Mutton Liver Kuzhambu, Eeral Kuzhambu

Recipe for Mutton liver kuzhambu – Mutton Eeral kuzhambu made with home made masala from scratch. Recipe with step by step pictures.

We had this amazing mutton liver curry for breakfast on a rainy Sunday morning at SKP Karuna anna’s home in Tiruvannamalai recently. The view of the Annamalai hills from his home is like nothing I have ever seen. I feel a little jealous that he gets to enjoy this view every day 🙂 He lives in complete tranquil. Birds chirping all around, cloudy Annamalai hill for a view, basking in the aroma from the kitchen – I am still devouring the Sunday. Mutton liver with idli and appam is a Sunday ritual at his home. His wife Vidya akka kept serving us till we were sooooo full. My son is not a big breakfast person but he had a great time at the table eating pooris dunked in a generous amount of mutton liver kuzhambu. She was very generous to share the recipe too. I am a fan of Karuna’s writing and his book கவர்னரின் ஹெலிகாப்டர் (governor’s helicopter) is one of my favorites. I got it autographed too! If you like short stories, then do checkout his book. Its a very lite read filled with nostalgia.

Mutton liver is very healthy. The iron in liver belongs to a kind called heme iron and is easily absorbed by the body. It is often prescribed for women with iron deficiency. Liver is a nutrient dense food. Here is how to do mutton liver kuzhambu.

First, we will make a masala paste. Heat peanut oil in a pan and add in the fennel seeds, cloves and cinnamon. Cloves and fennel seeds are added generously to mask the smell of offal. The flavour of this curry is predominantly from fennel seeds. Add in the sliced onions, ginger and garlic.

Saute for a good 6-7 minutes till the onions are soft and starting to brown here and there. Add in the chopped tomatoes. Country tomatoes (naatu thakkali) is used for this recipe. Add in the salt. Cook till the tomatoes are soft and mushy. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Grind the ingredients with little water to a fine paste. Set aside. Make sure to grind to a fine paste.

Now we will cook the curry. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add in the sliced onions and curry leaves. Saute for a few minutes till the onions are soft.

Add in the turmeric powder, black pepper powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and mutton masala powder. Add in the remaining salt. Saute for a few seconds. Note: Store bought chicken masala / mutton masala powder is used for this recipe. Even garam masala powder can be substituted.

Add in the cleaned and chopped mutton liver. Keep the mutton liver in bite size pieces and not very big. Saute for a few minutes so the masalas coat the liver evenly. Note: If you do not like the smell of liver (kavichi), saute the liver separately in a pan with a little oil for a couple of minutes. Wash the liver once again after sauteing. Proceed with the recipe. This will reduce the intensity of the liver flavour.

Add in the ground paste. Add in two cups of water and cover the pan with a lid.

Cook for about 4 whistles / 12 minutes (I used a 5 liter cooker) on a medium flame. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Let the pressure from the cooker release manually. Mutton liver kuzhambu is ready. If you are feeling fancy, you can finish the curry by adding a little coconut milk. Garnish with green chillies.

Serve the mutton liver kuzhambu with idli or appam.

For the Masala Paste

• 2 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 6 cloves
• 1 inch piece cinnamon
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 10 cloves garlic
• 1/2 inch piece ginger
• 3 small country tomatoes, chopped (naatu thakkali)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Other Ingredients

• 500 grams mutton liver, cleaned and diced – bite sized pieces
• 2 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1/2 cup onions, sliced
• 2 - 3 sprigs curry leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon chicken masala powder or mutton masala powder (readymade / storebought)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup thick coconut milk (optional)
• 1 - 2 green chillies for garnish

1. Heat peanut oil in a pan and add in the fennel seeds, cloves and cinnamon. Add in the sliced onions, ginger and garlic.
2. Saute for a good 6-7 minutes till the onions are soft and starting to brown here and there. Add in the chopped tomatoes. Country tomatoes (naatu thakkali) is used for this recipe. Add in the salt. Cook till the tomatoes are soft and mushy. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3. Grind the ingredients with little water to a fine paste. Set aside. Make sure to grind to a fine paste.
4. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add in the sliced onions and curry leaves. Saute for a few minutes till the onions are soft.
5. Add in the turmeric powder, black pepper powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and mutton masala powder and the salt. Saute for a few seconds.
6. Add in the cleaned and chopped mutton liver. Keep the mutton liver in bite size pieces and not very big. Saute for a few minutes so the masalas coat the liver evenly.
7. Add in the ground paste. Add in two cups of water and cover the pan with a lid.
8. Cook for about 4 whistles / 12 minutes (I used a 5 liter cooker) on a medium flame. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Let the pressure from the cooker release manually. Mutton liver kuzhambu is ready. If you are feeling fancy, you can finish the curry by adding a little coconut milk.
9. Serve the mutton liver kuzhambu with idli or appam.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Category: Gravy
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu

