Kolhapuri Tambda Rassa, or Kolhapuri Red Stew is a dish packed with flavour and loads of spice. Traditionally made with goat, this spicy stew is a delicious winter warmer that pairs perfectly with fresh made rotis. I make my version using lamb because goat isn’t easily accessible in Sydney, and it turns about absolutely delicious everytime.
What is Kolhapuri Tambda Rassa?
As the name suggests, this dish is from the Maharashtrian City of Kolhapur. The city has a lot of historical significance and is an important manufacturing hub (ever heard of Kolhapuri Chappals? You may have not have realised how influential this humble chappal/shoe is)
Fun little fact – my father was born in Kolhapur. I have personally never been.
The food in Kolhapur is famous for being especially spicy. The concept of “Rassa” or stew or a thing gravy for the food is extremely popular. This particular Rassa (stew) is a rich red colour (Tambda) and is in every way true to it’s origins. The gravy is made with a combination of tomato, onion, ginger, garlic and a delicious masala.
The Masala
Let’s talk about this masala for a moment
It seems like a long list, and yes there are quite a few things to add – there are only a couple of ingredients that you can exclude if you cannot source them.
Dried red chillies
These along with the tomato give this Rassa it’s iconic red colour. I like using Kashmiri red chillies because whilst they are milder, the result is a lot more control over the overall heat of the dish. You can always add some more chilli later on! You can find dried red chillies on amazon here.
Jaggery
Jaggery is non-centrifugal cane sugar and usually comprises of some palm or date sap. It is a traditional sweetener used across South Asia, and is quite similar to Muscovado. Interestingly, Maharashtra (my home state and where this recipe comes from) is the largest producer and consumer of jaggery. It is traditional here to serve cold water with a small piece of jaggery on a hot day (don’t beat it until you try it!). The jaggery made in Kolhapur actually has a Geographical Tag.
You can buy jaggery from South Asian Grocers or on Amazon.
If you cannot source jaggery then you can use muscovado sugar or brown sugar as a substitute.
Fenugreek Seeds
Fenugreek seeds, fresh leaves and dried leaves are extremely popular in South Asian cooking. The seeds in particular lend a deeply earthy and bitter flavour to the dish that compliments the richness of the lamb in this recipe. You can purchase fenugreek seeds on amazon here. If you cannot source the seeds, I recommend actually omitting them completely.
Grated coconut
I use frozen fresh grated coconut, which is available at South Asian grocers. If you cannot find this, then dried & shredded coconut would also work. I would not recommend using desiccated coconut however, as this has already been sweetened.
Making Kolhapuri Tambda Rassa
This recipe is actually really straightforward. There aren’t a lot of fussy steps or processes in the recipe. Which makes it amazing.
Marinating the Lamb
We start with a simple marinade of turmeric, chilli powder, ginger paste, garlic paste, salt and pepper. Mix the marinade together and then mix this through with the lamb chunks. I find it easier to use my hands to get an even spread of the mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and then set this aside for at least 1 hour or up to 4 in the fridge – make sure you remove the bowl with 30 minutes to go on the marination to enable to meat to get to room temperature.
Making the Masala
While the lamb is marinating, it’s time to prepare the base spice blend for the rassa. Start by toasting all of the whole spices in a pan until they become fragrant. This shouldn’t take too long – only a few minutes is required here! If you see the spices smoking, remove the pan straight away. Let the spices cool slightly and then transfer into a spice grinder or processor and grind the whole spices into a fine-ish powder. This is the base masala to cook the lamb in the pot with. Pretty simple right?
To get the masala in the pot started, we first sautee the onions in some vegetable oil and a good pinch of salt. Once they start to soften, add in the jaggery (or brown sugar if you cannot source jaggery). This adds some lovely sweetness and caramelization to the dish and helps offset the intensity of the masala we made earlier.
After onions are completely softened, its time to add in the pasted ginger and garlic and mix through. This needs to be cooked until that raw smell is cooked off. Now it’s time for the prepared masala to be mixed through until just a bit smokey. The masala will burn quite quickly here, so reduce the heat a little and just lightly toast the masala. If the heat is a bit too high, simply remove the pot for a little bit to let it cool down.
Once the masala is toasted through, add in the tomato puree with a pint of salt and pepper and mix this through. Cook the tomato for a couple of minutes, then we add in the marinated lamb. I like to let this sear and cook a bit in the tomato, just for a couple of minutes before adding in the stock and water. Pop a lid onto your pot and let the lamb cook through for about 45 minutes, until beautifully tender.
And that’s it! Beautiful, spicy and super vibrant Kolphapuri Tambda Rassa.
Let’s make Kolhapuri Tambda Rassa
Kolhapuri Tambda Rassa
Equipment
- Pot
- Spice grinder, or mortar and pestle
- Fry pan
Ingredients
For the Lamb and Marinade
- 450 g cubed lamb meat
- 1 tsp garlic, minced roughly 3-4 cloves
- 1 tsp ginger, minced roughly ½ inch stick of ginger
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- ⅛ tsp ground red chilli powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the Masala
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 1 inch stick of cinnamon
- 2 star anise
- 2 black cardamom pods
- 5-6 dried red chillies I use dried Kashmiri red chillies, available at your local South Asian grocer
- 1 tsp white poppy seeds
- 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
- ½ tsp black mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp whole fenugreek seeds
- 1 tbsp. fresh grated coconut Fresh grated coconut is available at Asian or South Asian grocers, however if you cannot source this you can use dried shredded coconut
- 6 whole black peppercorns
For the Rassa
- 2 white onions
- 1 tsp jaggery Available at South Asian grocers; alternatively use brown sugar
- ½ cup tomato puree You can use tomato passata
- ½ cup of water I keep a cup of water, but typically only need a half
- ½ cup stock I use vegetable stock to compliment the flavours
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil or coconut oil
- salt
- 1½ tsp garlic, minced roughly 5-6 cloves
- 1½ tsp ginger, minced roughly a little over ½ inch stick of ginger
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the marinade then mix through the cubes lamb. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to marinate for at least 1 hour, but up to 4 hours
- In a fry pan, toast all of the ingredients for the Masala until fragrant over the lowest heat setting
- Transfer all of the spice to a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle if you don't have a grinder) and grind to a fine powder. Set this aside
- Heat up the vegetable oil in a pot and add in the onions
- Sauté the onions with a pinch of salt over a low-medium heat until softened
- Add the jaggery and continue to sauté the onions until they are nice and caramelized, and extremely soft
- Add the minced ginger and minced garlic, and stir through well
- Add all of the prepared masala powder to the pot and stir through well until smokey and fragrant
- Add the tomato puree and mix through well with a pinch of salt and mix for 1 minute
- Add the marinated lamb and stir through and let the lamb sear for about 1 minute
- Pour in the stock and water into the pot and mix all the contents. Bring the contents of the pot to a gentle boil, then cover and let simmer for about 45 minutes (or until the lamb becomes very tender) ensuring you stir everything every 15 minutes to check up on the water amount. This dish should be relatively thin and have a lot of gravy so be sure to top up the water if it seems to become dry
- Serve with fresh roti or chappati and garnish with fresh coriander leaves and some pomegranate
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do, and I hope you fall in love with this style of cooking! Be sure to send me photos of your recipe attempts because I absolutely love to see them! This one is definitely one of those recipes that I was so excited to share and I cannot wait to make it over and over again.
