Kolhapuri Tambda and Pandhra Rassa

Disclaimer: For all the vegetarians, Sorry! this one is not for you. So please feel free to flip the page or move to the next post. Frankly, you do not know what you are missing. 

Whenever you think of Kolhapuri food, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Spices right? Spicy food is like the in thing for Kolhapur. Even a heavy spicy eater like me would ask a chef in Kolhapur to make food "less spicy" (mind you- not even medium spicy) food. My dad always used to say, that once you eat Kolhapuri food you may actually feel fire coming out of you.

But, nevertheless, if you are in Kolhapur, I am sure each and every one of us would like to taste some delight that you will feel, belongs to Kolhapur. I travel almost every second or third day for work. And once, someone had mentioned to me that I should try the "Tambda" and "Pandhra" Rassa. It is supposedly a Kolhapuri delicacy. In my previous trips I never had the opportunity to taste it. So this time, I made it a point to oblige my taste buds with this delicacy.

"Tambda" stands for "Red" and "Pandhara" stands for "White" and "Rassa" stands for "Curry" in Marathi. Actually, the color is associated with how the curry looks once it is cooked. But, traditionally, it is also associated with the meat with which it is cooked.

Tambda Rassa is a dish prepared using Mutton Stock. The red color that is brought to the curry is by adding chilli powder extensively. It is extremely aromatic and uses a lot of fresh spices in its cooking. It is very very spicy. Normally it is accompanied with rice, but one can also drink it like soup. I tried it both ways. Soup was a little spicy, but it tasted quite awesome with the rice.

Pandhra Rassa is also a dish prepared using Mutton Stock. The white color that is brought to the curry is by adding coconut or coconut milk extensively. This one is also very aromatic and has a very different kind of a taste. It is not as spicy as the Tambda Rassa. Again, this curry is also accompanied with rice, and can also drink it like soup. Again this one too I tried it both ways. The winner for me was drinking directly, rather than with rice.

There are many variants of the same in the Kolhapuri culinary circles. If you do not like mutton, the same is prepared in chicken as well. In fact the best way to have it is with crushed pieces of chicken or mutton, rather than having the one with large chunks of them. Any which ways you have it, it is an extremely tasty dish.

I recommend this dish strongly to every one. It is a must-taste for every non-vegetarian whether you like spicy or not! Happy eating!