Muttai Kulambu (South Indian Egg Curry)
Muttai Kulambu (Egg Kuzhambu) is a Tamil Nadu style curry where boiled eggs are added to a spicy coconut-based gravy. Serve this South Indian egg curry with steamed rice or roti for a hearty meal.
Try a few more Indian egg curry 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 Egg Kuzhambu recipe during our road travel to Ooty. A 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 frequently 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.
Ingredients
To Make The Paste
For the freshly ground paste, you will need a few whole spices, neutral-flavored cooking oil, red onions, fresh ginger, garlic, cashew nuts, green chillies, and fresh coconut.
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 very 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 muttai kuzhambu recipe uses basic spice powders such as coriander powder, turmeric powder, and Kashmiri red chilli 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. I used chicken eggs, but you can also use duck eggs or quail eggs in this recipe.
How To Make Muttai Kuzambhu
Make The Masala Paste
Heat 2 tablespoon cooking oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
Add the following ingredients once the oil is hot, and sauté 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 to the pan 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
Add 5-6 cashew nuts and cook for 2 minutes.
Now add ½ cup of grated fresh coconut and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat.
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.
Make The Curry
Heat 2 tablespoon of cooking oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
Add 1 teaspoon fennel seeds and sauté for 4-5 seconds.
Add the masala paste and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Now add 1 cup of pureed tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add the following ingredients and cook for 1 minute.
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
Add 1 cup of water and mix well.
Reduce the heat to low.
Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring 2-3 times in between.
Add 6 boiled eggs and 1 teaspoon salt to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes.
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.
Pro Tips By Neha
I have prepared muttai kuzambhu using boiled eggs, but you can also break the raw eggs on top of the ready masala, cover the pan, and cook until the eggs are cooked to make a new variation. This variation is traditionally known as Udaitha Muttai Kulambu.
You can also give the ready curry a tempering of curry leaves and mustard seeds for added flavor.
Add some thick coconut milk at the end of cooking for a taste change. Do not cook on high heat or for long after adding coconut milk. Just cook on low heat for 1-2 minutes.
Add some garam masala for a more robust flavor.
Storage Suggestions
This egg gravy can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
You can also freeze the muttai kulambu gravy for up to 3 months, but do not add eggs if you plan to freeze it. Thaw the gravy, add eggs, and then reheat.
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Muttai Kulambu Recipe (Egg Kuzhambu)
Ingredients
For The Masala Paste
- 2 tablespoons neutral-flavored cooking oil
- 2-3 whole cloves (laung)
- 4-5 whole black peppercorns (kali mirch)
- 2 whole black cardamoms (badi elaichi)
- 1 whole star anise (chakri phool)
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick (dalchini)
- 1 whole bay leaf (tejpatta)
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf)
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 tablespoon white poppy seeds (posta dana)
- 1 cup chopped red onions
- 2 inch piece of ginger (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 5-6 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 2-3 green chilies
- 5-6 cashew nuts
- ½ cup grated fresh coconut
For The Curry
- 2 tablespoons neutral flavored cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf)
- 1 cup pureed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 6 hard-boiled eggs
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
Instructions
Make The Masala Paste
- Heat cooking oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add cloves, peppercorns, black cardamoms, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaf, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, and poppy seeds, and saute for 4-5 seconds.
- Add onions, ginger, garlic, and green chilies, and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Add cashew nuts and cook for 2 minutes.
- Now add coconut and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- 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.
Make The Curry
- Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Add fennel seeds and saute for 4-5 seconds.
- Add the masala paste and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Now add tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, and chili powder, and cook for 1 minute.
- Add 1 cup of water and mix well.
- Reduce the heat to low.
- Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring 2-3 times in between.
- Add eggs and salt to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Add more water if the curry is thick for your liking.
- Check for salt and add more if needed.
- Tip – You can also add a teaspoon of tamarind paste at this stage if the tang from the tomatoes is not enough.
- Garnish the curry with cilantro and serve hot.