Kuzhambus- the gravies of South India.

Vazhaippoo Pitlai
Banana flower 1

Cooked tur dhal ½ cup

Tamarind paste 1 tbsp



To fry & powder

Red chillies 7,8

Bengal gram dhal 2 tsp

Dhaniya seeds 3 tsp

Til seeds (white or black) 2 –3 tsp

Khus khus 2 tsp

Coconut gratings 2 tbsp

Hing powder ½ tsp



To temper

Mustard seeds 1 tsp

Udad dhal 1 tsp

Roasted peanuts 2 tbsp

Curry leaves few



Chopped coriander leaves to garnish



Take the outer covers of the plantain flower and remove bunches of florets one at a time.

Hold them in hand & remove the stamens from the centre.

Then chop the bunches fine & soak them in water mixed with a little buttermilk

to prevent discolouration.

Boil the chopped flowers with haldi & little water.

Mix the tamarind paste with 1 cup water.

Fry the ingredients from red chillies to hing & powder.

Mix the above ingredients with tamarind water well without any lump formation.

Add cooked tur dhal.

Adjust to the required consistency, add salt and a little jaggery if preferred.

Remember, the consistency should be the desired one , since there is no loss by evaporation in pressure cooking.

Transfer to a pressure pan, keep on stove & put the weight.

Cook till one whistle comes.

Cool, open temper & add chopped coriander leaves.

For a change you can omit the cooked dhal, fry the ingredients and grind them to a paste instead of powdering them & do this preparation.

Hi Mrs.Chithra,

Tried vazhaipoo pitlai today and it was so so wonderful. Have tried kathirikai pitlai & pavakkai pitlai; hereafter, this pitlai too will be in my day today menu.

Thanks a lot for sharing such a traditional and tasty one!!

Rgds.

Hello Chitra,

I've never tried using banana flowers ever.

could u pls tell me how do we clean it??? may not be a big task but I just don't know which part of it shld be used.........

It would be great and helpful if u can tell me how to use it//

thank you so much........

love & regards,

Hello Chitra,

whenever I come down to chennai and however busy my schedule is, I somehow extract time to visit "saravana bhavan' - the vatha kozhambu and sambar they serve is something I crave for more...........

could u pls give us the recipe for the tastier chennai style sambar that normally is served with soft, fluffy, white idlis? and ofcourse the vatha kozhambu using brinjals???

I did get the recipe for sambar fm a friend but somehow it wasn't the authentic south indian sambar recipe... I would like to have the one using small onions and tomatoes, normally served with idlis...

Maybe u can start another thread and share sambar recipes alone - the one for breakfast and other sambar recipes for lunch and so on.............

Pls do take ur time - U seem to be the most wanted member of our community.

Hope u had wonderful festive days with ur family.

love & regards,

To start with, apply a little oil on your hands because banana flower leaves a stain on the hand. Take out the red covers one by one & take a bunch of florets at a time. By holding them in hand & brushing them , the long flowers will be visible. Remove each, lightly open out , pluck the central yellow thread like portion , which stands with a tiny round at the top & discard it-this is called "kallan" & tastes bitter. Keep a bowl of water to which little white vinegar or buttermilk is added . This is to prevent the chopped flowers from turning black.Chop the flowers (from which kallan is removed )fine & keep in this water till you cook them.
Then proceed as given.
Regards,
Chithra.

Hi Meenaprakash,
I have just started on varieties of sambar & as soon as they are ready I shall post them. Yes, I will remember vathakuzhambu as well , in fact I have made some modifications on traditional vathakuzhambu -I liked them & I have passed on the recipes to a close friend for a feedback & her opinion, before posting them !
You are welcome to ask me, anyother traditional recipes.
Regards,
chithra.

Hi ladies,

Tried two times Mrs.Chithra's Vazhaipoo pitlai and it came out great. The second time, substituted with kothavarai and still, loved the taste. This is just for everyone's info.,

Million thanks to you, Mrs.Chithra. More recipes are welcome from you!!

Rgds.

Hello Chitra and Ami,

Chitra, I thought u must be busy this festival day and didn't expect so quick a reply. Thank u so much for the detailed mail on how to clean banana flower..
After reading ur mail, I just can't wait to get a Vazhaipoo and try out the recipe.

Ami, now that u have given an option, I'm glad I can definitely try it out atleast with Kothavarai if I don't find Vazhaipoo...

thank you for sharing the info.

