Kuzhambus- the gravies of South India.

This can be completely prepared with tamarind alone.

I am giving a method using tomatoes & little coconutmilk.

Vegetables of your choice – drumstick, brinjal, ladies’ finger etc can be used.

Vegetables - 1 cup ( cut into 1 “ cubes)

Give a boil & blend together with ½ cup of water:

Tamarind paste - 2 tsp

Tomatoes - 2-3

Add 1 cup of warm water & take milk from:

Grated coconut - 3 tbsp

To roast in ½ tsp oil & grind to a paste:

Red chillies - 4,5

Pepper - ½ tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Gram dhal - 1 tsp

Jeera - ¼ tsp ( optional)

Hing - ½ tsp

Curry leaves - few

To temper:

Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - ½ tsp

Curry leaves - few

In a pressure pan heat 1 tsp oil & fry the vegetables lightly.

Add tomato-tamarind pulp, coconut milk, ground paste, salt & enough water.

Close the cooker, keep the weight & cook for one whistle.

Open & temper.

I make this kuzambu, withut tamarind, but using amchur powder, to give a very different taste. This goes well with rice as well as chappathis.
One can completely avoid onions in this - it taste equally good.

Methi leaves bunch - big 1 or 4 small

Tomatoes - 2, big ( deskin & chop)

Onions - 2 ( optional )

Amchur Powder - 2 tsp

Salt, haldi

Roast dry & powder coarse:

Red chillies - 2

Jeera - 1tsp (without onion, ½ tsp )

Dhaniya - 2tsp

Seasame seeds - 2 tsp

Peanuts: - 2 tbsp

To temper:

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Wash & drain the methi leaves completely.

Heat oil in a kadai, temper mustard seeds.

Add methi leaves, salt & haldi.

Then add onions & fry till the colour changes.

Now add tomatoes & fry till they become pulpy.

Mix& cook till the mixture blends well.

Add amchur powder,sprinkle the made powder & mix thoroughly.

Add more water to get the required consistency.

Simmer & remove.

Only green chillies are added for spice & so use to your discretion.

Cooked sphagetti - 1 cup

Potatoes - 2 (medium ) – cut into cubes

Carrots - 2 (medium ) – cut into cubes

Cauliflower - 1 cup ( small flowerettes)

Peas - ½ cup

Coconut grated - 1 cup

Oil - 2 tbsp

Cinnamon - 1”

Cardamom - 3

Cloves - 3

Onions - 2 big ( chopped ) - optional

Garlic - 7,8 ( chopped ) - optional

To grind to a fine paste:

Green chillies - 5-6 ( or more)

Khus khus - 3 tsp

Cashewnuts - 10 (or use 2 tsp melon seeds)

Salt

Take 1 cup first milk & 3cups second milk from the coconut.

Boil sphagetti in plenty of water to which a little oil & salt are added.

Remove in 3,4 mtes & drain.

Rinse in cold water & smear 1 tsp oil on it to prevent their sticking to eachother.

Keep boiled sphagetti ready.

In a vessel, heat oil, fry cinnamon, cloves & cardamom.

When they pop up, add onion & garlic & fry till their colour changes.

Add second milk, all vegetables, salt & cook on a medium flame.

When the vegatables become soft, add the ground paste & give a boil.

Now simmer the stove, add first milk & mix well.

Add sphagetti, allow everything to blend well on a low fire & remove.

This goes well with idli, dosai, pongal, kozakkattai, arisi upma etc.

Mango, fairly sour, medium size -1 – chop into small cubes

Brinjal - 2 - chop into small cubes

Capsicum, medium - 2 - chop into small cubes

Yellow pumpkin -- 1 piece - chop into small cubes (optional)

Green chillies - 7,8 – slit into 2

Cooked tur dhal - ½ - 1 cup

Salt, haldi

Roast dry in a kadai & powder:

Red chillies - 7, 8

Dhaniya - 1 tbsp

Gram dhal - 1 tbsp

Hing - ½ tsp

Curry leaves - few

To temper:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Methi seeds - ½ tsp

Red chillies - 3,4

To garnish:

Chopped coriander leaves - few

In a kadai, heat oil & add all tempering ingredients.

Add the cubes of capsicum, brinjal & green chillies.

Saute well &add 2 cups of water.

Add cubes of mango & yellow pumpkin.

Now add salt, haldi & cookthe vegetables till soft.

Halfway through add the powder mixed with 1 tbsp of water.

Finally add as much cooked dhal as is necessary to get the required consistency.

Simmer till well blended & remove.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

This is an ideal side dish for idli, dosai, upma, kozakkattai etc.

Vegetables like white pumpkin, brinja, drumstcks can be used. Cut as for sambar.

Vegetables - 1 cup

Sour thick buttermilk - 3 cups

Cooked tur dhal - 2 tbsp

Salt, haldi

To roast in ½ tsp oil & grind:

Grated coconut - 2 tbsp

Red chillies - 5, 6 ( to taste)

Dhania - 2 tsp

Gram dhal - 3 tsp

Methi seeds - 1 tsp ( to give a nice taste)

To temper:

Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Red chillies - 3, 4

Curry leaves - few

Cook vegetables in minimum water, say ½ cup with little salt & haldi.

