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VENTHAYA KUZHAMBU

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Venthaya kuzhambu is a south Indian gravy that is usually had with white rice (and rarely with idli or dosa). I learnt this dish from my MIL. She is my go-to source for all traditional south Indian (especially Tamilian) recipes. Venthaya kuzhambu is very much like puli (tamarind) kuzhambu except for the fact that we use only fenugreek seeds (venthaiyam/methi) in the recipe.
Venthaya Kuzhambu
Venthayam/Methi/Fenugreek is a healthy spice especially for new moms (for milk production) and also used for digestive problems. Fenugreek seeds in general are bitter in taste. Hence be cautious in the number for fenugreek seeds you use for the preparation of Venthaya kuzhambu. Personally, I have cooked Venthaya kuzhambu only for two, so, I use very little amount of fenugreek seeds (half in that I fry and the rest I add as is in the gravy).
Venthaya Kuzhambu
Like all those dishes that tastes better as they get older (pizza, fish gravy etc), Venthaya kuzhambu tastes excellent as it gets older. As I had mentioned above, you can have this gravy with white rice or as a side dish for curd rice, yummy! Try this healthy (for all those new moms) and tasty recipe in your home and as always let me know your comments and thoughts.

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VENTHAYA KUZHAMBU
Recipe type: lunch
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
  • Shallots,chopped – 6 nos
  • Garlic cloves, chopped – 4 nos
  • Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp ( 5 to 6 nos )
  • Tamarind – big gooseberry size
  • Sambar powder – 1 tbs
  • Grated Coconut – 1 tbs
  • Gingelly oil – 2 tbs
  • Salt – as required
Instructions
  1. Soak tamarind in water for half an hour and extract the juice. Add sambar powder to the tamarind extract, mix well and set aside.
  2. Grind the coconut along with one chopped shallot and little water in to a fine paste.
  3. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds in a hot pan until golden brown. Allow them to cool. keep half of them aside and blend the remaining half to powder.
  4. Heat a pan with oil and add the shallots. Sauté until the onions turn translucent.
  5. Add garlic and sauté well.
  6. Add tamarind extract and the dry roasted fenugreek seeds.
  7. Now add the coconut paste and bring it to boil. Add the fenugreek powder. Mix well and cook until the gravy is thick and dark brown. Switch off the flame.
  8. Serve venthaya kuzhambu along with white rice and egg podimas or fryums on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
1.Be careful while roasting the fenugreek seeds as it tastes bitter when overcooked. 2.Grinding very few fenugreek seeds to powder is a difficult job. So make a batch and use very little for this gravy. Store the remaining in a small air tight container.

Venthaya Kuzhambu

GRANDMA’S VELLAPOODU KUZHAMBU | POONDU KUZHAMBU | GARLIC GRAVY

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Grandma’s Vellapoodu Kuzhambu, as the name suggests, is a dish from my late grandmother’s kitchen. It is more of like a family recipe, in the sense, passed on to my mom and then to me. Now I am sharing this with you.
poondu kuzhambuVellapoodu 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.
The first time I made my grandma’s vellapoodu kuzhambu, it did not resemble to the one made by my mom but my perseverance paid off. So, when I say the recipe has been tried and tested, it literally means that 🙂
042As I had mentioned in my puli kuzambhu recipe, the main ingredient for my grandma’s vellapoodu kuzhambu is using whole garlic cloves; not the diced ones. This gives the unique taste found in my grandma’s recipe.
041So here is the wonderful recipe of my grandma’s vellapoodu kuzhambu and let me know how well did it go in your kitchen 🙂

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POONDU KUZHAMBU|GARLIC GRAVY
Recipe type: Lunch
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
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
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

 

 

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