Mutanjan recipe

10 Apr Mutanjan recipe

Last Updated on April 10, 2024 by blessmyfoodbypayal

Mutanjan recipe with step wise pictorial and video method.

WHAT IS MUTANJAN ?

Mutanjan is a kind of sweet rice made with basmati rice, sugar, milk, desi ghee and nuts. It is often served during weddings, festivals like EID and other celebratory occasions as a symbol of prosperity and abundance.

HISTORY OF MUTANJAN

Mutanjan is a Perso-Arabic word which means to be ‘Fried in a Pan‘.

Mutanjan has a long history, possibly coming from Middle Eastern or Mughal kitchens.

As per some of the historians, mutanjan was always served at the dinners or Nawab’s used to sent it out, along with other fancy foods.

Shihab al-Din Abu al-Abbas Aḥmad ibn Faḍlallah al-Umari, commonly known as Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari or Ibn Faḍl Allah al-Umari was an Arab historian in 14th century who mentioned mutanjan being sold in Indian bazaars, not just eaten by royalty but also by common people.

There’s a book named “Qadeem Lukhn’ow Ki Akhiri Bahar,” written by Mirza Jafar Husain in the year 1981 in which he has mentioned about 13 things, which according to him, old Lucknow gave to the world. And one among the 13 was this delicate dessert called mutanjan.

Abbas I, commonly known as Abbas the Great, was the fifth shah of Safavid Iran from 1588 to 1629 used to like the dish Mutanjan, which was a kind of braised meat stew.

An Indian writer, historian and politician during the Mughal Empire in 16th Century named Abu’l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, also known as Abul Fazl, Abu’l Fadl and Abu’l-Fadl ‘Allami, wrote about mutanjan being served at the royal table.

According to a great Historian and writer of the book “The Mughal Feast” Salma Hussain, there was a Mughal manuscript called “Nuskha-e-Shahjahani” in 17th century in which there’s a mention of mutanjan pulao recipe.

The entire study reveals that Mutanjan is something which is quite ancient dish whose mention is there in the ancient scripts and it used to have meat alongwith rice and sugar.

Mutanjan is very popular now a days in Pakistan which is only the sweet dessert mutanjan having no meat in it.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MUTANJAN AND ZARDA

Mutanjan is variety of zarda but with a difference.

Zarda is just a sweet rice which are yellow in colour due to food colour or saffron and having the nuts whereas Mutanjan is multicoloured sweet rice having lots of nuts and tutti fruity, which is called Ashrafis.

Also Mutanjan is served after garnishing with juicy colourful sweets like rasgulla, gulab jamun, petha or chum chum whereas nothing as such is required in case of Zarda.

If asked to answer with utmost honesty, we would say that’s there’s no difference in zarda and Mutanjan in terms of taste. The only difference is visual. Mutanjan is more royal, ethnic, vibrant, colourful, catchy and eye pleasing than Zarda.

INGREDIENTS USED IN MAKING MUTANJAN

RICE : Usually Sella golden rice are used to make Mutanjan but you can use any good quality of Basmati rice for the purpose.

DESI GHEE: Although this recipe can be made in butter or even oil, but such a royal and delectable desserts can only. be justified with desi ghee.

TUTTI FRUITY: Tutti Frooti, which is called Ashrafis in Urdu not just adds a beautiful colour pattern but a slight chew bite to the fragrant rice.

NUTS : It need not to mention here they what does an almond, cashews, pistachios, coconut and raisins do to a dessert. Like desi ghee, any dessert is incomplete without nuts as well.

KHOYA : Khoya which is also called as Mawa and evaporated milk is also used to enrich the taste of Mutanjan. For the recipe, we have prepared instant khoya, the recipe of which is given in this blog.

SWEETS : For the purpose of decoration, this recipe is topped with some spongy sweet like chum chum, petha, gulab jamun or rasgulla, and the widely used sweet is rasgulla. It is also to be coloured differently. We have used petha because we were already having it as an invitation to wedding. How lucky we saved money on buying rasgulla…lol.

STEP WISE PICTORIAL RECIPE OF MUTANJAN RECIPE

COOKING OF RICE

Take rice and wash them. The quantity of rice and other ingredients is given in the recipe card below. Soak them for 30 minutes.

Take a pan and add water, cardamoms, cloves, star anise and lemon in it. Let the water come to boil.

Discard the water from the rice and add rice to the boiling water.

Cook until they are 90% cooked.

Drain the water and spread rice in a wide plate or tray. Discard the piece of lemon.

COLOURING OF RICE

Take 3 bowls and add few drops of red, yellow and green food colour in each bowl.

NOTES : If you don’t have 3 colours, then take bowls as many as colours you have.

Also mix water in each food colour.

Put 1 tbsp of cooked rice in each bowl and keep aside so that rice get coloured.

MAKING OF MUTANJAN

Take a pan and add desi ghee in it. Add almonds and cashews. Roast for a minute.

