Manathakkali Vathakuzhambu

 When we say Vathakuzhambu we in our family end up voting for either shallots vathakuzhambu or Poondu Vathakuzhambu. But my personal favourite is the manathakkali vathakuzhambu made using dried manathakkali vathal. Mom used to make it with fresh green manathakkali too. But this one gets thicker by the day and tastes too good in the night or the next day. Though the best combination with this is Keerai koottu or Keerai masiyal, I also prefer it with potato kara curry.

Ingredients

Manathakkali Vathal (Better to use the unsalted ones) - 2 spoons

Tamarind Paste - 8 table spoons

Vathakuzhambu Podi - 4 spoons

Curry leaves -  few (optional) 

Gingely Oil - 6 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Water - 200 ml

For tempering:

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Channa dal - 1 tsp

Hing - 1/2 tsp

Method:

In a hard bottom pan add the gingely oil and when hot add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the channa dal and hing and mix well. Now add the manathakkali vathal and fry it in the oil when it is fried and becomes dark brown add the vathakuzhambu powder and saute well in the oil. Now add the salt too. Mix the tamarind paste in the water to a thick consistency and add it to the pan and allow it to boil. When the water reduces and the oil starts floating on top it is the right to remove it from flame. Accompany it with sutta appalam too. 

Poondu Vatha Kuzhambu

 One of the flavourful vathakuzhambu is the one that is made with Poondu Vatha Kuzhambu. Whenever I say lets make Vatha Kuzhambu, my kids vote for Poondu Vatha Kuzhambu. One of the dishes that my brother also likes which I cook. 

Ingredients:
Garlic - the best one for this is the Malai Poondu vareity the bigger pods one. - 2 nos (you get close to 24 pods)

Vathakuzhambu Podi -  4 spoons

Curry leaves - few

Salt (use coarse rock salt) - 1 1/2 tsp

Gingely oil - 6 tbsp

Tamarind paste - 8 spoons

Water - 2 cups (200 ml)

For tempering

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Channa dal - 1 tbsp

Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp

Method:

In a hard bottom pan add gingely oil and when it is hot reduce the flame and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add the channa dal, methi seeds and the garlic pods. Saute them till the garlic turns golden brown. Ensure the dal and methi seeds do not char. Add the curry leaves and saute it for a few seconds.  Add the vathakuzhamby podi and  fry it in the oil. Add 1 cup of water from the sides and add the tamarind pulp to it and mix well. Add the salt and add the remaining water and bring it to a boil. Let it reduce to 1/2 and the oil start seperating from it. 

Add another 2 tbsp of oil if you want more oil to it. Remove from flame. It can be stored for 3 to 4 days. Add it to hot rice and a spoon of ghee. Serve it with Potato kara curry or some fryums. 

Milagu Kuzhambu by Geeta Sami

Pathiya Samayal contest entry by Geeta Sami

Ingredients:
Urad dhal -2 tbsp
Black pepper- 2tsp
Red chillies -3 nos
Asafoetida -small katti
Curry leaves - handful washed and rinsed
Tamarind - small lemon size (seedless)
Turmeric powder- 1/4tsp
Salt - 1 tsp or as req,
vegetables- Brinjals/ladies'finger /drumstick

Method:
In a pan, add little gingelly oil and fry the asafoetida. Then add urad dal and pepper. when the dhal turns brown add red chillies, tamarind and curry leaves. Let it cool. Then grind them to fine paste. Add turmeric powder and salt.

In a pan, boil water and add any veges like drumstick or ladies'finger or brinjals -cut into medium sized pieces and add little turmeric and a pinch of salt. When done, add the ground paste and add water and let it boil for about 5 min or so till you get the desired consistency. Adjust salt according to taste.

Manathakkali Vathal Pathiya Kuzhambu

Pathiya Samayal Contest entry by Rajeshwari Ganesh

Ingredients

Gingelly oil - 2 tablespoon
Tamarind - 1 gooseberry size
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Urdal - 1 teaspoon
Red Chilli - 2
Thur dal - 1 teaspoon
Manathakkali vathal - 1 teaspoon
Salt - To Taste
Ghee - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves - few

Method:
Heat the tamarind in flame and soak in water and extract the tamarind juice and keep it aside
Heat ghee in a pan and fry the manathakkali vathal till it turns crisp. Take it in a plate and keep it aside
Heat oil in pan, add mustard seeds, when the mustard seeds starts to sputter, add urdal, broken red chilli, thur dal and fry till the dals turns golden brown color
To this add tamarind extract and salt and allow the vathakuzhambu to boil
When the raw smell of tamarind goes off, add the fried manathakkali vathal and curry leaves and remove from flame
Serve vathakuzhambu with hot rice and sutta appalam

Chettinadu Masala Kuzhambu

Chettinadu Kuzhambu is always very very tasty especially their masala kuzhambu or kara kuzhambu. This can be had with hot rice and gingely oil and ghee.

