Mutton Kunna (Clay Pot)

Name: Mutton Kunna
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 240 min
Total time: 260 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian (Punjab)
Ingredients: Bone-in mutton: 800g; Desi ghee: 6 tbsp; Onion, sliced: 300g; Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tbsp; Whole spices: black cardamom 3, cloves 6, cinnamon 2 inch, star anise 2, bay leaf 3; Kunna masala: coriander powder 2 tsp, cumin 1 tsp, Kashmiri chilli 2 tsp, garam masala 1 tsp; Yoghurt: 100g; Salt: to taste; Wheat dough: to seal the pot; Soak the clay pot before each use to prevent cracking.; Use a heat diffuser to prevent the clay from direct intense flame.; The sealed cooking creates steam pressure that cooks the meat in its own juices.; Never open the pot during cooking — you lose the steam and the flavour.

🍗 Non-veg📊 Hard

Mutton slow-cooked in a sealed clay pot (kunna) with whole spices, ghee, and minimal water — the earth of the pot imparts a unique mineral depth no other vessel can match.

⏱️20 minPrep

🔥240 minCook

🕒260 minTotal

🍽️4Serves

🧺 Ingredients

Bone-in mutton: 800g
Desi ghee: 6 tbsp
Onion, sliced: 300g
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tbsp
Whole spices: black cardamom 3, cloves 6, cinnamon 2 inch, star anise 2, bay leaf 3
Kunna masala: coriander powder 2 tsp, cumin 1 tsp, Kashmiri chilli 2 tsp, garam masala 1 tsp
Yoghurt: 100g
Salt: to taste
Wheat dough: to seal the pot

👩‍🍳 How to make Mutton Kunna

Soak new clay pot in water 1 hour before use.
Melt ghee in clay pot on low flame.
Add whole spices.
Add onions; cook slowly until golden, 15 min.
Add ginger-garlic paste; cook 3 min.
Add mutton; seal and brown in pot 10 min on medium.
Add yoghurt, masala; stir well.
Add 200ml water.
Seal pot lid tightly with wheat dough rope.
Cook on a diffuser at very low heat 3 hours.
Do not open.
Break the wheat seal at the table for the dramatic steam release and aroma presentation.

📖 Cultural notes

|---|---|---|---|---| | 560 kcal | 44g | 10g | 36g | 2g | Kunna is the specialty of Chiniot (now Pakistan) and the adjacent areas of Punjab, where clay-pot cooking predates metal cookware. In Indian Punjab, the tradition survives in Attari near the Pakistan border. The dish's fame has spread through Punjabi restaurants that offer it as a theatrical speciality, with the sealed pot opened at the table. ---

Track the macros of Mutton Kunna and 100s of Indian dishes with Nutri Macro India.