Peanut Dhal - this is a Gujarathi dhal. Tur dhal - ½ cup Raw peanuts - ½ cup (or less, by choice) Tomatoes - 3, chopped Green chillies - 4-5 slit Tamarind - 1 tsp ( cocum, if available can be substituted, 3-4) Red chili powder - 1 tsp Dhaniya powder - 1 tsp Salt, haldi To temper: Oil - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Methi seeds & jeera - ½ tsp, each Curry leaves & hing To garnish - chopped criander leaves Soak peanuts for 3-4 hrs (optional if you want them soft) Pressurise dhal, peanut, haldi & green chillies till doft. Cool & lightly mash. Heat oil in a kadai & temper as given. Add tomatoes & fry till soft. Add masala powders, fry for a few secs & add dhals & tamarind paste or cocum. Simmer for a few mtes & remove. You can add lime juice instead of & tamarind paste or cocum. Garnish & serve with rice or roti.
Puli Venda Saar - to put your tummy back on the right track! After Deepavali over-eating, this kuzambu with just a paruppu thogayal is so light on our digestive system. Tamarind paste - 4-5 tsp Salt Rice flour - 1/2 - 1 tsp To temper: Oil - 1 tbsp red chillies - 5,6 (broken) Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Methi seeds - 1/2-1 tsp Gram dhal 2-3 tsp Hing - 1/2 tsp curry leaves - few Heat oil & temper as given. Add tamaind paste with 1 1/2 cups of water & boil for a few mtes. Mix rice flour with 1 tbsp of water, add& simmer for the kuzambu to thicken. Remove & serve hot with white rice.
Dill Masoor Dhal - Try with tur or moong dhal as well! Dill is Suva Bhaji or sapsige soppu or Sombu keerai in tamil. They are very flavourful. Masoor dhal - ½ cup Chopped dill leaves - 1 cup To mince together: Garlic - 5,6 pieces Green chillies - 2-3 To temper: Oil - 2 tsp Jeera - 1 tsp Onion - 2 tbsp, chopped (optional) Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Salt & little sugar. Pressurise massor dhal with twice the volume of water & haldi. Heat oil & temper as given, adding the minced ingredients & the chopped greens,. Saute for a few mtes till the greens cook & shrink. Add the dhal, salt, little sugar & simmer till well blended. Serve with rotis or hot rice & ghee.
Pachai Milaku Kuzambu - no oil, no cooking, only eating! This is a very spicy kuzambu which can be refrigerated & used for a week. Mix just 1 tbsp with a cup of cooked rice + gingelly oil or ghee! It is very tasty. Goes very well with curd rice. The unique feature is, there is no oil & there is no cooking!! Use raw tamarind & not paste. Tamarind - 50 gms - soak in 1 ½ cups of water for 2 hrs, squeeze well with hand & blend using a hand blender. Strain & use the pulp. Roast DRY in a kadai: Red chillies - 2 Tur dhal - 1 tbsp Pepper & Jeera - 1 tsp, each Methi seeds - ½ tsp Hing - ½ tsp Curry leaves - few Cool, powder with salt, add to the tamarind water & mix well. Temper thus - in a dry kadai, roast Sundakkai vathal - 2 tbsp Manathakkali vathal - 2 tbsp Add the above & separately dry roast 1 tsp mustard seeds till they splutter & add to the kuzambu. .
Milaku Poricha Kuzambu - ideal when you want to go ‘easy’ on your tummy~!! This is a post-pregnancy kuzambuand can be made with any 'allowed' vegetables. I tried this with snake gourd. Moong dhal - ½ cup Diced snake gourd - 3 cups Pepper powder - 2-3 tsp (powdered fresh – this is a must) Salt To temper: Oil - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dhal - 2 tsp Curry leaves - few Cook dhal till soft & steam the vegetable. Mix both in a vessel, add salt & freshly ground pepper & just enough water to get the desired consistency. Simmer for 7-8 mts till the raw flavour of pepper is lost. Temper as given. This goes best with amla raitha & a roast curry.
