Murungakkai Palakottai Sambar, Drumstick Jackfruit Seeds Sambar

          I like jackfruit seeds as much as I like the fruit itself, though it's a pain to peel these seeds, they taste delicious. We can make curries with the seeds alone, but I like this sambar made with these seeds and murungakkai/drumsticks more than the curries. The flavor from the murungakkai and also the tamarind added in the sambar adds more taste to the seeds. Serve it with rice and any vegetable curry..

Need To Have

• Tuvar Dal/ Split Pigeon Peas - 1/3 cup
• Jackfruit Seeds - 1 cup
• Drumstick - 2 big, cut into 2" pieces
• Onion - 1 small, chopped
• Tamarind - small lemon sized ball
• Sambar Powder - 3 teaspoons
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Chopped Coriander Leaves - 1 tablespoon
• Salt to taste

Method

          Pressure cook the tuvar dal with the turmeric powder and keep. Take the soft skin from the seeds while removing it from the fruit, the seeds can be left to dry overnight. Now the outer white skin will be dried up, I usually dice it into two and remove the outer skin, then you'll see the brown skin.

          Next, to remove the brown skin, soak it in water for sometime ( about 30 minutes, then scrape it out ).

          Heat some oil, add the urad dal and mustard seeds and cumin seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the asafoetida followed by the green chilly and onions. Saute it for a minute, then add the jackfruit seeds and drumstick and saute for another minute.

          Add the sambar powder, salt, about 2 cups of water, cover and cook till the drumsticks and seeds are cooked. Soak the tamarind in 1/4 cup of hot water for 15 minutes and extract the juice, then add another 1/4 cup water and squeeze out. Add the tamarind extract to the cooked drumstick and seeds and cook another 10 minutes, then add the cooked dal and cook for 5 more minutes. Finally add the curry leaves and chopped coriander and remove.

Note
The drumsticks that we get in Chennai cooks so fast, but the ones that I get in Bangalore takes a long time to cook, so adding tamarind slows down the cooking even more, that's why I add it after the drumstick is cooked.
You can pressure cook the jackfruit seeds too, but not with the tuvar dal, cook it for only a whistle or two, the seeds should not become mushy.
Some people don't remove the outer brown skin, also the outer white skin is easy to remove ony when the seeds dry out, the seeds are slippery when you remove them from the fruit.

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Karuvepillai Kuzhambu, Curry Leaves Curry/Gravy

          Curry Leaves/Karuvepillai, I can't imagine South Indian cooking without this, we season most of our dishes with it and use it in chutneys, podis, we just love the flavor of these leaves. This kuzhambu has been on my do list for so long, I have followed Mallika Badrinath's recipe, it's simple and delicious. We can serve this kuzhambu with rice, idlis and dosas, it's spicy tangy and very flavorful..

Need To Have

• Urad Dal/ Husked Black Gram - 2 teaspoons
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Small Onions, Shallots - chopped, 3/4 cup
• Salt to taste

To Grind

• Poppy Seeds - 11/2 tablespoon
• Tamarind - 2 small lemon size
• Grated Coconut - 4 tablespoons
• Curry Leaves - 11/2 cups
• Green Chillies - 3 long, big ones
• Dried Red Chillies - 6
• Garlic - 10 cloves
• Ginger - 11/2 " piece

Method

           Dry roast the poppy seeds and soak the tamarind in a little warm water. Heat some oil, saute the dried red chillies and remove.

          Then add the garlic, green chillies and ginger, saute for 2 minutes, then add the curry leaves and saute for 3 to 5 minutes and remove. Grind all the sauteed items with the poppy seeds, tamarind and coconut into a paste and keep.

          Heat some oil, add the urad dal and mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering add the chopped onions and saute till golden, then add the ground paste.

          Saute the paste for 5 to 7 minutes, then add salt and about a cup of water, bring it to a boil, then reduce and cook it on low heat for about 5 to 7 minutes, till oil floats on the top.

Note
The taste should be spicy and tangy with a nice flavor.
I like to use gingelly oil for making this kuzhambu, it gives a nice flavor.

