Mutton Kuzhambu or Mutton Kulambu is a traditional South Indian gravy dish made with lamb or mutton, onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and spices. Spicy mutton kuzhambu is made authentic way with ground masala which goes well with some hot rice or some chapati. It can be had with Appam, Idiyappam and Kerala Parotta. Learn how to make perfect mutton kuzhambu with step by step pictures and video.
Mutton Kulambu
One of the most requested recipe in YUMMY TUMMY is a proper mutton kulambu. I have been getting request for that from so many viewers. Last week I made for my sister and we had an awesome lunch.
Jump to:
I used pressure cooker to cook mutton pieces with all the spices. This made the mutton so meltingly tender. If you have got a little time, let the gravy sit for a while so that the flavours will meld together and taste even more delicious.
About Mutton Kuzhambu (Kulambu)
Kuzhambu also known as kulambu is nothing but a gravy made with onions, tomatoes, spices sometimes with coconut or without coconut. It is a traditional South Indian side dish for rice.
Some of the most popular non veg kuzhambu is my meen kuzhambu, chicken kuzhambu & nattu kozhi kuzhambu. Did you know that I have over 85 kuzhambu recipes on this blog.
This mutton kuzhambu or kulambu is made with basic ingredients like onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, spice powders and whole spices. The curry is made in pressure cooker which cooks the mutton faster. Once mutton is cooked, I add coconut paste to thicken the curry.
I served it with plain rice, but this taste equally delicious with aapam, idiyappam, roti and paratha.
More Curry Recipes
This is my style of making mutton kuzhambu. We make this every weekend and this is a family favorite.
All ingredients are sauted in a pressure cooker and the mutton is allowed to cook and finished off with coconut paste.
I added coconut fennel seed paste to thicken the kuzhambu which turned out great. You can serve it with rice, nool parotta, Tandoori roti, idli, dosa,idiyappam or ghee rice.
Mutton Kulambu Ingredients
- Lamb | Mutton - use tender cuts of mutton pieces with bone-in for best flavour. Bone-in mutton is best for making any kulambu since it adds so much flavour to the gravy.
- Onions & Shallots - You use onions and shallots in kulambu. You need onions for making masala as well as sauteing.
- Tomatoes - ground tomatoes is added in the marination which makes the gravy thick and tasty.
- Ginger & Garlic - add lots of ginger garlic paste which gives a wonderful aroma.
- Green Chillies - fresh green chillies adds flavour and gives the gravy spicy kick.
- Spice Powders - usual spices like chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and garam masala powder is used.
- Coconut - every traditional kulambu recipe uses coconut which gives the taste. I add some fennel seeds and black pepper into the coconut for grinding. You can add some cashews, roasted gram dal or almonds in this when grinding which gives a thicker gravy.
Step by Step Pictures
Coconut Paste
1)Take fresh coconut, fennel seeds and black pepper in a blender. You can use few cashews or roasted gram dal if you prefer your kuzhambu to be thick.
2)Add water and grind to a smooth paste. Set this aside, we will add this in the end.
Making Mutton Curry
3)Heat coconut oil in a pressure cooker. I used fennel seeds, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, cloves and bay leaf. Along with this I added some pandan leaf which gives flavour, you can skip if you don't have that.
4)Add in sliced onions and peeled halved shallots.
5)Add curry leaves and slit green chillies. Saute this for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent.
6)Add in ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder and salt. Saute this for 1 more minute.
7)Add in chopped tomatoes and give a good mix.
8)Cook for couple of minutes until the tomatoes begin to get slightly soft.
Cooking Mutton
9)Add mutton pieces.I like to add bone in mutton for flavour.
10)Saute the mutton with the onion tomato mixture for 4 to 5minutes.
11)Add in chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder.
12)Stir fry this for 2 minutes until the raw smell from spice powders leaves.
13)Pour enough water to cover the mutton pieces.
