Vellapoodu kuzhambu is a popular dish in south India and is primarily made of pepper, curry leaves and lots of garlic cloves. It is one of my favorite dishes among vegetarian recipes. It has been a mainstay in my mom’s cooking since my childhood.
Ingredients
Gingelly oil – 1 tbsp
Cumin seed – 1 tbsp
Red chilli – 1
Black Pepper – 1 tsp
Mustard seed – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Raw Rice – 1 tbsp (soaked in water for 1 hour)
Garlic cloves – 15 nos
Raw rice water (kalani thanni) – 1 cup
Curry leaves – a sprig
Salt – as required
Instructions
Heat a pan with half a tsp of gingelly oil. Add cumin seeds, black peeper, red chilli and half a tsp of mustard seeds and stir fry till they start to splutter. Allow it to cool and grind it with a tsp of turmeric powder, soaked rice and a garlic clove with little raw rice water and make into paste.
Heat the same pan with remaining oil, add mustard seeds and curry leaves. When mustard seeds start to splutter, add in the remaining garlic cloves and sauté for a minute or until the cloves changes color.
Now add ground masala along with raw rice water and salt and give it a stir. Bring it to boil or wait until the gravy thickens and garlic cloves are well cooked.
Serve this gravy on side with hot rice and scrambled egg.
Notes
Raw rice water is nothing but the water you get when you wash the rice for the second time. Adding this water is mainly because it thickens the gravy.
Recipe by MyEdibleCravings at http://myediblecravings.com/grandmas-vellapoodu-kuzhambu/