poondu kuzhambu | poondu kuzhambu recipe
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 3
Ingredients
Base ingredients:
  • Small onions - a handful or 25 onions
  • Garlic cloves - a handful or 35 cloves
  • Tomato - 1 medium-sized
For tamarind extract:
  • Tamarind/Puli - big gooseberry/nellikkai sized
  • Water - 1 cup
For coconut paste:
  • Coconut - 5 thin pieces or ¼ cup grated
  • Water - ¼ cup + ¼ cup
To temper:
  • Sesame oil/Nallennai - 1 or 2 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds/kadugu - ¼ tsp
  • Urad dal/ulutham parupu - ¼ tsp heaped
  • Fenugreek seeds/vendhayam - ¼ tsp
  • Curry leaves - few
For flavor:
  • Asafoetida/perungayam - a generous pinch
  • Any gravy powder/kuzhambu podi - 1+ tbsp ***See notes for alternates
  • Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
  • Rock salt/Kalluppu - 1 tsp or as required
  • Coriander leaves - few
Extras:
  • Water - ½ cup
Instructions
  1. Take a big gooseberry/nellikkai sized tamarind ball and soak it in hot water for 10 to 15 mins. Then, rinse it well with fingers until it disperses well. Strain the tamarind extract through your fingers and throw away the pulp and seeds.
  2. Peel the skin of small onions and garlic. Wash and chop 1 medium-sized tomato and few coriander leaves. Wash few curry leaves and keep ready.
  3. Take 5 thin pieces or ¼ cup grated coconut and grind in mixie. Then add ¼ cup water and grind it to a paste(not so smooth and not so coarse).
  4. Heat 1 or 2 tbsp of Sesame oil/Nallennai. Once oil is hot, simmer and add ¼ tsp Mustard seeds/kadugu. Once spluttered, add ¼ tsp heaped Urad dal/ulutham parupu and ¼ tsp Fenugreek seeds/vendhayam. Once they slightly change color, add handfuls of small onions and garlic cloves along with few curry leaves.
  5. Fry them in medium flame till they start changing color.
  6. Then add chopped tomato and coriander leaves. Add a generous pinch of asafoetida/perungayam and fry well till tomatoes are mashed well and oil oozes out.
  7. Simmer and add ¼ tsp Turmeric powder and 1 tbsp kuzhambu podi or gravy powder(see notes for alternates with exact measurements). Give a quick stir.
  8. Add ½ cup water and a tsp of salt.
  9. Cook closed for 5 mins in medium flame. Once masala smell leaves, add extracted tamarind water.
  10. Again, cook closed for 5 mins. Then add ground coconut paste.
  11. Wash the mixie jar with ¼ cup water and add that as well.
  12. Cook closed for 5 more mins. Then simmer(cook closed) for 10 to 15 mins until oil oozes.
Notes
1.You shall replace gravy powder with these -> ¾ tbsp coriander powder + ¾ tbsp plain chilli powder+ 1 pinch Jeera powder +1 pinch pepper powder.
2.Increase or decrease spice powders as per your taste buds.
3.Small onions can be replaced with big ones but sambar onions taste best in this recipe.
Recipe by My Healthy Kiddo at https://www.myhealthykiddo.com/poondu-kuzhambu-recipe/