Mutton Kulambu is a classic Indian recipe (from Pondicherry) for a classic curry of goat and potatoes in a tomato and coconut milk base with spices, chillies and herbs. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Pondicherry Mutton Curry (Mutton Kulambu).
(click this button to prevent the screen from sleeping so Cook Mode is 'ON')
I really didn't know very much about the cuisine of Pondicherry, India (well, actually Puducherry for the region and Pondicherry for the capital) except that there had been French enclaves there and it's one of the regions where black pepper is grown.
The final part of this culinary and historical journey was to find an authentic mutton (goat) curry from Puducherry, which is presented below. There are ingredients here not in the Saint Pierre version (like the betel leaves, but the culinary relationship between the dishes is fairly clear, I think).
Ingredients:
500g mutton (goat) on the bone
2 medium red onions, halved and finely sliced into slivers
3 tomatoes, blanched, peeled, de-seeded and chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 finger chillies, halved at a bias
3cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tbsp chilli powder (or to taste)
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
1 tbsp ground turmeric
2 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely ground
1 star anise
2 Indian bay leaves
3 pieces of cassia bark
2 long peppers
2 cloves
3 green cardamom pods
handful curry leaves
1/2 handful basil
1/2 handful betel leaves
300ml coconut milk
flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish
oil for frying
Method:
Heat oil in a large pan and add in the cassia bark, star anise, dried Indian bay leaves, cloves, cardamom and long pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes until aromatic then add the red onions. Stir-fry for 3 minutes before adding the chilli pieces.
Stir fry briefly then add the tomato flesh. Stir to combine and continue cooking for 5 minutes, until the tomatoes have begun to break down.
Add the ginger, stirring well to combine, then add in the potato chunks. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
At this point add the turmeric, chilli powder, ground coriander, salt and coarsely-ground black pepper. Stir well to combine and cook for about 1 minute.
At this point add the mutton. Stir to coat in the spices and cook for 15 minutes.
Add in a handful of fresh curry leaves and stir the mixture for 5 minutes. The curry now should be very thick, so add 1l water. Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the basil and betel leaves.
Cover the pan and cook for 40 minutes, topping up the water as needed, until the mutton is very tender and the gravy has thickened to your liking (note that this should still be a fairly runny curry at this point).
Now stir in the coconut milk, return to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until the gravy has thickened.
Serve hot, accompanied by white rice and a hard-boiled egg and garnished with the flat-leaf parsley.
)
Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.