14)Now cover the pressure cooker and cook for 6 to 7 whistle until the mutton is cooked completely. Depending on mutton size and quality, it may cook faster or longer. Sometimes it will take around 10 to 12 whistle as well.
15)Once mutton is cooked, let the pressure release naturally and open the cooker. Check whether mutton is cooked, if not, cover again and cook longer. If you see the water has dried, add more water as needed.
Finishing Kulambu
16)Now add in the coconut paste and mix well.
17)Once coconut paste is added, don't boil longer. Reduce the flame to low and simmer for just 3 minutes.
18)Add coriander leaves and mix well. Turn off the heat.
19)Serve with rice or any main dish.
Expert Tips
- You can cook this dish in pressure cooker or regular pot. If using pressure cooker, the cooking time is less. If cooking in cooking pot, it takes more time.
- Mutton takes more time to cook. So I cook in pressure cooker.
- Small onions (shallots) add sweetness to the dish. You can use shallots of regular onions.
- Roasted gram dal in coconut paste adds thickness to the gravy.
- Once coconut paste is added, don't boil too vigorously else the coconut will curdle.
Serving & Storage
Leftover mutton kulambu can be stored in fridge and reheated on stove top when needed.
Mutton Kulambu recipe is perfect to enjoy with some hot rice or some chapati. It can be had with Appam, Idiyappam and Kerala Parotta. Kuzhambu is usually served with rice, nool parotta, Tandoori roti, idli, dosa, idiyappam or ghee rice.
📖 Get Recipe
Mutton Kuzhambu | Mutton Kulambu Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For Tempering
- 4 tablespoon Coconut Oil
- 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
- 1 stick Cinnamon
- 4 pods Cardamom
- 2 no Cloves
- 1 no Bay leaf
- 1 no Star Anise
- 1 no Pandan Leaf (optional)
For Mutton Kulambu
- 2 large Onion peeled & sliced thinly
- 6 no Shallots (Sambar Onion) peeled & halved
- 4 no Green Chillies slit
- 3 sprig Curry leaves
- 3 tablespoon Ginger Garlic paste
- 2 teaspoon Salt to taste
- ½ kg Mutton | Lamb
- 2 tablespoon Coriander powder
- 2 tablespoon Kashmiri Chilli powder
- 2 teaspoon Garam masala powder
- 2 cups Water
- 4 tablespoon Coriander Leaves finely chopped
For Coconut Paste
- 1 cup Fresh Coconut grated
- 2 teaspoon Fennel Seeds
- 2 teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Coconut Paste - Take coconut, black pepper, fennel seeds in a blender and make into a very smooth paste by adding some water. Set this aside.
- Make Tempering - Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add all the tempering whole spices listed and let them sizzle.
- Make Masala - Add in sliced onions, shallots and saute for 2 minutes. Add in green chillies and curry leaves and mix well. Add in ginger garlic paste, turmeric and salt. Saute for 1 more minute. Add in tomatoes and cook until tomatoes get soft.
- Cooking Mutton - Now add in mutton pieces and stir fry for 4 to 5 minutes. Add in all the spice powders and mix into the mutton pieces and cook for 2 more minutes. Pour enough water to cover the mutton pieces.
- Now cover the pressure cooker and cook for 6 to 7 whistle until the mutton is cooked completely. Depending on mutton size and quality, it may cook faster or longer. Sometimes it will take around 10 to 12 whistle as well. Once pressure is naturally released, open the cooker and check whether the mutton is cooked.
- Finishing curry - Now add in the ground coconut masala and mix well. Mix well and simmer for 3 more minutes. Add coriander leaves and turn off the heat/ Mutton kuzhambu is ready. Enjoy with your favorite main dish.
tamilsasikitchen
Super Delicious Mutton Kulambu...Mouth watering on seeing the clicks...
faseela
yummy n delicious gravy....
