Monday, June 30, 2008

Karakkuzhambu -The Chettinad way.


Who can say a ‘no’ to this spicy, tangy Chettinad Kara Kuzhambu or Vathal Kuzhambu?
With the medley of garlic, onions, vatral, the aromatic Kuzhambu proves to be a feast by itself and is also known as Poondu Vengaya Kuzhambu.The yummy gravy goes well with steamed rice, dosa, idly or with any main food.

This is for Sig, who hosts JFI-Tamarind for the month :).

Ingredients:
Gingelly seed Oil-A tbsp
Garlic- peeled- ½ cup(slice length wise into halves if the pods are large)
Shallots/small onions-sliced into halves1/2 cup
Dhania powder/malli thool-1 tbsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Kuzhambu milagai thool-I use Aachi brand to get that distinct Chettinad flavour- 1 tbsp
Tamarind- a small lime sized ball
Salt-to taste

To Season:
Gingelly seed Oil-1 tbsp
Mustard seeds
Urad dal or Bengal gram dal-a tsp
Methi seeds-1/2 tsp
Dried Sundakkai or Manathakkali Vatral(optional)- A tbsp
Curry leaves-a sprig

Method:
1. Soak tamarind in half a cup of warm water and extract juice as thick as possible.Keep aside.Generally I use a little aged tamarind, blackish brown in colour.This enhances the taste of any Kuzhambu and gives that blackish brown colour too.

2. Heat oil in a thick bottomed deep vessel. Sauté garlic and onions till they turn golden brown, say for abt half a minute. Add tamarind extract followed by the 3 powders.(you can also use sambhar powder or just chilly powder instead of Kuzhambu milagai thool.)Mix well to avoid any lumps. Add salt. Bring this to a boil and reduce flame to simmer till it reduces to a semi-thick paste.Refer picture for consistency.If you prefer a little watery, take off from fire a little earlier, accordingly.

3. In a separate kadai, heat oil, season with mustard seeds, urad or bengal gram dal & Methi seeds. Sauté Vatral of your choice for 3-5 seconds and throw in curry leaves. Pour over to the Kuzhambu, bring to another boil, mix well and remove from fire.

Note- Keep the pan open till it cools down.(If the pan is closed the kuzhambu turns more watery by the evaporated water dripping in from the inside of the lid).This has a good shelf life and stays well for even a month if refrigerated. Dilute with warm water to make instant kuzhambu or mix with hot rice to make the Kuzhambu sadam, a yummy and simple pack away lunch.If you need to place this as a preserve, definitely add liberal amounts of oil while seasoning, as seen in the picture.

38 comments:

  1. Ooh! That looks tangy and fiery B, good recipe girl.Excellent entry for Tamarind I must say! I will try this for sure!:)

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  2. IT LOOKS SO yummy!!
    good one!!

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  3. Bharathy, that is one of my all time favorites!! I want some now!!!! It looks really phenomenal! :)

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  4. ooooh my sis is back with a yummy vatti pulus :D

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  5. OMG..i am drooooling so so bad..now all i want is unlimited supply of rice, alu roast, tons of pappadam..and curd at the end to wash it down...i will eat like a vadhiyaar :D..he he...

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  6. Divine! I just had manathakkali vatha kuzhambu today.

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  7. Lovely recipe. my husband;s fav. You wont believe I have been looking for this for 7 yrs and finally you posted. I'm going to try it soon.

    Thanks for posting

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  8. OMG that looks totally awesome!! Thank you dearest for this entry... I know you are busy, so really appreciate you taking the time to post this... Hugs!

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  9. woo wht a mothwatering tangy kolumbu...with idli or with rice its a good combo....its really looks delicious...

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  10. ho! i can smell it now..
    i miss this kaari kolumbu in the place i live. my wife is good cook but she dont know this one, i will give this to her for sure.

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  11. Hi Bharathy, I ate something exactly like this at a friend's place recently - till then, I thought vatral kuzhambu was a no-onion, no-garlic recipe.

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  12. you've been hugged!!

    http://divyascookbook.blogspot.com/2008/07/memean-award-and-hug.html

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  13. hmmm..bharathy!!!!kara kuzhambu looks tooo good..i am drooling.once had it at a friends place,after 2 to 3 helpings,i got embarrassed and stopped having it;-)definitely gonna try your recipe!!great entry!!

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  14. Delicious kuzhambu! :) Our meal is complete with this kuzhambu rice with maavadu!
    Bharathy dear there is an award for you in my blog! Good that you are back, like me! :D

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  15. I love this with curd rice.....beautiful pic...

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  16. somthing for u on my blog...check out

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  17. hey, nice to see ya Bharathy :) that dish looks sooo good, am drooling here ;)

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  18. Wow...This is indeed a mouthwatering entry!!!.First time in your blog and luv it...

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  19. bharathy,
    nice to c u back..
    looks nice..
    something waiting for u in my blog.check it out

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  20. Yes it is not possible to say no to this spicy hot kaarakuzhambu! Especially for a spicy-food lover like me! I have to try this, considering that this is a vegetarian recipe :)

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  21. Barathy, I was drooling when I clicked onto your site! This looks wonderful the colour looks so good to eat.

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  22. i am going to try this version for sure ... once i get back to india.........soon.... yes , i am busy packing....we r relocating to Chennai.

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  23. That looks totally awesome. lovely entry.

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  24. Nice one with tamarind, and the picture is just amazing. I usually prefer these with upma too:-)

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  25. atlast with your guidence my wife made this kolanbu last night.. okay it was, i know very soon she will get it right.

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  27. Bharathy-

    good one on chettinad kaara kozhambu.

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  28. I am new to ur blog...lued all ur recipes....very tasty and well presented.....

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  29. Absolutely a mouthwatering recipe!Will try for sure....Pic is tooo tempting :)

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  30. That is fiery!! I'd love it.

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  31. This is looking good, glad I stopped by and saw it but I wish I could taste it!

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  32. Mothwatering kolumbu.Perfect combo with rice and idli looks awesome...

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  33. Hi ..
    I was looking for this recipe ..Will definitely try it out ..Thanks a lot for this wonderful dish

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  34. Wonderful recipe ..Keep up the great work Bharathy..

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  35. Hey Bharathy,
    I made this...yummy! Did not have the kuzhambu powder though. So made the substitution u suggested.
    Thanks for the recipe! :D

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  36. Bharathy, i make the kulambbu the ssame way substituting Kulambu Milagai thool(KMT) with Sambhar powder_chilly powder+Dhaniya Powder.. Will look out for KMT

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  37. This was amazing. Living away from home with a north indian roommate who believes kara kozhambu is comfort food, I did make a good meal for the two of us. Thanks for the recipe!

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  38. Hi Dear, you have mentioned that you will post your MIL version of poondu kulambu(with urad, channa roasted) can you please post this version? , thank u very much. -

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