Chettinadu mutton kuzhambu

Many of my friends were requesting me to post this recipe as they enjoyed it when they visited me. So I decided to go ahead and finally post this highly requested recipe today.This is an authentic chettinadu dish, and probably the most favourite of foodies as well.  The unique taste of this dish comes from the blend of spices in the traditional recipe. Even though many new non-veg dishes have come up over the years, the mutton kuzhambu is still famous for its rich flavour and taste.

Nowadays sadly, the word chettinad is being used in many restaurants, but the dishes they serve are nothing close to the original, they are very spicy too.Due to this,many people say that chettinad dishes are very spicy. This is purely a myth. In reality, chettinad dishes are carefully prepared by the aachis to make sure the spiciness of the dish is just right.

Also in the actual chettinad recipes, homemade spice blends are only used, so any powder or instant masala mixes that you get in stores will not give you the same delicious taste.

So lets get started with making the original chettinad mutton kulambu...

Preparation time:30 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

Mutton-700 gms (clean and cut)

Onion-25 nos(small)

Tomato-1(big)

Garlic-7 cloves

Ginger garlic paste-1 tbsp

Chettinad masala powder-7 tbsp(for recipe click here )

Curry leaves-1 sprig

Turmeric powder-1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Oil- as required

For seasonings:

Star annise-1 no.

Cinnamon-1 inch piece

Bay leaf-1 no.

Elachi-2 nos.

Mace-1 no.

Sauf-1/2 tbsp

Jeera-1/2 tbsp

Methi-6 to 8 pieces         

Black peppercorns-1/2 tbsp

To grind:

Coconut shredded-1/2 cup

Sauf-2 tbsp

Khus Khus-1 tbsp

Preparation:

Wash the mutton thoroughly atleast thrice.

Add 1 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker, when its hot and ready add the washed mutton pieces into it along with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste and salt and saute it until the mutton pieces change colour.

Then add just 1/4th to 1/2 cup of water into it and pressure cook it for 3 whistles and set aside.

Grind all the ingredients in 'to grind' into a fine paste and keep aside.

Wash the veggies, peel the pearl onions and garlic, chop the tomatoes and keep it ready.

In a heavy bottomed cook-pot, add 2 tbsp oil and add the seasonings, when they splutter, add the onions and garlic.

When the onions  become translucent, add the tomatoes, and curry leaves along with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder. Saute until the tomatoes become mushy.

Next add the special ingredient of the dish: chettinad masala powder and saute until the raw smell goes away.

Now add the slightly cooked mutton into it along with the paste we grinded earlier.

Check for salt and add if required.

Add enough water to adjust the consistency of the kuzhambu.

Pressure cook for 3 whistles or you can slow cook it in the same vessel until the mutton is fully cooked and the oil oozes out.

Now your authentic chettinad mutton kuzhambu is ready to be served with rice or steaming hot idlies.

Notes:

In most of the chettinad non-veg dishes, we add atleast a few methi seeds as it protects us from diseases spread from the meat.

In many non-veg kuzhambus, people use a lot of coconut, but here, it is sufficient if you use the exact masalas mentioned here and a very small amount of coconut.

We add khus khus just to make the gravy voluminous and tasty, you can add more if you want to increase the gravy.

Try it out and let me know your feedback everyone!