Muttai Kulambu Recipe South Indian Egg Curry Whiskaffair

on Jun 09, 2023, Updated Sep 25, 2023 Try a few more egg recipes here: Kolhapuri Egg Curry, Egg Masala, Kerala Egg Curry, Chettinad Egg Curry, and Egg Butter Masala.

About Muttai Kulambu

Muttai in Tamil means “eggs,” and Kulambu (Kuzambhu) means “gravy.” Muttai Kulambu (Muttai Kuzambhu, Egg Kulambu) is a delicious curry from Tamil Nadu. In it, boiled eggs are added to a curry prepared with tomatoes, freshly ground coconut paste, and a few other simple ingredients. I tasted this curry during our road travel to Ooty. This simple shack was on the way, and we were super hungry. It looked clean, so we stopped by for a quick meal. We ordered Muttai Kulambu with paratha, and it was quite good. I have now learned to make this curry at home and make it for my everyday meals. It pairs well with steamed rice, dosa, phulka, or paratha. Make this traditional South Indian egg curry using my easy recipe for a hearty meal. Whole spices such as cloves (laung), black peppercorns (kali mirch), black cardamoms (badi elaichi), star anise (chakri phool), cinnamon (dalchini), bay leaf (tejpatta), fennel seeds (saunf), cumin seeds, and white poppy seeds (khus khus) are added to hot oil that makes the muttai kulambu curry more flavourful. Skip adding poppy seeds if they are not available where you live. Adjust the green chilies depending on your spice preference. This Muttai Kulambu recipe uses fresh coconut, but you can also use dry coconut.

To Make The Curry

You will need cooking oil, fennel seeds, fresh tomatoes, Indian spice powders, salt, hard-boiled eggs, and cilantro (fresh coriander leaves). Use any neutral-flavored cooking oil like sunflower oil, canola oil, etc. This recipe uses basic spice powders such as coriander, turmeric, and Kashmiri red chili powder. I like to boil the eggs in an air fryer as they come out perfectly without any fuss. Do check out my post on Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs. Add the following ingredients once the oil is hot, and saute for 4-5 seconds.

2-3 cloves 4-5 black peppercorns 2 black cardamoms 1 star anise 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick 1 bay leaf ½ teaspoon fennel seeds ½ teaspoon cumin seeds 1 tablespoon white poppy seeds

Add the following ingredients and cook for 4-5 minutes.

1 cup of chopped red onions 2-inch piece of ginger (peeled and roughly chopped) 5-6 garlic cloves (peeled) 2-3 green chilies

Now add ½ cup of grated fresh coconut and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the ingredients to a blender along with ½ cup of water and blend to make a fine paste. Scrape the sides of the blender a few times while blending. Keep the paste aside. Add 1 teaspoon fennel seeds and saute for 4-5 seconds. Add the masala paste and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the following ingredients and cook for 1 minute.

1 teaspoon coriander powder ½ teaspoon turmeric powder 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder

Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring 2-3 times in between. Add more water if the curry is too thick for your liking. Check for salt and add more if needed. Tip: If the tang from the tomatoes is insufficient, add a teaspoon of tamarind paste at this stage. Garnish the muttai kulambu curry with 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro and serve hot.