Kothu Kari Kulambu / Minced Lamb Curry / Kheema Curry - No Tomato Recipe

Kothukari Kulambu is a very authentic and traditional gravy or curry recipe from South India prepared with minced lamb or mutton. It is so rich and has awesome flavors in it and just makes you want more of it when you just smell the aroma. The usage of roasted gram (Pottukadalai) just makes the gravy smell, and taste awesome and moreover gives a creamy texture to the curry. All the ingredients and spices used here gives richness to the curry and makes it very special. The masala used here is freshly roasted in ghee and the ground well, which makes it even more yummier and aromatic, also the pieces of minced meat combines well with this rich and tasty curry and gives you a very satisfying curry that goes well with dosas, idlis, rice, rotis, poori, or any kind of Indian bread. This curry is not much spicy but you can adjust it according to your wish. Vegetarians can try this curry with crumbled paneer which will also taste good. 

This is my husband's favorite curry though he is not a big fan of Non-veg recipes he is the biggest fan of this curry, so this proves how yummy it must be. My hubby just runs away when he hears the word Non-veg but he gets them and eats them just for my sake, but I was totally amazed when he finished off this curry in a few minutes. He just drank some of the curry and said that he just melted in its taste and that it was finger-licking good. 

Now lets see how to make this rich and authentic Kheema curry or Kothu kari kulambu.

Take a look at my other minced meat recipes!!

Minced Chicken Stir Fry / Chicken Kothu Kari 

Mutton Kothu Kari Masala / Mutton Kheema Masala

Soft Chicken Paneer Balls

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2 to 3 people
Total Preparation Time - 20 to 30 minutes

1. Minced Mutton / Lamb - 250 grams 
2. Coconut - 1/2 of a coconut; (nearly 130 grams) (or) Coconut milk - 250 ml (diluted with water)
3. Big onions - 1 (or) Shallots - 10 
4. Ginger - 2 inch long piece 
5. Garlic pods - 3
6. Dry red chillies - 10 
7. Turmeric powder - 3 pinches
8. Coriander seeds - 2 spoons (6 to 8 grams)
9. Poppy seeds / Kasa kasa - 1 spoon (2 grams; Optional)
10. Roasted split gram / Pottukadalai - 1 spoon (8 grams) 
11. Cumin seeds - 1/2 spoon (4 grams)
12. Cardamom pods - 4 
13. Cloves - 4 
14. Cinnamon stick - 1 small stick (1 inch long)
15. Lemon - 1/2 of a lemon 
16. Ghee - 1 spoon 
17. Oil - 5 spoons 

PREPARATION METHOD

• Wash the minced lamb or mutton well in water and set aside. (Use a strainer for this purpose to make washing easier; place the minced mutton in a strainer and wash well in running water)
• Peel ginger and garlic. Then crush it well or make a fine paste out of it and set aside.

1. Extracting coconut milk :

• If you have ready-made coconut milk then skip this step. 
• Take half of a coconut and either scrap out all the coconut or chop into pieces.
• Add all the pieces into a blender and grind coarsely first. Then add nearly 150 ml of water and grind well again into a fine paste.
• Use a small pored strainer or white cloth and extract milk and set aside. 

2. Preparation of masala : 

• Place a pan or wok on flame and add a spoon of ghee to it, then add all the following ingredients into it at the same time and roast it for 3 minutes on low flame or until you get a nice flavor. 

(For roasting)
1. Coriander seeds - 2 spoons (6 to 8 grams)

2. Pottukadalai / Roasted gram - 1 spoon (10 grams)

3. Cumin seeds - 1/2 spoon (4 grams)

4. Dry red chillies - 10

5. Poppy seeds / Kasa kasa - 1 spoon (2 grams) 

• Set this aside until it reaches room temperature. In case you don't want to use ghee you can dry roast the above said ingredients without oil or ghee. 
• Then add this into a blender and grind well into a coarse powder. Then add some 50 ml of water and make a fine paste out of this and set aside. 
• Mix this masala along with the extracted coconut milk and set aside. 

3. Curry preparation :

• Now take a cooker and place its pan on heat. 
• Pour oil and after it heats up add cloves, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and saute for a few seconds on low flame. 
• Then add the sliced onions and saute until it turns translucent. 
• Now add the ginger-garlic paste or crushed ginger and garlic and saute for a minute. 
• Then add the minced mutton (kothukari), turmeric powder and stir well for about 3 minutes. 
• Then add the coconut milk and masala mixture and stir well. 
• Add salt and stir well. 
• Close the cooker with its lid and place the weight after the steam or pressure oozes out of the nozzle, cook for another 10 minutes on low flame. 
• Remove from flame and open the cooker after the pressure gets released on its own. 
• Pour lemon juice from half of a lemon and stir well.
• Serve!!

TIP 1: I haven't added poppy seeds but adding them gives a good creamy texture to the gravy and also makes it taste great.

TIP 2: You can also add cubed potatoes into the gravy with or without skin. 

TIP 3: Instead of minced lamb vegetarians can also try the same recipe using crumbled paneer. But you don't have to pressure cook it. 

TIP 4: This is a mildly spiced curry you can add more red chillies and make it even more spicier. 

TIP 5: I have used very little oil here. You can also add some fat and prepare this curry to get an oily texture if you wish.

TIP 6: You can also prepare this curry using a normal wok or sauce pan instead of cooker but it will take some extra time to get cooked. Just cook covered with a lid. 

TIP 7: If you want to use minced chicken just pressure cook for 5 minutes. If you want to use beef then cook for atleast 20 minutes; but pour an extra cup of water while cooking. 

Authentic, flavorful and yummy Kothu Kari Kulambu / Minced Lamb Curry is now ready!! 
Serve with Rice, Roti, Chapati, Poori, or any kind of Indian bread varieties!! You will definitely love this!!

Linking this recipe to Asiya Omar's Feast Of Sacrifice Event

This recipe won me the 3rd place and a prize money of Rs.1000, in Asiya Omar's Feast Of Sacrifice event. 

Related recipes

• Mutton Kulambu / Lamb Curry (youtoocancookindianfood.blogspot.com)
• Mutton Kothukari Masala / Mutton Kheema Masala - No tomato recipe (youtoocancookindianfood.blogspot.com)
• Aatu Thala Curry / Lamb Head Curry (youtoocancookindianfood.blogspot.com)