For the Masala Paste

• 2 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 6 cloves
• 1 inch piece cinnamon
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 10 cloves garlic
• 1/2 inch piece ginger
• 3 small country tomatoes, chopped (naatu thakkali)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Other Ingredients

• 500 grams mutton liver, cleaned and diced – bite sized pieces
• 2 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1/2 cup onions, sliced
• 2 - 3 sprigs curry leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon chicken masala powder or mutton masala powder (readymade / storebought)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup thick coconut milk (optional)
• 1 - 2 green chillies for garnish

1. Heat peanut oil in a pan and add in the fennel seeds, cloves and cinnamon. Add in the sliced onions, ginger and garlic.
2. Saute for a good 6-7 minutes till the onions are soft and starting to brown here and there. Add in the chopped tomatoes. Country tomatoes (naatu thakkali) is used for this recipe. Add in the salt. Cook till the tomatoes are soft and mushy. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3. Grind the ingredients with little water to a fine paste. Set aside. Make sure to grind to a fine paste.
4. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add in the sliced onions and curry leaves. Saute for a few minutes till the onions are soft.
5. Add in the turmeric powder, black pepper powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and mutton masala powder and the salt. Saute for a few seconds.
6. Add in the cleaned and chopped mutton liver. Keep the mutton liver in bite size pieces and not very big. Saute for a few minutes so the masalas coat the liver evenly.
7. Add in the ground paste. Add in two cups of water and cover the pan with a lid.
8. Cook for about 4 whistles / 12 minutes (I used a 5 liter cooker) on a medium flame. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Let the pressure from the cooker release manually. Mutton liver kuzhambu is ready. If you are feeling fancy, you can finish the curry by adding a little coconut milk.
9. Serve the mutton liver kuzhambu with idli or appam.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Category: Gravy
• Cuisine: Tamilnadu

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/mutton-liver-kuzhambu/

Twenty years ago, when celebrity chef Jamie Oliver released his first cooking show called “The Naked Chef”, he made it clear that his show won’t be about his work as a professional cook right in the show’s intro. Cooking at home is very, very different from what the professionals who cook for a living do in their line of work. At home, small glitches and even bigger issues can be overlooked – in a professional setting, there is no room for error. At the same time, the food served at a restaurant has far less of the chef’s personality – the dishes on the menu must have a consistent quality that can be infinitely reproduced. These are all things that are pretty well-known even for those not working in the hospitality industry. There are, in turn, quite a few things that one can only find out when actually working in a restaurant’s kitchen. And no, this is not about the secret ingredients used by professional chefs – those don’t exist.

The ingredients

Professional chefs use pretty much the same ingredients that you may have in your kitchen. Sometimes, even the same brand. The only true difference between your kitchen at home and the one at a restaurant is the quantity. Restaurants will not buy a dozen eggs or a single bottle of vegetable oil. Instead, they purchase everything in large quantities – in bulk. There are a few products that are meant to be used in a professional setting but these are usually nothing but quality products in large packs – a two-pound piece of chocolate instead of individual bars, a 10-kilo box of butter, and so on, and so forth.

The preparations

Professional chefs don’t have half an hour to prepare a bowl of soup but they have days to prepare a complex and sophisticated recipe. This may sound like a self-contradiction but it’s not. A chef can spend hours reducing a demi-glace (a rich, brown sauce used as is or as an ingredient in many other sauces) at the right pace for it to have the perfect taste or texture or to cook a piece of delicious meat sous vide – but only during the downtime of the restaurant. When, in turn, there are patrons waiting for their food, a chef has to work super efficiently. During rush hour, chefs often have just a few minutes to finish and plate a dish. They work for hours upon hours to prepare so when the busiest time of the day comes, they will only have to serve the food they prepared during the day.

The recipes

Most dishes you’ll find on the menu of a restaurant are very easy to prepare. Well, of course, there are exceptions but most recipes are about maximizing both the patrons’ experience and the efficiency of preparing them. Part of the dishes is prepared well in advance before they are served (the sous-vide meat I mentioned above would be a great example) and another part is prepared on the spot, in just a few minutes, like a steak, for example. After all, there is no time to waste during the rush.