Then add pistachios, raisins and coconut slivers. Roast for a minute.

Take the roasted nuts out of pan.

Add green cardamoms, sugar and milk.

Let sugar dissolve completely.

Add cooked rice. Also add khoya.

Mix and cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes or until milk is evaporated and khoya melts.

Pour saffron soaked milk and kewra water.

Top with roasted nuts (reserve some for garnish), khoya pieces here & there and tutti fruity.

Put the colourful rice on the white rice, keeping a distance from one another. Drain the extra water if there’s any.

Cover the pan with a cloth, put a lid and cook on dum for 10 minutes on lowest heat. Switch off the heat and let the pan remain as it is for 5 minutes.

Remove the lid. First mix the colourful rice in themselves.

Thereafter mix the entire batch of rice gently.

Put the rice in a serving dish and arrange in a way that every colour appears significantly. Top with more roasted nuts, colourful petha, tutti fruity, dry rose petals, saffron and silver varq.

NOTES

1. You can also use already cooked plain rice for this recipe. Replace 3 cups of cooked rice with 1.5 cup of raw rice.
2. You can increase or decrease the quantity of sugar as per your choice. For us, it was perfectly fine.
3. In place of petha, you can use rasgulla, gulab jamun or chum chum as well.
4. For coloring the sweet, just mix the food colour with them and they will get the colour. Simple. 

MUTANJAN RECIPE – RECIPE CARD

Mutanjan recipe

blessmyfoodbypayal

Mutanjan is a kind of sweet rice made with basmati rice, sugar, milk, desi ghee and nuts.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Pakistani

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

FOR COOKING RICE

• 1.5 Cup Basmati Rice or Basmati Sella Rice
• 2 green cardamoms
• 4 cloves
• Small piece of lemon
• 4 cup water

FOR COLOURING RICE

• Few drops of green food colour
• Few drops of red food colour
• Few drops of yellow food colour
• 3 tbsp cooked rice (1 tbsp for each colour)
• 3 tbsp water (1 tbsp for each colour)

FOR MAKING MUTANJAN

• Cooked rice
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 green cardamoms
• 1/4 cup full fat milk
• 4 tbsp desi ghee
• 1/4 cup almonds (blanched)
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 2 tbsp pistachios (blanched)
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1/4 cup dry coconut slivers
• 1/4 cup Tutti Frooti/Ashrafis
• 50 gram Khoya/evaporated milk
• 2 tbsp saffron soaked milk
• 1 tsp kewra water
• 1 tbsp dry rose petals
• Colourful rice
• 8-10 pieces of colorful petha or rasgulla

Instructions

 

COOKING OF RICE

• Take rice and wash them.
• Soak them for 30 minutes.
• Take a pan and add water, cardamoms, cloves, star anise and lemon in it.
• Let the water come to boil.
• Discard the water from rice.
• Add rice to the boiling water.
• Cook until they are 90% cooked.
• Drain the water.
• Spread rice in a wide plate or tray. Discard the piece of lemon.
• Discard the piece of lemon.

COLOURING OF RICE

• Take 3 bowls and add few drops of red, yellow and green food colour in each bowl.
• NOTES : If you don't have 3 colours, then take bowls as many as colours you have.
• Also mix water in each food colour.
• Put 1 tbsp of cooked rice in each bowl and keep aside so that rice get coloured.

MAKING OF MUTANJAN

• Take a pan and add desi ghee in it.
• Add almonds and cashews.
• Roast for a minute .
• Then add pistachios, raisins and coconut slivers.
• Roast for a minute.
• Take the roasted nuts out of pan.
• Add green cardamoms, sugar and milk.
• Let sugar dissolve completely.
• Add cooked rice.
• Also add khoya.
• Mix and cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes or until milk is evaporated and khoya melts.
• Pour saffron soaked milk and kewra water.
• Top with roasted nuts (reserve some for garnish), khoya pieces here & there and tutti fruity.
• Put the colourful rice on the white rice, keeping a distance from one another. Drain the extra water if there's any.
• Cover the pan with a cloth, put a lid and cook on dum for 10 minutes on lowest heat.
• Switch off the heat and let the pan remain as it is for 5 minutes.
• Remove the lid.
• First mix the colourful rice in themselves.
• Thereafter mix the entire batch of rice gently.
• Put the rice in a serving dish and arrange in a way that every colour appears significantly.
• Top with more roasted nuts, colourful petha, tutti fruity, dry rose petals , saffron and silver varq.

Notes

1. You can also use already cooked plain rice for this recipe. Replace 3 cups of cooked rice with 1.5 cup of raw rice.
2. You can increase or decrease the quantity of sugar as per your choice. For us, it was perfectly fine.
3. In place of petha, you can use rasgulla, gulab jamun or chum chum as well.
4. For coloring the sweet, just mix the food colour with them and they will get the colour. Simple. 

Keyword mutanjan recipe, pakistani mutanjan recipe