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Kolhapuri Tambda Rassa

The Miniature Life
This fiery red Lamb Stew is the perfect winter warmer
Print Recipe
Prep Time 4 hours
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4 people

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
Keyword lamb stew