Chicken breast vs Mutton: nutrition per 100 g

In most of India, mutton means goat meat, and IFCT 2017's figures here are for goat shoulder. Per 100 g raw, chicken breast has 21.8 g of protein and mutton 20.3 g, each covering close to 40 per cent of a man's daily need. Mutton has more fat, 11.9 g against 9.0 g, and 188 kcal against 168 kcal. The kind of fat differs more than the amount: mutton has 5.44 g of saturated fat per 100 g, about 6.6 times the 0.82 g in chicken breast, and more cholesterol, 82 mg against 62 mg.

Zinc is mutton's standout. It has 4.19 mg per 100 g, about 5.4 times the 0.78 mg in chicken breast, ranking 1st of 14 meats, poultry and eggs and 12th of 243 foods. That covers 25 per cent of a man's daily zinc requirement and 32 per cent of a woman's. Zinc supports growth, wound repair and the immune system's normal work.

Iron is better in mutton too, 1.48 mg against 0.83 mg, about 1.8 times as much, and meat iron is absorbed more readily than iron from plant foods. The surprise is how modest both figures are: goat shoulder ranks only 12th of 14 in its group for iron, and chicken breast last. Goat liver is the truly iron-rich choice. Chicken has more selenium and copper, and a little more calcium.

Chicken breast leads on niacin, 8.06 mg per 100 g against 5.14 mg, covering 45 per cent of a man's daily need against 29 per cent. It also has about twice the vitamin B6, 0.53 mg against 0.26 mg. Mutton has more riboflavin, 0.17 mg against 0.06 mg, about 2.8 times as much, and slightly more vitamin E. Thiamine is low in both.

Mutton carries the slow-cooked classics: rogan josh and yakhni in Kashmir, laal maas in Rajasthan, Hyderabadi and Lucknowi biryani, Kolkata's kosha mangsho, Chettinad mutton chukka and Malabar mutton stew. It needs longer cooking and costs more. Chicken is quicker, cheaper and more versatile, from tikka to everyday curry. Both values are for raw meat; slow-cooked mutton gravies often add ghee and oil, which change the dish's fat far more than the cut does.