Pachai Vatha Kuzambu - tastes like Spicy Honey!! This also involves nocooking-no oil! Keeps for a week in the fridge!Use tamarind & not paste. Tamarind - 50 gms ( soak in 1 1/2 cups of water for 1-2 hrs, liquidise & strain). To that add salt and the following: Roast in a dry kadai: Red chillies - 3-4 Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Tur dhal - 1 tbsp Methi seeds - 1 tsp Hing - 1 tsp Haldi - 1/2 tsp Sambar powder - 2 tbsp (or to taste) Mix well. It is like a thick paste.
Ginger Kuzambu – you will love this! Fry in 2 tsp oil: Ginger - 50 gms (Peel & chop into tiny cubes) And grind with Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp (or to taste) Coconut - 2 tbsp Small onions - 10 (optional) Jeera - 1 tsp To the above paste, add Chilli powder - 1 tsp Dhaniya powder - 2 tsp Salt, Haldi & hing Water - 1 cup Temper in 1 tbsp oil: Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Methi seeds - ½ tsp Chopped onions - 2 tbsp (optional) Curry leaves - few Add the paste + water Simmer till desired consistency is reached. This is very good for digestion, cold, gas problems etc. If onions are not used, add 2 tbsp more of coconut.
Pineapple Irupuli Kuzambu – a very unique taste! Select and buy ripe pineapple so that the dish has a unique sweet & sour taste. The sourness is drawn from both tamarind & mildly sour curds. Adjust them to suit your taste. Peel & cut the fruit into small cubes. Pineapple cubes - 1 cup Tamarind paste - 1 ½ tsp Mildly sour curds - 1 cup Roast in a few drops of oil: Red chillies - 4, 5 ( to taste) Methi seeds - ½ tsp And grind with: Grated coconut - ¾ cup Mustard seeds - ¼ tsp Salt, haldi To temper: Coconut oil - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - ½ tsp Red chillies - 2, 3 Curry leaves - few Mix tamarind paste, ½ cup of water, little salt, haldi & pineapple cubes. Cook in a pressure pan for 2 whistles. Cool & open. Add the ground paste & the rest of the salt. Simmer for a few mts. Add the churned curds & cook on a low fire till frothing starts around the edges. Remove & stir for a few minutes till the dish looks uniformly mixed. Temper as given. Goes well with papad & any roast curry( vathakkal).
Masala morkuzambu - a recipe from an ILite! This is spicy & tastes 'restaurant-style'! Chow cow or white pumpkin cubes - 1 cup Boil till soft with little salt & 1 cup of water. Small onion-a handful grated coconut-2 tbsp pepper-1 tsp green chillies-2 jeera-1 tsp garlic-5 or 6 pods Curd -4 – 5 tbsp Grind the above mixture into a nice paste. ]Add this paste and simmer it to boil and then add salt. Simmer for 3-4 mts for the raw smell to go. [Temper in 1 tsp coconut oil with 1 red chilli,curry leaves and mustard. Add more beaten curds, if necessary, to get the desired consistency.
Dhappalam - an Andhra gravy, very tasty!! The vegetables used are lauki, sweet potato, red pumpkin, brinjal and drumstick. Cut them into cubes – size between sambar & kootu! Vegetables - 3 cups Slit green chillies - 4-5 (or to taste) Tamarind - 1 tbsp Tomatoes - 2,chopped Jaggery - 1 tbsp Salt, haldi To temper: Oil - 1 tsp Mustard - 1 tsp Methi seeds - ½ tsp Hing - ½ tsp Curry leaves - few Boil vegetables with 1 cup water, salt & haldi till soft. Add tamarind paste mixed with ½ cup of water & chopped tomatoes. When the tomatoes become soft, add jaggery. The consistency should be like thick sauce. Adjust water suitably. Remove & temper as given. Best served with hot rice and ghee!