Of spices, sukha mutton and chutney

Kolhapuri cuisine is known for its distinct taste, be it the sumptuous breakfast dish missal pav, jumbo-sized batata wada or the exclusive mutton preparations.

The popular Kolhapuri mutton thali has mouth watering dishes like mutton masala, fry or sukha, kheema, pickle and goli pulav and is served with delicious tambda and pandhra rassa.
Tambda and pandhra rassa is mutton soup flavoured with spice in either red or white curry. Roasted, ghaati and rakti mutton are some of the other mutton dishes that are popular. The sumptuous mutton preparations can be savoured with either jowar roti or chapatti. And not to forget the refreshing drink sol kadhi that acts like a coolant after such a heavy meal which is offered by every restaurant at the end of your meal.
Kolhapuri food is believed to be spicy, but in reality it is quite moderate in taste and only looks fiery due to the masalas used in the preparation. Also the unique Maratha flavour that we experience in all the dishes is due to the use of typical Kolhapuri homemade mixtures of various spices commonly known as Kolhapuri chutney and the onion-garlic chutney. Kolhapuri spices which are also exported are extremely popular and in demand among non-vegetarians in the world. Coconut is another ingredient which is liberally used in Kolhapuri style cooking. To top it all, the warm nature of the Kolhapuris ensures that you indulge a bit more than you can digest!
Some other popular Kolhapuri food products are Kolhapuri lavangi mirchi and jaggery which are produced on a large scale due to large production of sugarcane.

Recipe: Mutton Green, a mild mutton preparation made in thick white gravy

Ingredients

Mutton
Dry chickpeas powder
Dry coconut grated
Wet coconut
Cumin seeds
Sesame seeds
Coriander paste
Ginger-garlic paste
Turmeric
Salt as per taste

Method

1. Boil and cook the mutton pieces. Add salt and turmeric powder while cooking. Keep aside.
2. Roast sesame seeds, dry chickpeas powder, dry coconut, cumin seeds in oil and grind it to paste.
3. Heat oil in pan, add ready paste, wet coconut, ginger-garlic paste, coriander paste.
4. Now add the mutton pieces and let it simmer on a slow flame with a closed lid for 5-6 min.
5. Serve with sprinkled coriander leaves.