on the side
• For mains, eat With khatti dal (tangy red lentils), steamed rice, and a side of fresh salad
• For dinner, pair with Chapati or flatbread, dry moong masoor dal and pickled onions.
• Incase of a small lavish spread, serve it with aloo tarkari (potato curry) and parathas (fried flat bread) , sliced onions and lemon.
• For a simple lunch pairing, have chaap with rice pilav, an Asian crunch salad, and yogurt
• I sometimes simply bake potatoes, and other vegetables with and bring out these chaap from the freezer for those lazy Tuesdays.

Ingredients

You only need a handful of ingredients to whip these cuties up. And hey, its fine if you are missing something here or there, I’ve got you covered, with substitutes.

• Meat chops – I am using goat ribs for this recipe. You can use lamb or beef too. Infact, any bone in meat cut can be used for this recipe.
• Yogurt – The yogurt adds a balance to all the spices in this recipe. Both, low fat and full fat yogurt can be used.
• Garlic ginger paste – Another staple for any South Asian cooking is the garlic ginger paste. If you don’t have any at hand, you can use 1/2 an inch piece of ginger and 3 cloves of garlic and dice them finely to use.
• Salt and Spices – This recipe uses staple Indian/Pakistani spices like red chili powder, black pepper powder and garam masala powder. The garam masala powder is easily available in all Asian stores now, but you can also use allspice powder if you have that. You can also use Paprika if you don’t have regular red chili powder.
• Oil – Any neutral cooking oil that you use is absolutely fine!
• Vinegar – The vinegar helps with any residual smell with the meat and adds a subtle layer of acidity to the recipe. You can also use lemon juice instead.

NOTE:
If you taste the raw marinade (which I think we all do), it should taste strongly tart and spicy.
It won’t stay long on the meat so it needs to have a little zing in it.

How to make Mutton Chaap Fry

This recipe is so straight forward, my baby cousin made it, and he doesn’t even know what a spatula is! I’m going to put in a pictorial just for you visual folks out there. There are only 3 simple steps involved:

1. Marination
2. Steaming
3. Grilling/Pan frying

PICTURE 1 & 2 – MARINATING
Simply toss all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to create a smooth marinade.

PICTURE 3 & 4
Add your meat chops and coat them well in the marinade. Now the meat needs to rest on the counter for about 30 mins before you can cook them. It doesn’t need overnight marination, but you can do so if you like. 30 mins is just long enough for the meat and yogurt to come down to room temperature before we begin cooking.

LAZY HACK:
You can also simply marinate it directly in the pot you are going to cook it in. You’ll have 1 less bowl to wash!

PICTURE 5 & 6 (STEAMING)
The next step is to slow cook the mutton chops at low flame. Transfer the marinated chops in a pot and add water. Let the chops simmer at low flame for 30 to 40 mins. You can also do this in an Instant Pot if you have one. On low heat, this kind of cut takes roughly about 30 to 40 mins. After 30 mins, do a water check to make sure it hasn’t all dried up. Add more if your meat is still not done. Insert a fork in the meat to check if it tender, and turn of flame once it is done.

At this stage, you can decide if you want to pan fry the chops right away or eat it later. You can also freeze them at this stage once they cool down.

PICTURE 7 & 8 – PAN FRYING
Heat up a grill pan, a tava (flat pan) or a frying pan with some oil in it. Simply place your chops on the pan and grill at medium heat on both sides till you get some color on them. And thats it! Viola! Its ready to serve

Protip:

These chops are juicy and tender but like all grilled meat, they tend to dry out if let out in the open for too long. Once grilled, try to keep them covered if serving is some time ahead.

Can I make it in advance?

For events and gatherings, you can always marinate and steam the chops in advance! Steam it a day or even 2 days earlier and just pan fry them on the day of the event.

Can I freeze pre-fried Mutton Chaap?

Yes! Infact that is the best stage to freeze. Once you have cooked the mutton chaaps until tender, allow them to cool down and then put them in a ziplock bag and pop it in the freezer. When you are ready to eat them, you can thaw them on the counter and pan fry them. Steamed/Cooked chops can stay in the fridge for upto 60 days.

Can I reheat grilled Mutton Chaap in the oven?

Absolutely! My favorite tip is to spray them with water when I reheat them in the microwave for about 60 secs at high. This way the meat doesn’t toughen up as it heats up.

More recipes like this

Handi Kebab recipe
Khara masala keema – Whole Spice Ground Beef
Mutton White Biryani
Dam keema – Slow Cooked Ground beef