Ingredients:
Small Onions- 18 nos or 1/4 kg
Raddish or chowchow or drumstick or brinjal (numbers depending upon the quantity of veggies one need for a family of four)
Tamarind Paste - 2 tbsp
Red Chillies - 4 nos
Vathakozhambu powder - 2 tbsp
Gingely Oil - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Coconut grated - 1/4 cup
Fennel Seeds (sombu) - 1 tsp
Onion big - 1
Tomato - 1
Garlic pods - 6 nos
Curry leaves - a handful
Bay leaf - 1 no
Cinnamon sticks - 2 nos

Method :
Heat 1/4 of the oil and fry big onion first in it then a hand ful of small onions. Add the tomatoes and 4 of the garlic pods and saute them. Remove from flame and add coconut, 1/2 of the fennel seeds, curry leaves and grind them to a fine paste.

Heat half of the remaining oil in a hard bottom pan and add bayleaf, fennel seeds and cinnamon. Cut the small onions into 1/4th and add it to the pan. Add garlic pods and a few curry leaves and saute them till the onion turns slighly brown. Add the vegetable or vegetables of your choice and mix them thoroughly. Add the vathakozhambu powder and saute for a min. Add tamarind paste and 1/2 cup of water and salt and let it cook till the vegetables become soft and the tamarind water looses its raw flavour. Add the coconut paste and allow it to boil till the oil separates. The consistency will be semi thick.

Remove from flame. Heat the remaining gingely oil and add it to the cooked gravy. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Note:
If you want to avoid tamarind add more tomatoes especially the tangy ones.

Theeyal

Ingredients:

Raw rice                                  2 tbsp

Coriander seeds (dhania)        1 1/2 tbsp

Coconut (shredded)                 1 cup                  

Red chillies                               6 or 7

Pepper                                      1/2 tsp

Curry leaves                             one handful

Vegetables                              Onions, drumstick and raddish (white)

(can use all or any)

Tamarind                                small lemon sized

Turmeric                                  a pinch

Salt                                           1 1/2 tsp (to suit your taste)   

Method :

In a pan add a tsp of cooking oil and fry raw rice first , then add red chillies ,pepper (adjust according to taste) and keep aside. Then in little oil, fry coconut till slightly browned and add curry leaves . let it cool. Then grind everything together in the blender  by adding water to make a coarse paste.

Next ,in  a pan, add tamarind extract, turmeric and salt . when it starts  boiling, add the cooked vegetables ( i steam in microwave) and after a few minutes, add the ground paste and  let it boil till the raw tamarind smell goes off. Season with mustard and curry leaves.

Garlic Kuzhambu - Chettinad Style

Ingredients:
Tamarind paste - 3 tbsp
Garlic - 2 nos
Methi seeds - 1 tbsp
Tomato - 4 nos
Shallots - 8 nos
Curry leaves - few
Vatral Kuzhambu powder - 3 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Sesame oil - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Water - 2 cups

Method:
Heat 1/2 of the oil in a pan. Add the methi seeds and garlic pods and shallots and fry till they become soft. Chop the curry leaves and tomatoes finely. Add both to the pan along with turmeric powder. Mix well and reduce the flame. Cover and cook till the tomatoes get half cooked.

Mix the tamarind paste with 2 cups of water. Add vatral kuzhambu powder, salt remaining gingely oil and tamarind water and bring it to a boil. When the gravy is thick add 1 tbsp of sesame oil/gingely oil and turn off the heat.

Variations:
Grind 1/4 cup of coconut with a spoon of pepper and add it to the gravy. This can be substituted in the place of 2 tbsp of vatral kuzhambu powder. Add just 1 tbsp.

7 Kari Kuzhambu

This is normally made on Thiruvadirai or on Pongal. As the name suggests, this Kuzhambu is made using minimum 7 different vegetables. More number of vegetables is used normally.