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Sundakkai Vathal Kuzhambu, Dried Turkey Berries Curry

          Today's dish is Sundakkai Vathal ( Dried Turkey Berries ) Kuzhambu, this is a recipe that I had jotted down so many many years back and it's a favorite till now. We're not using any fresh vegetables in this kuzhambu, just these dried and preserved sundakkai vathals ( the fresh turkey berries are prepared in a special way, so that they can be stored year around ). This is a tangy and spicy curry and I serve it with plain white rice along with some paruppu thogayal ( lentil chutney ), will post that recipe next. It's such a simple and flavorful kuzhambu, but tastes so delicious when mixed with the chutney and rice. Serve it along with some poriyal/stir fried vegetables and pappads for a complete and satisfying meal..

Need To Have

• Sundakkai Vathal - 15
• Tamarind - 1 lemon sized ball
• Jaggery - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt to taste

To Grind

• Dried Red Chillies - 5
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Sesame Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Grated Coconut - 4 teaspoons

Method

          In a little oil, roast all the ingredients ( except the coconut ) given under ' to grind '.

          Cool  the roasted ingredients a little and then grind it with the coconut into a smooth paste.

          Soak the tamarind in a little warm water and extract the juice, add some more water and extract one more time, the juice should come to about 2 cups. Take the juice, add the ground paste, turmeric powder, jaggery and salt and mix it well.

           Heat a little oil, add the mustard seeds and and urad dal, when it starts spluttering, add the sundakkai vathal and roast it, till it changes color, then add the tamarind water mixture.

          Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, then add the asafoetida and curry leaves and remove.

Note
While roasting the ingredients for making the paste, add the sesame seeds at the end, switch off and cover, the sesame seeds will start spluttering all over.
I have used sesame oil/gingelly oil for cooking, you can use regular cooking oil too.
If you can't find sundakkai vathal or any other vathals ( can use manathakkali vathal too ), then we can do the gravy with potatoes, soaked and boiled chickpeas.

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Thakkali Kurma, Tomato Kurma

          Today's dish is going to be a simple and delicious Tomato Kurma, this comes in handy when you are running out of time or on those days you don't feel like chopping vegetables. The gravy is rich, flavorful and delicious from the coconut and cashew paste and goes well with rotis, idlis, dosas, as a side dish for pilafs and briyanis or even mixed with some plain white rice..

Need To Have

• Tomatoes - 3 medium
• Onion - 1 medium, chopped
• Garlic - 6 small cloves, peeled and smashed
• Green Chilly - 1, slit
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
•  Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Chopped Coriander - 1 tablespoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt to taste

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 2 tablespoons
• Cashews - 6
• Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoons
• Poppy Seeds - 1 teaspoon

Method

          Cook the tomatoes in water, let it boil till the skin splits. Remove the tomatoes from the water, remove the skin, mash it and keep.

          Grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind ' into a fine paste.

          Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the onion, garlic, green chilly and curry leaves. Saute for a minute, then add  the turmeric, red chilly and coriander powders and mix for a few seconds.

           Add the mashed tomatoes, about a cup of water, salt, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes.

          Add the ground paste, mix and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes, then add the chopped coriander and remove.

Note
Use ripe tomatoes, it takes just a few minutes for the skin to split if the tomatoes are ripe.

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Mampazha Moru Kuzhambu, Mango Buttermilk Stew

          I wanted to try out a number of recipes with mangoes, while they were still in season, one of them is this Mampazha Moru Kuzhambu. I knew that mangoes go very well with yogurt/ curd, but had a slight doubt about how it would taste in a moru kuzhambu and then I saw this recipe at Saffron Trail. Since I had all the ingredients in hand, I made it the same day, I have followed the original recipe, with only very few changes. It's a very easy dish, takes very little time and tasted really good with rice..

Need To Have

• Ripe Mango ( Banganapalli ) - 1 big 
• Yogurt/ Curd - 1 cup
• Turmeric Powder - 1/8 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Green Chilly - 1 slit
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt to taste

To Grind

• Tuvar Dal/ Split Pigeon Peas - 1 tablespoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chilly - 1 
• Grated Coconut - 3 tablespoons

Method

          Soak the tuvar dal, cumin seeds and red chilly in a little water for about 30 minutes, then grind it into a smooth paste with the coconut.

