Vendakai Vatha Kuzhambu/ Tangy Okra Curry
Thakkali Aati Kachina Kuzhambu
Thakkali Aati Kachina Kuzhambu is basically a Tomato curry, that goes on the sides with pretty much anything. Idli, Dosa, Parathas and Rice, all taste great with this. This a traditional recipe from the Kongunaad region of Tamil Nadu. I have deviated a little from the original recipe, a few addition/deletion of spices and condiments. The rich taste and flavour of tomatoes and the texture given by coconut, makes this curry a winner.
This curry is different from a chutney or sambar, in its basic ingredients. The consistency may be that of Sambar, but there is no dal used in this curry. Just three ingredients Shallots(Sambar onions), Tomatoes,Coconut, apart from other spices. Even better is the fact that you can store it in the fridge for a couple of days, and use as required.
If you have been following the blog, then you know by now what a tomato addict I am, and I just can’t cook without them. Anyone on the same page as me? Infact, in my social media handle I have spoken many times about my insecurity of tomatoes getting over. So much that i keep stocking excess of them. And this stocking has become excess during the pandemic lockdown. So every now and then such Tomato gravies and chutney’s are made at my place to keep consuming them????.
While you are here check out other curry recipes on the blog like Chakki Ki Shak, Rasakalan, Miloni Baby Corn and Bell peppers Curry, Menthiya keerai Kootu, Mirch Ka salan, Dum Aloo Ajwaini, and more…
Here is the recipe for Thakkali Aati Kachina Kuzhambu-
PREP TIME: 10 COOK TIME: 20 MINS
TOTAL TIME:30Mins COURSE: MAIN COURSE
CUISINE: SOUTH INDIAN SERVINGS: 6
AUTHOR: Rajni Ram
Ingredients:
Tomatoes 4 large ones
Shallots/Sambar onions 20 nos peeled (10 ahead and 10 later)
Garlic 4 cloves
Dry red chillies 4 + 1
Curry leaves a few
Coconut 2 tablespoons
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida 1/2 tsp
Salt as required
Sambar powder 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder regular 1 tsp
Kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tsp
Pepper powder 1 tsp
Oil for sauteing till oil/coconut oil/refined oil
Directions:
In a Pan/Kadai heat some oil for sauteing. Gently drop the shallots(half of them), garlic and red chillies and saute. Add curry leaves and continue to saute. When the onions start turning a light brown, add the tomatoes and saute until they turn mushy. Now add the coconut and saute for a minute or two. Put off the flame and cool the mixture. Once cool, grind this mixture to a smooth paste and keep aside. Now to the same kadai, add a little more oil and heat. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, dry red chilli and curry leaves. Add some asafoetida. Now add the remaining shallots and saute until light brown. Now add the prepared tomato paste. Also add salt, sambar powder, red chilli powder(regular), kashmiri red chilli powder, and mix well. Now add some pepper powder. Add about 2 cups water and allow the gravy to thicken. The final consistency of the gravy should be like Sambar. Enjoy with Rice, Idli Dosa, Puri or Parathas. Bon appetite.
STEPWISE RECIPE FOLLOWS:
1. In a Pan/Kadai heat some oil for sauteing. Gently drop the shallots(half of them), garlic and red chillies and saute. Add curry leaves and continue to saute. When the onions start turning a light brown, add the tomatoes and saute until they turn mushy. Now add the coconut and saute for a minute or two. Put off the flame and cool the mixture.
2. Once cool, grind this mixture to a smooth paste and keep aside. Now to the same kadai, add a little more oil and heat. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, dry red chilli and curry leaves. Add some asafoetida. Now add the remaining shallots and saute until light brown.
3. Now add the prepared tomato paste. Also add salt, sambar powder, red chilli powder(regular), kashmiri red chilli powder, and mix well. Now add some pepper powder. Add about 2 cups water and allow the gravy to thicken. The final consistency of the gravy should be like Sambar.
NOTES:
1. Country tomatoes are the best variety for this recipe, as they are a little sour.
2. Instead of adding pepper powder later, once can add whole peppercorns while sauteing the onion and tomatoes.
3. This curry can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days and warmed up as required.
Pruppu Urundai Kozhambu (Dal Dumplings In Tamarind Sauce)
I love cooking this dish though it involves some amount of preparation and detail. Paruppu Urundai Kozhambu is a delicious traditional South Indian recipe. I learnt this from my mother in law and she was an expert at it. In this preparation, dumplings of Dal/ lentils are cooked in a tangy tamarind sauce. This dish is served with rice but goes well as a side dish for Dosas, Idli, Pongal etc. As in all recipes, there are different methods of making the dumplings. Some steam the dumplings before adding it to the sauce, while some cook it directly in the tamarind sauce. I prefer and follow the second method. The dumplings are able to absorb the flavours this way. I also love using fresh coriander in the dumplings as it realove cooking this dish though it involves some amount of preparation and detail. Paruppu Urundai Kozhambu is a delicious traditionaand add them to the sauce, whereas other recipes suggest cooking it lly elevates the dish to a different level. So when there are no coriander leaves at home I don’t make the dish. Whether coriander is added or not, this dish is just amazingly tasty. So don’t wait for the coriander, just cook on. While you are here check out the recipe of Vatha Kozhambu A similar recipe with Shallots cooked in a tangy tamarind sauce.
Here is the recipe of Paruppu Urundai Kozhambu.
