Photo: stu_spivack · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Maharashtra · Dinner

Tambda Rassa

The fiery red broth of Kolhapur — thin, intensely spiced and chilli-hot, made from lamb trotters and red Kolhapuri masala. Served in small bowls as a starter/soup before the main meal, or drunk alongside bhakri. The red (tambda) counterpart to the white (pandhra) rassa.

🧺 Ingredients

• 600 g lamb trotters (payas) OR 400 g bone-in lamb (shank/ribs for rich broth)
• 3 tbsp oil
• 2 medium onions (180 g), finely sliced
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 600 ml water (for broth)
• 1 medium onion (100 g), dry-roasted dark
• ¼ cup dry coconut (kopra), dry-roasted golden-brown
• 5 dry Bedgi red chillies, soaked 15 min
• 4 dry Kashmiri red chillies, soaked 15 min
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, dry-roasted
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 4 black peppercorns
• 3 cloves
• 1 × 1 cm cinnamon
• 1 green cardamom
• ½ tsp stone flower (dagad phool)
• Chilli soaking water for grinding

👩‍🍳 How to make Tambda Rassa

1. Make red masala (Heat: medium): Dry-roast onion, coconut, and spices as described above. Allow to cool, then blend with soaked chillies and their soaking water into a smooth, bright red paste.
2. Brown the meat (Heat: high): Heat oil in a pressure cooker on high heat. Add lamb pieces — brown on all sides, 5–6 minutes total. Remove and set aside.
3. Build base (Heat: medium): In the same pressure cooker, fry sliced onion on medium heat for 10 minutes until golden. Add ginger-garlic paste — fry 2 minutes. Add turmeric — stir 30 seconds.
4. Add masala (Heat: medium): Add ground red masala paste. Fry on medium, stirring every 30 seconds, for 6–7 minutes until masala darkens and oil surfaces. Return browned lamb.
5. Pressure cook (Heat: high → low): Add 600 ml water and salt. Pressure cook on high until first whistle, then 35–40 minutes on low heat (6–8 whistles). Natural release for 20 minutes. The broth should be a deep, vivid red.
6. Simmer and serve (Heat: medium): Open the pressure cooker — taste and adjust salt and spice. The rassa should be thin and brothy (not thick like a curry) and fiercely spiced. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes if needed to deepen flavour. Ladle into small bowls. Garnish with coriander, green chilli and a squeeze of lime.

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