          Cut the mango into big chunks, with the skin, leave out the seed. Take the mango pieces, ground paste along with 1 cup water and salt. Bring it to a boil and then cook on reduced flame for 6 to 7 minutes till the mango pieces are cooked, but still hold their shape.

          Beat the yogurt well and add it to the mangoes along with the turmeric powder, heat it ( don't boil ) and remove.

          Heat some oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the fenugreek seeds and green chilly, mix for a few seconds, then add the asafoetida and curry leaves, mix for few more seconds, remove and add it to the mango mixture. Mix and serve it warm with some white rice.

Note
Use ripe but firm mangoes, Banganapalli is a variety of mango available in India, you can use any mango that's really sweet. If the mango is not very sweet, add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar at the end and mix.
The red chillies that I had were very spicy, I have used only 1, use more or less depending on the spiciness of the chillies.

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Gujarati Kadhi, Spicy Yogurt

          I have never been a big fan of kadhi, until I tasted it at my friend's place, in fact I have tasted some of the best Gujarati dishes at her place, best homemade dhoklas, kachoris, and other curries. I got this recipe from her only, we simply love this with the khichdi that I had posted earlier. It's a very simple recipe, calls for very few ingredients and can be done in minutes..

Need To Have

• Yogurt/ Curd - 1/2 cup
• Besan Flour/ Gram Flour - 1 tablespoon
• Water - 1+1/2 cup
• Sugar - 3 teaspoons
• Cloves - 2
• Cardamom - 1
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 6
• Salt to taste

To Grind

• Green Chilly - 1
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Garlic - 2 cloves

Method

          Grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind ', adding a little water or yogurt.

          Take the besan flour in a heavy bottomed pan, add the yogurt, water, salt, ground paste and sugar and mix it well without any lumps, tear and add the curry leaves.

          Put this mixture on the stove and heat, keep stirring, when you see it start boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes and remove. Heat oil, add the cloves and cardamom, when the cloves start popping, add the mustard and cumin seeds, let the mustard seeds splutter, then add this to the yogurt mixture and serve it warm.

Note
Don't let the mixture to boil over.
Leftovers can be refrigerated, slightly warm it before serving.
This kadhi has a slight sweetish taste, that's the way we love it.

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Moong Dal/ Payatham Paruppu/ Green Gram Sambar

          When I make idlis or dosas, the standard side dish that I make with it, is either some kind of a chutney or sambar. The sambar that we make for tiffins is slightly different from the ones that we make for rice, we add very little or no tamarind at all. I make two varieties of sambar, the one using tuvar dal/ split pigeon peas is here and the other one is, using moong dal/ husked, split green gram, which is today's post. Both are equally delicious and when had with idlis and dosas make a complete meal. I don't add any sambar powder to this sambar, it gets its taste and flavor only from the fresh green chillies, coriander leaves and curry leaves, it has a fresh taste and very easy to make too..

Need To Have

• Moong Dal/ Husked Split Green Gram - 1/2 cup
• Small Onions/ Shallots - 1/2 cup, peeled
• Tomatoes - 3 medium, chopped
• Carrot - 1/4 cup, chopped
• Fresh Green Beans - 1/2 cup, chopped
• Small Eggplants - 2 diced
• Green Chillies - 8
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/ Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 15
• Chopped Coriander Leaves - 1/2 cup

Method

          Cook the moong dal with the turmeric powder till well cooked but not mushy. Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds. When it starts spluttering, add the onions, green chillies and asafoetida and saute for 2 minutes. Then add the beans, carrots, eggplants and saute for another 2 minutes.

          Then add the chopped tomatoes and mix for another minute. Then add the salt and 1 cup of water, cover and cook till the vegetables are done. Now add the cooked dal and another 1/2 cup water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Finally add the curry leaves and coriander leaves, mix and remove. Serve it hot with idlis and dosas.

Note
Use sour tomatoes.
Chop the shallots into two, if they are too big.
You can do the sambar with only the onions, leaving out the vegetables.
You can cook the moong dal in the pressure cooker along with some salt and turmeric powder, so that it doesn't turn mushy.