PREP TIME: 20 Mins+ soak time COOK TIME: 30 Mins
TOTAL TIME: 60 Mins COURSE: MAIN
CUISINE: SOUTH INDIAN SERVINGS: 5
AUTHOR: Rajni Ram
Ingredients:
Tuvar dal/ Pigeon peas 2 cups soaked for 1 hour
Tamarind 2 lemon sized balls( pulp extracted)
Grated Coconut 3 tbsp
Sambar powder 2 tbsp
Dry red chillies 5
Mustard seeds 2 tsp
Asafoetida 2 tsp
Methi seeds/ fenugreek seeds
Curry leaves few
Coriander leaves(optional)
Salt as required
Directions to make Urundai( dumplings)
Drain out the water from the soaked dal and put it in the blender. Add 1 tsp asafoetida, dry red chillies 3, salt ( as per preference) and grind to a coarse mixture. Now in a karahi or pan add 1 tbsp oil to temper and sauté the mixture. As the oil heats up add 1 tsp mustard seeds, as they crackle add a few Methi seeds, broken dry red chillies, asafoetida1 tsp, curry leaves and fry them. Once they are golden brown add the coarsely ground dal mixture and salt and sauté nicely over a medium flame for 5 minutes. Add the grated coconut and keep stirring constantly as the mixture may stick to the pan/karahi bottom. This step is just to take away the moisture, the dal need not be crumbled, just stirred. After sautéing transfer the sautéed dal to another vessel and cool. Once cooled shape them into dumplings. I could make around 13 dumplings from this mixture. The dumplings should be a little bigger than a Lemon. Set the dumplings aside.
Directions for the Kozhambu( gravy/ sauce)
Extract the pulp from the tamarind and dilute it. You should have about 700 ml of tamarind juice if it’s too sour dilute with another 100 ml. Pour this diluted extract into a deep thick bottomed dish and switch on the flame. Add salt, turmeric powder, Sambar powder, asafoetida and boil. As it starts boiling and the raw smell of the masalas is gone( around 7 minutes into the process on medium flame), add one Urundai( dumpling) and test. If it doesn’t break while cooking on medium heat in the next 1 minutes, reserve 1 dumpling and all the other dumplings can be put into the tamarind water one by one after reducing the heat to low. If the first Urundai disintegrates in the water, put off the flame, undo all the dumplings and add 1 tablespoon rice flour and shape them to dumplings again and continue the process mentioned above. Cook the Urundais(dumplings) in low to medium flame while stirring gently every now and then until they start rising to the top. Once cooked the dumplings will float above. Now add about 1 cup water to the reserved dumpling and break it up. Pour this paste into the kozhambu( gravy) after the dumplings have risen and cook for 2 minutes or until the gravy has thickened to a Sambar like consistency. Switch off the flame and temper the Kozhambu with a little oil in a Kadai and put mustard seeds, followed by Asafoetida and curry leaves. The delicious Paruppu Urundai Kozhambu is ready.
Serving Suggestions: with hot rice and ghee, Dosas, Idlis, Ven Pongal,
Kuthiravali Pongal( millet Pongal) etc.
STEPWISE RECIPE FOLLOWS:
1. Assemble all ingredients. Soak the Tuvar dal for 1 hour, soak the tamarind in warm water and extract the pulp, dilute pulp, grate the coconut, and keep ready.
2. Drain water from the soaked dal and put it into the blender, followed by red chillies, turmeric powder, salt and asafoetida. Grind them to a coarse paste, without adding water.
3. Now in a karahi pour oil for tempering and heat. Put in mustard seeds. As they crackle add the methi seeds, turmeric powder, broken dry red chillies, asafoetida 1 tsp and curry leaves and fry. Now add in the dal mixture to this and start sauteeing, so that the moisture from the dal gets evaporated. Add the grated coconut, saute for another minute and switch off the flame. Finally, add some finely chopped coriander to the dal mixture. Leave the mixture to cool.
4. In a deep vessel, preferably flat one pour the tamarind extract. It should be a dilute extract of 700 ml. Add turmeric powder 1tsp, asafoetida 1 tsp, Sambar powder 3 tbsp, salt and boil the extract on medium flame.
5. After the extract is put to boil, shape the dumplings of the Dal mixture and keep aside.
6. When the mixture bubbles up and froths( about 5 mins from boiling) and all the raw smell of the powders is gone drop one dumpling gently into the boiling mixture. Flame on medium, wait for 2 minutes. If the dumpling does not disintegrate in this time, retain 1 dumpling and put in all the other dumplings one by one. Reduce flame to low and continue to boil.
7. As the dumplings cook in the tamarind extract they will slowly start rising to the top(I have added a short video). When all have risen, break the single reserved dumpling and add 1 cup water to it. Give it a stir so that it becomes a paste. Add this paste into the boiling tamarind gravy to thicken the gravy. Cook for 2 minutes and switch off the flame.
8. Take a small tempering Kadai and add little oil. heat and add mustard seeds, asafoetida 1/2 tsp and curry leaves. Pour the tempering into the Kozhambu.
The tasty Paruppu Urundai Kozhambu is ready to serve.
NOTES:
1. Definitely soak the dal, helps in binding.
2. Sometimes depending on the dal quality the dumplings can break/disintegrate in the extract while boiling. That is why I have recommended putting only a single one to test.
3. If the tester dumpling disintegrates, break up all the other dumplings and add 1 tbsp rice flour to it. Mix well and shape into dumplings again. Before you do this do not forget to switch off the flame in which the extract is cooking as we dont want it to evaporate now.
4. Some recipes recommend adding rice flour to the dal mixture while shaping them itself. I prefer not doing this as it makes the dumplings tougher or hard. So I prefer adding rice flour only if required.
If you tried this recipe and liked it please comment below. I would love to hear from you.