Hamaree Rasoi
Well I too like meat when it is tender and soft. Gravy looks delicious
Anonymous
yummy mutton kulambu
Anu
Looks so delicious..Nice detail explanation..
flavia
ur site looks great with pictorials
i like the way u present it
GK Arusuvai
Nice mutton kulambu
Priyanka
I have a silly doubt is this the recipe for Nadaar mutton kulambu... My husband is from south and been asking for it quite some time. But i dont know the ABC of it. Can u confirm
Priyanka
I have a doubt like is this the recipe for Nadaar mutton kulambu. Since my husband is from south he is been asking for that quite some time. So i jus want to make sure.
Aarthi
@PriyankaYes this is how we make in the south..But there are so many types of muttonn curries too. This is one of them.
Periyarmathi
Thank you!
I going to try this now... 🙂
Pearl
Should we add ginger garlic paste while we saute the onions??
Aarthi
yes
Mehalaa Devi
Tried it jus now 🙂 really awesome 🙂 thanks a lot 🙂
Prasanna Dhayalan
Awesome
Anonymous
any other important points to be noted while cooking....? am gonna try this today.
Anonymous
no need of adding ginger garlic paste.
Aarthi
@AnonymousI forgot to take pic of that..you have to add after sauteing the onions..edited
Anonymous
Very nice kulambu aarthi please give the onion and tomotto in grams
Veeralakshmi Sukumar
Wow Arthi it came out superb.i don't have time for marination then to it came out very well.thanks dear.
Anonymous
Shall we add drumstick
Aarthi
@Anonymousyes if u want add
Mumtaz begum
Shall i skip marinating.. Or can i marinate it in less tym? Plz tell me
Mumtaz begum
Shall i skip marinating.. Or can i marinate it in less tym? Plz tell me
Aarthi
@Mumtaz begumyes u can skip marination or marinate for 30 mins or so
neelu aleem
If we r using half of the main ingred then we have to make remianing ingred also into half for any dish.other one is u r using garam masala powder in dishes tht powder is ur handmade powder only?iam searching for cooking site unfortunatelly i saw ur site really awsome.fact is that iam not good at cooking starting i am sure ur dishes ur step by step pics will help me a lot really thank u aarti ji
neelu aleem
Aarti ji garam masala powder which is u r using in every dish is ur handmade powder?if the quantity of main ingred in half to ur main ingred then we have make half of the all the other ingreds
Aarthi
@neelu aleemyes it is homemade recipe. If you want to halve the recipe, then halve every ingredients.
Here is the link for garam masala
https://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/2013/03/homemade-garam-masala-powder-my-version.html
Anonymous
Hi. Is this for 1 kg mutton or half kg ?
Thaslim
The quantity of the mutton is 1kg or half kg...??
Aarthi
@Thaslimit is 1/2 kg..sorry typo
Anonymous
We have tried out this item. Came out very well. Thanks a lotttttt for ur wonderful post
Anonymous
After 8 hard years in cooking,today I excelled in mutton gravy.I got 'excellent' comment from my hubby.I owe you a lot mam.Thank u soooo much.
Escaline
Hi aarthi
Tried this recipe n it turned out great. Thnx a lot. God bless.
Anonymous
Hi,
i tried today,for marination i added whole pepper and few cardamom and cinnamon,
also i added my favorite drumstick
its amazing
thx
Anonymous
Hi,
i tried today,for marination i added whole pepper and few cardamom and cinnamon,
also i added my favorite drumstick
its amazing
thx
Anonymous
While cooking, coconut turned its texture like spoiling the gravy wat can i do for it
Ramanathan
i am trying this for my kids and wife. hope they will like it. steps with pictures helped me a lot.Thanks for posting!
revathy n
Sooperb... I tried it. It came out very well. But one thing, after adding coconut don't have to cook for 20 to 30 minutes... It is enough if we cook for 10 minutes.
suganyaVijayakumar
Thank u akka mutton kulambu came well am very afraid of making mutton kulambu but ur method is make me fell very simple u r my cooking guide without u I cant am daily cooking variety of dishes with ur guides
Asha
Superb Kulambu, None of my kari kulambu recipes have been good so far ,this one was excellent taste.!! Love the pics , thank you