Ingredients:
Mochai Paruppu (Field Beans) - 1 cup
Pumpkin - 1/2 kg
Red Pumpkin - 1/4 kg
Sweet Potato - 1/4 kg
Raw Banana - 1 no.
Brinjal - 1/4 kg
Snake Gourd - 1/2 kg
Yam (Senai Kizhangu) - 1/4 kg
Beans - 1/4 kg
Cluster Beans (Kothavarangaai) - 1/4 kg
Chayote (chow chow) - 1 no
Carrot - 2 nos
Taro root or Colacasia (Cheppankizhangu) - 1/4 kg
Potato - 1/4 kg
Green chillies - 8 nos
Thuvar Dal - 1 cup
Red chillies - 12 nos
Coriander Seeds (Dhaniya) - 1/4 cup
Bengal gram dal - 1/5 cup
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Tamarind Paste - 4 tbsp
Oil - 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Methi seeds - 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Solid Asafodeita - 1 inch piece
Asafodeita powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:
In a pan add 2 tbsp of oil and fry coriander seeds, bengal gram dal, red chillies and grated coconut. Grind them to a very fine paste.

Wash peel and dice yam into big pieces. Peel potatoes and cut it into bigger pieces. Pressure cook yam, potatoes, Sweet potato and Taro root. Peel the Taro root, Sweet Potato and cut it into 2 pieces. Peel white and red pumpin and cut it into bigger pieces. Peel the carrot, chayote and cut them too into bigger pieces. Destring the beans and cut them to reasonably sized pieces. Cut the cluster beans into two.

Heat oil in a pan and add cluster beans and saute them for a while. Add field beans to it, and cook it in 1/2 cup of water for some time. Add all the other vegetables (except potato, yam etc), turmeric powder and rock salt (just for vegetables) and cook for about 5 mins keeping the vessel closed. Turn the vegetables without mashing them. Add the potato, yam etc along with 4 slit green chillies. Cook till all the vegetables become 1/2 cooked.

Add 1 cup of water to the tamarind paste and add it to the boiling vegetables. When it boils add the ground paste. In the mean time pressure cook Thuvar Dal and mash well. Add that too to the boiling liquid. When it boils well remove from flame and add finely chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a seasoning laddle add mustard seeds, bengal gram dal, urad dal and 4 red chillies and add it to the sambar.

Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu

Ingredients:
Thuvar Dal - 1 cup
Red chillies - 8 nos
Asafodeita (solid) - 1/2 inch piece
Curry leaves - 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
Green chilly - 2 nos
Cooking Oil - 4 tbsp
Gingely Oil - 4 tbsp
Tamarind paste - 2 .5 tbsp
Vathakuzhambu Powder
            or
Sambar Powder
Salt to taste.

Method:
Wash and soak thuvar dal for about 1 hour. Drain it completely. Grind it along with red chillies, asafodeita, curry leaves and salt coarsely. In a pan add cooking oil and when hot add mustard seeds. When it splutters add slit green chilles and saute for a few mins. Add the ground paste, curry leaves and finely chopped coriander  to the pan and keep turning it till it changes to a golden brown in colour. Make small balls out of it. (1 cup thuvar dal will make about 8 balls).

In another shallow bottom vessel, heat gingely oil and when hot add mustard seeds. Leave it to splutter and add asafodeita, remaining curry leaves. Add vathal kuzhambu powder or sambar powder and fry it in oil for a min or two. Add 3 cups of water to tamarind paste and add it to the pan and let it boil and reduce to almost 3/4th of the original quantity. Add 4 balls to the pan and let it boil again. When it reduced to half add the remaining balls and reduce the flame, cook for about 5 mins. Remove from flame and add finely chopped coriander leaves.

Recipe for Milagu Kuzhambu powder

Ingredients:
Coriander seeds - 3/4 cup
Bengal Gram - 1 cup
Black Pepper - 1/2 cup
Asafodeita - 1 inch piece
Curry Leaves - 2 cups

Method:
Dry roast all the ingredients one by one till the aroma is released. Spread on a plate and let it cool. Grind it to a coarse powder. Store it in an air tight container.

This powder can be stored and used for about 3 to 4 months to make Milagu Kuzhambu (Spicy pepper gravy south Indian style)

Garlic Pepper Kuzhambu for Lactating Women

Ingredients:
Tamarind Paste - 1 tbsp
or
OPOS Tamarind paste - 3/4 tbsp
Thuvar Dal - 2 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Black Pepper - 2 tsp
Jeera - 1 tbsp
Red Chillies - 2 nos
Curry leaves - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 12 cloves
Salt to taste
Gingely Oil - 2 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Asafodeita - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Fry thuvar dal pepper corns, jeera, curry leaves and garlic cloves(peeled) in 1 tsp of gingely oil to a fine paste.

In a pan add the remaining gingely oil and when hot add mustard seeds and when it splutters add asafodeita and ground paste. Fry the paste again in oil for just a few seconds. Mix tamarind paste in two cups of water and add it to the pan. Mix all the ingredients together. Add salt and let the mixture cook. The mixture will thicken and will come together forming a fine paste. Add ghee to it and remove from flame. This can be stored in fridge for about a month.