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Mushroom And Baby Corn Kuzhambu ( Curry )

          Till now, whenever I got mushrooms and baby corns, I had either prepared curries separately with each of them, or used them in fried rice or noodles, but never had I tried a kuzhambu with it. I tasted this at a restaurant, prepared in the Chettinad style, along with garlic, black pepper and coconut. I loved this curry and wanted to try it at home, the next time I had mushrooms and baby corn. This kuzhambu/ curry goes very well with rice, rotis, idlis and dosas, very easy to prepare and very flavorful, if you like garlic and pepper flavors, then you'll love this..

Need To Have

• Baby Bella Mushrooms - 16 oz
• Baby Corns - 8, diced into1" pieces
• Onion - 1 medium, chopped
• Garlic - 5 cloves, grated
• Grated Ginger - 1 teaspoon
• Tomatoes - 2 medium, pureed
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons
• Black Pepper Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoon, crushed
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt - to taste

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon, packed
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Method

          Heat some oil, add the crushed fennel seeds, when it starts sizzling, add the onions, grated ginger and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, till the raw smell of garlic goes away.

          Then add the tomato puree, red chilly, turmeric and coriander powders, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper powder and salt and saute fro another 2 minutes. Now add the baby corn and mushrooms, mix for 2 more minutes, add 1/4 cup water, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

          In the meantime, grind the coconut and fenugreek seeds into a smooth paste. Add this paste to the cooked baby corn and mushroom, along with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of pepper powder. Mix, simmer it on reduced heat for 5 minutes. Garnish with the curry leaves and serve warm with rice or rotis.

Note
If the mushrooms are small, keep it whole, otherwise dice into big pieces.
If it's difficult to grind the fenugreek seeds, you can add fenugreek powder to the coconut and grind.
Can reduce or increase the pepper powder depending on your spice level.

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Sundakkai Kuzhambu/ Turkey Berry Gravy

          Sundakkai/ Turkey Berry is widely used in South Indian cuisine, especially in the Tamil kitchen, we use both, the fresh berries and the preserved dried ones known as Sundaikkai Vathal. While googling I also read that it's used in Thai cooking too. While growing up in India, I wouldn't even think of eating this vegetable, but after marriage and moving to the US, I started missing it, we hardly found them on the East Coast, I could have only the dried ones that I got from India. It's available on the West coast in some farmers markets. Now that I am back in India, I get plenty of these fresh berries, there are a few dishes that we make with it, today's is the Sundakkai Kuzhambu. The tamarind extract and the jaggery used balances the slight bitter taste of these berries, it tastes awesome when served with some hot white rice..

Need To Have

• Sundakkai/ Turkey Berries - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 medium, chopped
• Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
• Tamarind - lemon sized ball
• Sambar Powder - 3 teaspoons
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt - to taste

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• White Poppy Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Shallots - 2
• Jaggery - 1 teaspoon

Method

          Grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind '. Soak the tamarind in 1 cup hot water, when the water is cold enough to handle, squeeze the tamarind well and strain. Repeat with another cup of water (room temperature).

          The berries come with a small stalk at one end, remove that and slice it halfway into two, as shown in the picture and keep it soaked in water.

          Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the fenugreek seeds, followed by the curry leaves, asafoetida and the chopped onions. Saute for a minute, then add the sundaakkai and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

          Then add the chopped tomatoes and saute for 2 more minutes, till the tomatoes turn mushy. Add the turmeric, sambar powder and salt and mix well. Then add the tamarind extract, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and cook on medium for about 10 minutes.

          Now add the ground paste, mix well, if too thick, add a little water, when it starts boiling, reduce the heat and cook uncovered for about 5 to 10 minutes, till oil starts to float on the top. Garnish with more curry leaves, switch off and serve.

Note
Soak the poppy seeds in a little warm water, then grind to get a smooth paste.
You can replace sambar powder with 1 teaspoon chilli powder and 2 teaspoons coriander powder.
You can do the same kuzhambu, replacing the turkey berries with eggplant, cooked chickpeas, bitter gourd or even with potatoes.

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