vatha kuzhambu | sundakkai vatha kuzhambu, spicy curry indian one of the delicious kuzhambu remains on the menu of the wedding function in Tamilnadu. This kuzhambu is made with dried turkey berry (sundakkai) with tamarind and spices. This dried turkey berry has a bitter, and astringent taste. We have all the other four tastes (sweet, salty, sour, and spicy) in our diet every day, but we have bitter and astringent tastes hardly. There are two types of turkey berry curry (vatha kuzhambu- spicy curry indian) one with dried turkey berry, the other one is with fresh berries. Both taste different even though they are the same veggie.
I am not the person who makes this kind of vatha kuzhambu or kara kulambu very often. Recently I came across a nice recipe from a chef for vatha kuzhambu. I tried it once and It became my favorite food. That recipe inspires me to do this dish. I adopted his recipe and made this recipe with few changes (from his original recipe) over the number of spices and method of preparation that is based on my taste. I hope you will like this curry.
Video for vatha kuzhambu | sundakkai vatha kuzhambu | vatha kulambu | spicy curry indian
Among all the vatha kuzhambu varieties, this curry/ kuzhambu is a favorite one to most of them. Because this curry is a combination of the spicy, sour, and bitter and little sweetness of jaggery. Sesame oil will be used for this curry traditionally. this sesame oil also has a unique flavor that enhances the taste of the curry. Particularly shallots/ pearl onions are used in this curry. In case of lack of this pearl onion, we can go for the usual onions. As a simple side dish, we can use papads/ fryums. Traditionally, some kootu varieties are the famous side dishes for this curry/ kuzhambu.
Let’s get into the recipe of vatha kuzhambu | sundakkai vatha kuzhambu |vatha kulambu | spicy curry indian
vatha kuzhambu | sundakkai vatha kuzhambu
Ingredients
For Roasting and Grinding:
- 4 tsp sesame oil (2+2 tsp)
- 2 tsp chana dal
- 2 tsp urad dal
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp peppercorns
- ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp rice
- 6 Kashmiri red chilly
- 1 spring curry leaves
- 20 numbers pearl onion (small onion) 70 gram
- 2 numbers tomato (chopped) 200 gram
- 3 garlic (big)
For making vatha kuzhambu:
- 3 tbsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
- ¼ tsp asafoetida
- 1 spring curry leaves
- 10 numbers pearl onion
- 3 numbers garlic (chopped)
- 1 number red chilly
- ¼ cup sundakkai vathal (dried turkey berry)
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 2 cups tamarind extract (tamarind extract from 1 big lemon size tamarind)
- 1 tsp jaggery powder
- salt to taste
Instructions
For Roasting and Grinding:
- Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan, add 2 tsp of chana dal. 2 tsp of urad dal, 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp peppercorns, ½ tsp of fenugreek seeds, 1 tsp rice.Roast it for 1 minute.
- then add 6 dry red chilly, 1 spring curry leavesRoast it for 2 more minutes in low flame
- And then take off from the flame. Transfer it to a container for later use. Let it cool
- In the same pan, heat 2 tsp of sesame oil, add pearl onions and garlic, saute it till the onion becomes glossy.Then add tomatoes (chopped), saute it till tomatoes become soft and mushy.
- And then take off from the flame. Let it cool
- Grinding: Add in roasted spices and sauteed onion-garlic-tomato. Blend it into a fine paste with little water. Keep aside.
For making vatha kuzhambu:
- Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, add ¼ tsp of fenugreek seeds, a spring of curry leaves, 1 dry red chilly, ¼ tsp of asafoetida
- Next, add 10 pearl onion, 3 garlic (chopped), ¼ cup of sundakkai vathal (dried turkey berry).Roast it for 3 minutes in medium flame.
- Now pour in 2 cups of tamarind extract, ½ tsp turmeric powder, and salt. Mix well
- Let comes to a single boil
- Add in the ground paste and mix well, add enough salt
- Pour in 1½ cup of water and mix
- Boil it in medium-low flame for about 10 minutes.
- Finally, add in 1 tsp of powdered jaggery and mix well.That's it. The vatha kuzhambu is ready.
Stepwise Picture Recipe:
vatha kuzhambu | sundakkai vatha kuzhambu |vatha kulambu | spicy curry indian
For Roasting and Grinding:
Roast it for 1 minute.
Then add tomatoes (chopped), saute it till tomatoes become soft and mushy.
Then add tomatoes (chopped), saute it till tomatoes become soft and mushy.
Making vatha kuzhambu (spicy curry indian):
Now the vatha kuzhambu (spicy curry indian) is ready.
Note:
this turkey berry has so many health benefits. But it will be hardly available in shops rather we should plant this in our home garden. It is good to use this turkey beery in our diet once in 2 weeks. Because it treats the problem of stomach worms. As it is a rare veggie, we can use this dried veggie and stock it at home.
While using this curry for lunch with rice, the best side dish would be papad or any fryums.
we can store the left over curry for next day too.
Along with this spicy curry indian kuzhambu recipe, also check out other kulambu varieties in the blog,
And also, follow us on,