This is a healing recipe served for lactating mothers during postpartum. Pregnant women can avoid this kuzhambu.

How to serve this:
Serve it with hot rice and about 1 tbsp of ghee (which is must as this is a bit more spicy). Serve it with plain postpartum kootu. Eat just 1/2 cup of this rice with lots of veggies.

Mixed vegetables poricha kuzhambu

Ingredients:
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Drumstick - 1
Brinjal - 2
Chow chow - 1/2
Yam - small piece
Potato - 2 nos
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Salt to taste
Poricha Kulzhambu powder - 4 tbsp
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green chilly - 1 no
Curry leaves - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Broken Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Cut into cubes all the vegetables. Cut the drumsticks into 1 inch pieces. Pressure cook yam and potatoes. Pressure cook moong dal separately. Cook other vegetables in 1 cup of water along with turmeric powder and little salt. Mix the poricha kootu powder in 1 cup of water and make it a fine paste.

In a pan add oil and when hot add the mustard seeds, urad dal and half of the curry leaves. Once the urad dal turns pink in colour add the cooked vegetables, yam and potatoes. Add the powder paste to it and bring it to boil. Grind coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies to a fine paste. Add it to the vegetables and reduce the flame. After 5 minutes add the cooked moong dal and mix it thoroughly. If the kuzhambu is thick add enough water (one cup).

Tomato Kuzhambu (Thakkali Kuzhambu)

Ingredients:
Tomatoes - 1/2 kg or 1 cup Tomato Puree
Tamrind Paste  - 2 tbsp
Sambar Powder - 3 tbsp
Grated Coconut - 2 cups
Onions - 2 big
Green Chillies - 2 nos
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - a few

Method:
Add one cup of warm water to grated coconut and extract coconut milk. Find here how to extract coconut milk at home. 

In a hard bottom pan heat oil, mustard seeds and when they splutter add onions, green chillies and curry leaves. When the onion turns glassy add sambar powder, tomato puree and salt and mix well. Add tamrind paste and 1/2 cup of water and bring it to boil. When it boils add the coconut milk and simmer it for a few mins. 

Remove from flame. This goes well with idly, dosa,  or even rice.

Recipe for Karakuzhambu

Ingredients:
Karakuzhambu Powder - 3 or 4 spoons
Tamrind Paste - 2.5 tbsp
Gingely Oil - 3 tbsp (If the ingredients to be ground are fried using this oil, it enhances the taste)
Curry Leaves - 1/4th cup
Sambar Onions - 12 pieces
Big Onion - 2 nos
Tomato - 2 nos
Garlic Flakes - 8 nos
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Green Chilly - 1 no.
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch
Salt - To taste

Method:
Add the tamrind paste to 2 cups of water. In 1 tbsp of gingelly oil, fry the sambar onions and let them cool.

Grind the sambar onions, tomatoes, garlic flakes, and the Karakuzhambu powder. It should be a very fine paste. Grind the grated coconut and green chillies along with curry leaves separately.

Cut the onions into very fine small pieces. In a pan, add gingely oil and add mustard seeds. When it pops add the cut onion and a pinch of salt and keep stirring it till the onions turn glassy. (We add salt to the onions so that it wont get browned up easily).

Add the tamrind water, a pinch of turmeric powder and the required quantity of salt. When the tamrind water comes to a boil add the onion tomato paste and let it boil for 10 mins. Now add the coconut paste and boil it in medium flame. Before removing from the flame add the remaining gingely oil.

Note:
Vegetables like Ladies Finger, Brinjal can be added to this Karakuzhambu. Add the vegetables after frying the onions in oil.

Sambhar powder|Kuzhambu Podi recipe|குழம்பு பொடி

தனியா - இரண்டரை கப்
துவரம் பருப்பு, கடலை பருப்பு, உளுத்தம் பருப்பு - ஒவ்வொன்றும் அரை கப்
மிளகாய் வற்றல் - (குண்டு மிளகாய் வற்றல் - நான்கு கப், ஒல்லி மிளகாய் வற்றல் ஆறு அல்லது ஏழு கப்)
வெந்தயம் - கால் கப்
ஜீரகம் - கால் கப்
கட்டி பெருங்காயம் - சிறிதளவு

எல்லா பொருட்களையும் தனி தனியாக வறுத்து நல்ல நைசாக அரிது வைத்து கொள்ளவும். இந்த பொடியை கறி, வற்றல் குழம்பு, பருப்பு குழம்பு எல்லா வற்றிற்கும் உபயோகப் படுத்தலாம்