Vengaya Poondu Kulambhu – Chettinad Style

Poondu Kulambhu

We may travel to anywhere in the world and try out different delicious cuisines. But, at the end of the day, nothing can comfort us like our traditional food. Yes, only Ilayaraja’s songs can soothe our body, mind and soul.
Being a foodie, myself and SJ (btw, I refer my husband so) explored almost all parts of Tamil Nadu and their food. And chettinadu samaiyal has always been our favorite. SJ loves all chettinadu curries with freshly grinded spices. This Poondu kulmabhu is my favorite! The curry has a nice aroma of spices, that you will not only enjoy eating it but also cooking it.

Ingredients:

Oil – 3 tblspn
Mustard Seeds / Kaduku – 1 tsp
Asafoetida / Hing – a pinch
Curry Leaves a handful
Shallots /Sambar Onion – 10 peeled
Garlic – 20 cloves peeled
Tomato – 1 large chopped finely
Tamarind – gooseberry size
Salt to taste
Sugar – 1/2 tsp
Water as needed

For Roasting & Grinding:
Coriander Seeds / Malli – 2 tablespoon
Dry Red Chilies – 5 to 7
Chana Dal / Kadalai Paruppu – 1 tablespoon
Cumin Seeds / Jeerakam – 1 tsp
Black Pepper – 1 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds / Vendayam / Methi – 1/2 tsp
Oil – 1 tsp

Method:

Soak Tamarind in water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the pulp and extract tamarind juice out of it
Heat a tsp of oil in a small pan and roast all the ingredients in medium heat until the channa dal turns golden brown and nice aroma comes out of it. Cool down and grind into a smooth paste in a mixer
Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds. Once the seeds pops out, add curry leaves, hing and saute for a minute.
Add peeled small onions and garlic. Let them cook for 6 – 7 minutes until the onions become transparent. Add chopped tomatoes and cook until mushy
Add the grounded masala and required Salt. Cook until the raw smell leaves away
Add tamarind extract and required amount of water.
Add a pinch of sugar/jiggery and mix well.
Cook over medium heat until oil separates out.
Serve with hot rice and enjoy the flavorful delicious curry. Don’t forget to try this curry with Pappad.

Poondu Kulambhu

Newbie’s Pitfall:

Use warm water to extract Tamarind juice. In that way, it easy!
Always add curry leaves once the mustard seeds pops out completely. Add ingredients before popping might give a bitter taste to the curry! This works for all the recipes.
Always add Red chilies as the last ingredient when roasting for masala. Adding them ahead may result in burnt chilies which give burnt smell and bitter taste in the curry
Chettinad recipes are usually cooked over medium heat. Though its bit time consuming, you will be amazed to see the curry with oil oozing out. That’s the greatest secret of all chettinadu recipes.
I usually use Sesame oil for this curry. You can mix a spoon of sesame oil with rice and this curry at the time of eating

I used to prepare time savvy version of this kulambhu on my busy mornings. I will post the recipe of the easy version soon.

Do try and let me know your experience in comments. Don’t forget to like the recipe!