Kolhapuri Lamb Curry

Kolhapuri lamb curry step-by-step recipe with video and photos.

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• About this recipe
• Ingredients
• Step by step instructions
• Using lamb versus goat meat
• Bonus
• Recipe card
• Comments

About this recipe

Kolhapur is a historic city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is famous for jewellery, Kolhapuri chappal (sandal), Kolhapuri gur (jaggery), and wrestling. And of course, Kolhapur is famous for its cuisine - red hot chillies and unique spices.

The famous Kolhapuri non-vegetarian foods include Kolhapuri pandhara rassa and Kolhapuri tambda rassa. In Marathi language, pandhara means white and rassa means gravy. Tambda rassa means red gravy. What we know as Kolhapuri lamb/mutton is called Kolhapuri tambda rassa in Marathi.

Kolhapuri mutton/lamb is one of the best tasting Indian mutton dishes. Kolhapuri lamb curry uses a lot of aromatic spices dry roasted and then ground, along with sesame seeds, poppy seeds and dry coconut. This dish also makes use of crispy fried onion which is ground to a paste.

Not to mention the fiery dry red chilli which gives this dish it's signature colour. If you prefer a milder version, especially when serving to children, you may use Kashmiri dry red chillies instead of the hotter varieties.

Ingredients

Lamb: Lamb meat is used in making this dish.

Onion, ginger and garlic: They make the dish very flavourful. Onion is used in two forms - sliced onions which are fried and used as a garnish, and chopped onions which are fried and ground together along with spices.

Spices: Whole spices are dry roasted and ground together in this dish. The spices I use are coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and fenugreek seeds.

Coconut, sesame seeds and poppy seeds: These three ingredients add a very good nutty flavour to the dish when ground along with the spices.

Tomatoes: Tomatoes add a subtle tang to this dish.

Ghee: I make this dish with ghee. However, it can be replaced with any cooking oil of your choice.

Step by step instructions

Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, pepper, fenugreek seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and dry coconut. Set aside (step 1).

Heat ghee and fry the whole red chill. Set aside for garnish (step 2).

Add the sliced onion and fry until it is golden brown. Set aside for garnish (step 3).

Now fry the chopped onion until it is golden (step 4).

Combine the fried chopped onion with the roasted whole spices, tomato, ginger, garlic, turmeric powder, and chilli powder. Grind into a smooth paste (steps 5,6).

Heat 1 tablespoon ghee and add the lamb pieces. Fry them until they are well browned on all sides (steps 7,8_.

Add the ground paste and salt. Add water and adjust consistency (steps 9,10).

Bring to a boil and simmer until the lamb is completely cooked (step 11).

Garnish with fried onion and fried dry red chilli (step 12).

Using lamb versus goat meat

Traditionally made with goat, this dish also tastes equally well when made with lamb. The added bonus when making this dish with lamb is that the cooking time reduces drastically. You will need less than an hour to make this dish, including the prep time. Also, lamb being fattier than goat, adds to the richness of this dish.

If you are using goat, marinate the meat with a mixture of yogurt, salt, and turmeric for at least 2-3 hours. If using lamb, marination is not required. However, you will need to brown the lamb before adding the spice mixture. Goat meat has a longer cooking time (1-2 hours), so browning of the meat is usually not required.

Do give this authentic recipe a try.

Click here for more lamb and goat recipes.

Bonus

This lamb curry:
- is flavourful and delicious
- has a very unique taste
- can be made with both lamb and goat

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