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    Home » Recipes » Kuzhambu & Other gravies

    Poondu kuzhambu recipe, Spicy poondu kulambu

    January 15, 2009 by Raks Anand 19 Comments / Jump to Recipe

    Poondu kuzhambu is a spicy and tangy, flavourful south indian gravy. Packed with flavors, this is such a treat for your taste buds.

    poondu kuzhambu recipe
    Poondu kuzhambu

    Goes well with hot steamed rice topped with sesame oil and kuzhambu thoroughly mixed in this.

    Any kootu will go well with this kuzhambu sadam.

    This Poondu Kuzhambu I remember eating from my mother's hands. She will mix with rice and sesame oil/ ghee. Will make bite size balls(urundai) and make me, my brother sit, then give it in our hands.

    Will taste like heaven. We will ask her ‘is this kuzhambu or honey 👸

    I have used sambar powder, which my mother grinds in the mill and gives me when I visit her (for a year), you may use ur own sambar powder or instead replace with red chilli powder and little coriander powder.

    Why I love this

    Because it is amma's recipe! We have been fed with it n number of times. She makes it perfectly balanced. Otherwise here are some highlights:

    • Tempering with fenugreek seeds, toor dal gives a flavor that is so good.
    • Adding a bit if jaggery, pepper powder makes it taste special.
    • Very easy, no grinding part. Just peeling garlic and small onion takes time.
    • Versatile. You can adapt the same recipe and reduce garlic, onion (add few chopped instead.

    Top tip

    Many people complain about kuzhambu not getting thick. It all depends on the kuzhambu powder you are using (we use our own, call it milagai thool, but it is compound ingredients not just plain chilli powder).

    You can use Sakthi or Aachi brand which comes close to my moms. In Singapore, Baba's sambar powder works best. Though it is called sambar powder, it can be used to make poriyal, kari, kootu, kuzhambu etc.

    Another tip for thickening is to use a teaspoon of rice flour towards the end. You can also use corn flour (corn starch). But be sure to use just right. If you add more, the taste and texture will not be nice.

    For color - Recently I am seeing many people in Instagram using a bit of Kashmiri chilli powder for color which I too find appealing. You too can try that.

    poondu kulambu
    poondu kuzhambu

    Method

    1. Soak tamarind in warm water for ½ hour and extract the juice.
    2. Heat kadai with oil, add tempering items followed by curry leaves, garlic and small onion.
    3. Fry till onion and garlic turns golden brown.
      chinna vengayam
    4. Add tamarind extract, turmeric, salt, jaggery, sambar powder, chilli powder if adding and stir well, bring to boil.
      boil
    5. Simmer till the kuzhambu gets thicker and onions and garlic should have got cooked well.Lastly add pepper powder and switch off.
      ready 

    Enjoy with steamed rice and top it with a teaspoon of ghee or sesame oil. Tastes great!

    poondu kuzhambu
    Poondu kulambu
    poondu kuzhambu recipe
    Print Pin
    5 from 2 votes

    Poondu kuzhambu recipe

    Poondu kuzhambu is a spicy and tangy, flavourful south indian gravy. Packed with flavors, this is such a treat for your taste buds.
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine South Indian
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes
    Servings 4 people
    Cup measurements

    Ingredients

    • ⅓ cup Garlic Peeled
    • ⅓ cup Small onion Peeled
    • 1 tablespoon Tamarind small lemon sized
    • 1 tablespoon Sambar powder
    • ¼ teaspoon Jaggery
    • Salt
    • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
    • ¾ teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder Optional for color
    • ¼ teaspoon Pepper powder optional
    • 4 Curry leaves

    To temper

    • ½ teaspoon Mustard
    • ¼ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds - ½ tsp
    • 1 teaspoon Urad dal
    • 1 teaspoon Toor dal
    • 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
    • 1 tablespoon Oil peanut oil or sesame oil works best
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Soak tamarind in warm water for ½ hour firstly and extract the juice. Total 1 & ½ cups water.
    • Heat kadai with oil, add tempering items followed by curry leaves, garlic and small onion.
    • Fry till onion and garlic turns golden brown.
    • Add tamarind extract, turmeric, salt, jaggery, sambar powder, red chilli powder if adding and stir well. Bring to boil.
    • Simmer till the kuzhambu gets thicker and onions and garlic should have got cooked well.
    • Lastly add pepper powder and switch off.

    Notes

    • Adding pepper at last adds extra flavour to the kuzhambu.
    • If your kuzhambu doesn't get thick, add a teaspoon of rice flour dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water and boil. The thickness of the kuzhambu depends on mainly the sambar powder we use. 
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Selvarani Ganesan

      May 06, 2014 at 12:10 am

      Tastes awesome.good for cold ..bodyache

      Reply
    2. Renuka Ambbarees

      August 26, 2014 at 2:38 pm

      Mam. ...how much water have to add? ? Will u say how much cup of water to add including tamarind extract?

      Reply
    3. Renuka Ambbarees

      August 28, 2014 at 2:34 am

      Two and half cup water is enough?

      Reply
    4. Renuka Ambbarees

      September 05, 2014 at 12:19 am

      I am waiting for ur reply mam

      Reply
    5. Raks anand

      September 05, 2014 at 12:23 am

      3 cups may be. Time taken to thicken depends on the kuzhambu masala powder (sambar powder or vathal kuzhambu powder) you use.

      Reply
    6. kalyani

      September 25, 2014 at 7:20 pm

      Love your blog so much.Tried this..the taste was just awesome.but I didnt get much quantity..i would like to try this for 4 persons.any suggestions Raji?

      Reply
    7. Raks anand

      September 25, 2014 at 7:33 pm

      You can try adding coconut. Add 1/4 cup ground coconut with little water.

      Reply
    8. asma zakir

      December 29, 2014 at 9:26 am

      nice recipe..

      Reply
    9. kamalaveni

      February 04, 2015 at 6:35 am

      Nice kulambu. Give the Tamarind measure in cup or grams or spoon

      Reply
    10. Raks anand

      February 04, 2015 at 6:40 am

      1 tblsp tightly packed

      Reply
    11. kamalaveni

      February 06, 2015 at 12:26 am

      Thankyou so much for your reply

      Reply
    12. shabu arawinth kumar

      April 29, 2015 at 1:06 pm

      Yummy kulaimbu moth watering to see dis pic ma...

      Reply
    13. anantha lakshmi

      December 09, 2015 at 3:26 pm

      Looks yummy

      Reply
    14. dharini u

      October 28, 2018 at 10:45 am

      lovely recipe ...

      Reply
    15. Rajeswari Sankaran

      November 19, 2018 at 9:27 pm

      What is rori flour? Did u mean rice flour?

      Reply
    16. Raks Kitchen

      November 19, 2018 at 9:32 pm

      OMG yes, updated now, thanks.

      Reply
    17. Sowmya

      April 03, 2020 at 3:50 pm

      Looks so yummy ! We don’t use sambar powder at home ! Can I add chilli powder instead ? Also can u tell me how much water we shld use to soak tamarind pulp

      Reply
    18. Veena Wagle

      May 20, 2020 at 5:23 pm

      5 stars
      Hi,
      I have tried this recipe twice already in a week and raved about it so much that all my extended family and friends have tried it as well. And loved it! Thank you for sharing.

      Reply
      • Raks Anand

        May 21, 2020 at 11:35 am

        Thanks a lot for your feedback 🙂

        Reply

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    Raks anand

    Hi, I'm Rajeswari Vijayanand! I am the person behind Rakskitchen, sharing recipes with pictures & videos.

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