When they are soft, add cooked dhal & ground paste.

When the mixture boils together for 2-3 mts, add buttermilk & simmer.

When it froths, remove, add salt & mix very well.

Temper as given.

Sweet potoes or ripe yellow pumpkin are suitable.

I am giving a method using tomatoes & little coconutmilk.

For this mainly green chillies are used & very little sambar powder.

Give a boil & blend together with ½ cup of water:

Tamarind paste - 2 tsp

Tomatoes - 2-3

Vegetables - 1 cup ( cut into 1 “ cubes)

Add 1 cup of warm water & take milk from:

Grated coconut - 3 tbsp

Cut vegetables into 1 “ cubes. Sweet potato may be lightly peeled & ripe yellow pumpkin should be peeled.

Vegetable cubes - 1 cup

Green chillies - 7,8 slit into 2

Sambar powder - 1 tsp

Salt, haldi

Hing - ½ tsp

Jaggery - 2-3 tbsp

To temper:

Oil - 3 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Tur dhal - 2 tsp

Methi seeds - ½ tsp

Hing - ½ tsp

Curry leaves - few

In a pressure pan, heat 2 tsp oil.

Temper tur dhal, methi seeds & hing.

When they are fried, add slit green chillies & then sambar powder.

Then add tamarind-tomato mixture, coconut milk, vegetables & salt.

Adjust the consistency so that it does not become thin, but remains medium.

Close the pan & put the weight.

Cook for 1 or 2 whistles, depending on how soft, you prefer the vegetable to be.

Cool & open.

If the consistency is not right, add little rice flour mixed with 2-3 tsp water to the same & boil.

Add powdered jaggery & simmer.

Remove & temper mustard seeds & curry leaves in 1 tsp oil.
sweet P V K.jpg

For this, country variety is ideally suited with its rustic rich flavour.

Ripe mangoes(sweet)- 2 big or 3 medium

Fairly sour curds-2 cups

Grated coconut-1 cup

Green chillis- 6 ( more or less)

To temper:

Coconut oil - 1 tsp

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp methi seeds

Red chillies - 1

curry leaves

Steam the fruits, cool, deskin and remove the pulp.

Pass it through a blender for a smooth texture.

Grind coconut and green chillis to a fine paste.

Beat the curds well.

Mix all the three , put in a saucepan and heat the mixture on medium heat.

As soon as it starts frothing, remove, add salt and stir continuously for a few minutes.

Temper as given.

For making this dish freshly ground masala tastes better than sambhar powder.
Generally for cooking ripe mango curries, Nattu (Nadan) variety mango is good enough.

Ripe mangoes 2 medium or 3 small

Cooked tur dhal ½ cup

Tamarind paste 1 tbsp

To roast in 1tsp oil & grind


Red chillis about 6

Methi seeds ½ tsp

Dhania seeds 4 tsp

Gram dhal 2 tsp

Grated coconut 2 tbsp

Hing powder 1 tsp

Curry leaves few

Green chillies (slit ) 3-4

Salt,haldi.

To temper:

Oil 1 tsp

Mustard seeds 1 tsp

Red chillies 2

Chopped coriander leaves

Keep the cooked & mashed tur dhal ready.

Mix the tamarind paste with 2 cups of water.

Take the mango fruit, steam whole, de-skin, remove the pulp & put in a blender to get a smooth texture.

Fry the given ingredients & grind to a smooth paste.

Mix the cooked dhal, mango pulp, tamarind water, ground paste, slit green chillies, salt & haldi in a pressure pan.

Cook till one whistle comes.

Remove, cool, open & temper.

Add chopped coriander leaves.

Sprouted Kollu - ½ cup

( Refer to
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16556&postcount=159)

Sambar vegetables - of one’s choice

Sambar powder - 2-3 tsp

Salt, haldi

Boil or MW together & blend

Tomatoes - 3

Tamarind paste - 1-2 tsp

Water - ½ cup

To temper:

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Red chillies - 2,3

Hing - ¼ tsp

Curry leaves - few

Pressure cook kollu sprouts with water for 3-4 whistles.

Open, cool & blend.

Mix tamarind-tomato mixture, kollu sprouts boiled & blended, vegetables for sambar, sambar powder, salt & haldi in a pressure pan to the desired consistency.

Cook for 1 or 2 whistles.

Cool, open & temper.

Cleaned & chopped methi leaves - 1 cup

Tamarind paste - 2 tsp ( or little more to taste)

Grated coconut - ½ cup

To grind for the urundai:

Tur dhal - 3 tbsp

Gram dhal - 3 tbsp

Red chillies - 3

Green chillies - 3

Hing - ½ tsp

Salt

To grind for gravy:

Onion - 2

Garlic - 4,5 pieces

Green chillies - 4,5

Tomatoes - 3

To temper:

Oil - 2 tbsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Add 1 cup warm water to coconut & take milk.

To tamarind paste add 1 cup of water, salt & haldi.

Grind the ingredients for the urundai, add chopped methi leaves, roll into balls ( do not make tight balls).

Steam for 6,7 mts.

Heat oil, temper jeera & add the second paste.

Fry well till the raw smell goes.

Add tamarind – coconut mixture.

When it boils well, add urundais, simmer & remove.