Vidhya Kumar- Chirpy, sweet, tamil Iyer and an amazing cook. That is how I should describe Vidhya for this post. I met Vidhya last year when I was studying in America. One of the finest south Indian vegetarian cuisines is from tamil brahmins kitchen. And my friend Vidhya is a master at it. Everytime I tried making at home, I would not get the same taste as how Vidhya makes. So one day she made it for me and it seemed quite simple. The secret lies in the sambhar powder and the amount of water we add.
Vathal kuzhambu-just the utter mention of it should makes one drool.
A spicy, tangy and hot gravy with some sun dried vegetables in it. Vathal (sun dried vegetables) can be of any sort but the most popular ones are manalthakkali (black nightshade in english!) , sundakai (turkey berry) and dried mango. Thanks to Vidhya for making it for me :)
You will need :
1 golf ball sized tamarind pulp
2 cups of water
3 tbsp of Sambar powder ( recipe below)
2-3 dried red chillies
3 tbsp of manalthakkali vathal
A pinch of asafoetedia
1 tsp mustard seeds
10 curry leaves
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Sambar Powder recipe from Vidhya
Dhaniya - 4 cups
Jeera - 1 cup
Black pepper - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1/4 cup
Methi seeds - 1/4 cup
Dry roast and grind them together.
Tip: This is ammas 'mysore podi' which is all purpose. Try them on rasam, sambhar and veggies as well.
Begin by soaking the tamarind pulp in the water.
Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the mustard seeds.
Break the dried red chillies into smaller pieces and toss them into the oil.
Once it starts to splutter add a pinch of asafoetedia.
Add the manalthakkali vathal, curry leaves and the sambar podi and let it roast for a minute.
Mash the tamarind pulp and extract the tangy tamarind water from the pulp. Discard the pulp. Pour the tamarind water in the spice mixture.
Add salt and let it boil in low heat for 15- 20 mins until the gravy thickens. It should be ready when it is thick and the oil floating over the gravy.
Smear few tbsps of this gravy on piping hot rice and roasted papad to complete a hearty dinner.
It tastes even better the next day. And stays well in the refrigerator for upto a week!
yummy.....looks great.vl try this.awesome space vth tasty dishes..nice 2 meet ur blog.visit mine when u r free.......
ReplyDeleteMaha
I do think it is core to this recipe that the oil used for cooking is sesame seed oil. Is that correct or not necessary? Looks very good.
ReplyDeleteAnother question I have is, did Vidhya share her mother's sambar podi recipe? Will be good to get a look at that!
yes sesame oil gets the authentic flavor, but its ok if its not available. I will ask vidhya to get me the recipe for sambar podi and update soon! thanks for bringing that to notice!
ReplyDeleteA post from you after a long time! Welcome back to blogger. Hope you will post more frequently, now onwards.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post madhu..'amazing cook' is a little over whelming..still a learner and no way nearer to you!(I stand by my other qualities tho lol..).
ReplyDeleteHere goes the much needed sambar podi recipe.
Red chilli - 6 cups (can be any cup size..the ratio of other ingredients should be added accordingly)
Dhaniya - 4 cups
Jeera - 1 cup
Black pepper - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1/4 cup
Methi seeds - 1/4 cup
Dry roast and grind them together.
Tip: This is ammas 'mysore podi' which is all purpose. Try them on rasam, sambhar and veggies as well.
Happy cooking :)
Thanks for the post madhu. 'Amazing cook' is a little over whelming. Still a learner and no way nearer to you. (I stand by my other qualities tho.lol)
ReplyDeleteHere goes the much needed sambar podi recipe:
Red chilli - 6 cups (can be any cup size. The ratio of other ingredients should be added accordingly)
Dhaniya - 4 Cups
Jeera - 1 cup
Black pepper - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1/4 cup
Methi seeds - 1/4 cup
Dry roast and grind them together.
Tip: This is the infamous 'Mysore podi' from amma. It tastes awesome with rasam, sambar and veggies as well.
Happy cooking :)
Thank you Vidhya, Thats so thoughtful of you to post the recipe of sambar powder too! Remember u r an amazing cook :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Honestly this blog is awesome! Its so useful to new learner. By seeing all this mouth watering stuff it memorized me my last vacation in kullu manali. There is a resort called apple country resort where cuisines are cooked by pahaadi andaz,pardon me if i used some hindi words, they cooked it so traditionally that the food doesnt miss it orignal taste. I realy loved it. Thanks once again to share such wonderful recipe with us. www.applecountryresorts.com here is the website where you can find more interesting stuff. Thanks
ReplyDelete