Sambar – the Essential Dish in a South Indian Menu.

I am giving a few recipes for sambar, starting from the traditional method, how I have incorporated changes for fast cooking of the same with a working woman in mind, a few easily made ones for idli & dosa and lastly one with a very tasty, mild masala flavour. Now most of the typical south indian gravies are referred to as sambar – but that is not correct!

Please refer to tips for tamarind paste, cooking dhal etc since I don’t plan to repeat them here.

Recipe for sambar powder:

People in Karnataka use cinnamon in sambar powder.- I don’t. If you want with cinnamon, please refer to

http://www.malasa.com/cookbook/Powders/Sambarpowder.htm

Sambar powder proportion - 2 recipes.
First Recipe:
red chillies 350 gms(100gms=1 cup)

dhaniya 350 gm( 100gms=1 ½ cups

pepper 3 ½ tbsp - 40 gm
gram dhal ½ cup - 100 gm -

tur dhal 1 cup - 200gm

varali manjal 7,8 Dry everything in sun & powder fine in flour mill.

Second Recipe:

Red chillies 250gms

Dhaniya 250 gms
pepper ½ cup - 6o gm

gram dhal ½ cup - 100gm
tur dhal 1/2 cup - 100gm
varali manjal 7,8
udad dhal ¼ cup - 40 gm
Methi seeds 50 gms
Dry everything in sun & powder fine in flour mill.
I alternate between both the above recipes - both are good.

Traditional Sambar with sambar powder:

Cut vegetables into about 1” cubes or I” length.

Vegetables to be lightly fried & used are, small & big onions, ladies’ finger , brinjal, avarakkai ( broad beans?), cluster beans,capsicum etc

Those that can be directly added are, white ashgourd, yellow pumpkin, chowchow, seppankizhangu, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage coarsely chopped, peas, fresh raw peanuts, drumstick , radish, beans, carrots, etc.

Almost all vegetables except bitter gourd, yam can be used.

The general rule is to use 1 level tsp sambar powder per head. You can increase or decrease according to your preference. Thickness of sambar is also personal choice.

For 3 persons, mix 2 tsp tamarind paste, about 3 level tsp sambar powder, ½ tsp hing powder, a pinch of haldi & salt in 1-1 ½ cups of water. In a vessel, fry 1 tsp oil, add 1-2 red chillies, ½ tsp methi seeds, curry leaves. For vegetables from the first list, lightly fry the vegetables & add the tamarind water.

Otherwise add the tamarind water & add vegetables. You can add slit green chillies, if you like. Cook on medium flame till the vegetables are soft. Now add cooked & well mashed tur dhal, about1/2 – ¾ cup to get the desired consistency . Boil & remove. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Temper with mustard seeds in 1 tsp gingelly oil.

Traditional Araichu vitta sambar:

In this freshly ground masala paste is added instead of sambar powder.This is more commonly done in Kerala & is definitely more flavourful – no denying that!

This needs less cooked dhal, since the paste acts as a thickening agent as well.

Fry in I tsp oil, 3-4 red chillies, 1 tsp gram dhal, 2 tsp dhaniya, ¼ tsp methi seeds &1/2 tsp hing powder lightly. Finally add 2 tbsp grated coconut &some curry leaves & immediately switch off the stove. Grind this to a paste adding water.

Boil vegetables, the same way as given before in tamarind water with haldi & salt.You can add slit green chillies, if you like. Cook on medium flame till the vegetables are soft. Then add the ground paste & cooked dhal & boil. It will thicken well – be careful when you add the dhal. Temper as before & garnish with coriander leaves.

Now the modifications, I have made are, I always use a mixture of pureed tomatoes & tamarind paste. I find, that gives a very good colour besides thickness to the sambar, not to mention of the enhanced taste ! I also make by the one whistle method, I have given in tips. There is no loss by evaporation & hence the cooked aroma is best preserved. The cooking is also fast. If you like tomatoes as chopped pieces, you can add them instead of pureeing them.

Tempering with 3 in 1 powder eliminates wasting curry leaves & biting methi seeds which leaves a bitter taste. 3 litre pressure pan or cooker is ideal for a family of four.
In the next few days, I plan to post tiffin sambar varieties.

Hi All

I tried Mrs.Chithras following recipes, they turned out well and we all enjoyed it. The recipes are puliodharai,one whistle sambar, poricha rasam and navarathnaparuppuusili. I suggest that you all should try it and enjoy it like us.

Regards
priya