Sundakkai vathal kuzhambu, flavourful south Indian gravy for rice, made with dried vegetables like sundakkai vathal, mangai vathal, kothavarangai vathal.
As I have said in my earlier post, I love love vathal kuzhambu than any other kuzhambu. Usually vathal kuzhambu recipes made by brahmins/ iyer has only vathal and no onion or garlic I think.
But we make it with both. Though this time I made without garlic, we usually add finely chopped small onions and garlic.
I love sundakkai vathal fried darkly to accompany curd rice. Never tasted the ones in these kuzhambu.
Don’t ask about sundakkai kootu or sambar, I will run miles away from it. My mom insists to eat it for its health benefits. But I can’t eat. I love vathals though.
We have sudakkai plant in our backyard, still have one at Salem. It yields a lot of sudankkai (turkey berry).
How to make sudakkai vathal?
I like to make vathals out of sundakkai, it's an interesting process. Yes, my mom washes and spreads the berries and we use a clean hammer to gently nudge on it and open it up.
After that, boil it and dry well. This step is to eliminate the bitterness.
Then it's all added to sour buttermilk and sundried to make vathal. Its stored and used throughout the year.
I always wonder how our cuisine uses up the vegetables in form of vathals and it comes handy to cook at home, even when there is no vegetables in hand. Cool right? 😎.
Sundakkai has a lot of health benefits, though I don't know many, one main thing is it can help you to get rid of worms in tummy, especially for bachelors who eat outside food and kids. Its also rich iron.
Instructions
- Chop onion finely, extract tamarind juice by soaking it in hot water for 10 minutes.
- Make it 2 and ½ cups by adding water to it. Set aside. Heat a kadai with sesame oil, temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table.
- Before adding curry leaves, add sudakkai vathal and fry until everything turns golden brown in colour. Make sure the vathal gets fried.
- Add curry leaves followed by chopped onion. Fry till it turns brown here and there.
5. Add the tamarind juice, bring to boil, add sambar powder, turmeric and salt. Lower the flame to medium.
6. Boil for 6-8 minutes or until oil separates, towards the end, add jaggery and mix well. Switch off the flame when the kuzhambu gets thick.
Usually, vathal kuzhambu and kootu is the best combination to serve. Thogayal also goes well with this.
Recipe card
sundakkai vathal kuzhambu
Ingredients
- 20 Sundakkai vathal dried turkey berry
- 1 Onion
- 1 tablespoon Tamarind Gooseberry sized
- 3 teaspoon Sambar powder measure heaped
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
- ½ teaspoon Jaggery
- Salt
To temper
- 2 tablespoon Sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon Mustard
- ½ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
- 1 teaspoon Urad dal
- 1 teaspoon Toor dal
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
Instructions
- Chop onion finely, extract tamarind juice by soaking it in hot water for 10 minutes. Make it 2 and ½ cups by adding water to it. Set aside.
- Heat a kadai with sesame oil, temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table.
- Before adding curry leaves, add sudakkai vathal and fry until everything turns golden brown in colour. Make sure the vathal gets fried.
- Add curry leaves followed by chopped onion. Fry till it turns brown here and there.
- Add the tamarind juice, bring to boil, add sambar powder, turmeric and salt. Lower the flame to medium.
- Boil for 6-8 minutes or until oil separates, towards the end, add jaggery and mix well.
- Switch off the flame when the kuzhambu gets thick.
Notes
- If the kuzhambu does not get thick, you can consider dissolving ½ to 1 teaspoon rice flour in 1 tablespoon of water and add to kuzhambu. Do not over do as the consistency will be wierd.
AparnaRajeshkumar
Yes as u said vathakuzhambu is no onion and no garlic 🙂 variations are always there 🙂 so we can add the garlic and onion 🙂 The first snap shot with coconut thokayal 🙂 i am drooling!
prathibha Garre
Love tangy kind of side dishes with rice..looks yumm
Nivedhanams Sowmya
best comfy food!!! love the delicious vathal kuzhambu!!
Sowmya
Ramya Krishnamurthy
yummy and my most favorite kuzhambu
Uma Ramanujam
One of my fav too Raks. we prepare it without onion and garlic as Aparna n u said. YUmmy with steamy rice...isn't it?
Harini M
Looks delicious 🙂
Chella KS Nathan
Raks amazing recipie 🙂 loved the clicks and how i wish to eat that plate full of tasty food 🙂 yum yum 🙂
CHITRA
Lovely clicks. My fav 🙂
Shama Nagarajan
delicious...
BAGIRATHI DEVI
Color is perfect I will try
anusha praveen
Now that s some thing that i would like to eat with hot rice and ghee. Yumm
Anu Shoj
very nice and yummy kozhambu...nice clicks..
Anu's Healthy Kitchen - Cucumber Masala Buttermilk
Vimitha Anand
Its my favorite... Looks so tempting
Gayathri Ramanan
my fav too..love to eat it with curd rice...tempting clicks
Janani
I love vathakulambhu too its my fav,when had with kootu its at its best nothing can be compared, I have never made it without garlic but this looks good will def give a try to this.
Priti S
Always love this and you are tempting me right now so much ...I got same in draft too
Veena Theagarajan
super tempting vathal kuzhambu .. Love ur thali
JEYASHRI SURESH
Enna oru superana combo. My menu for tom is planned. Pretty clicks
Aarthi
this is my fav..i love vathal kulambu
SHARMILEE J
Alltime fav....this with rice I can have it anytime of the day
Chitz
One of my favs.. I always have extra rice when this is prepared 🙂
Yengay Manithargal
Nice Raks. Easy to prepare too.I know one more variety everything is same but I will fry and grind onion + garlic with this it will give different taste
Sreeja A.J.
Hi
I tried today. never tasted before sundal vatta kuzhampu. Did you powder urad dal, toor dal and fenugreek seeds. so I will do better next time
Raks anand
No just add it to hot oil as such.
swe
Awesome recepie. . I want to know if I can make this without adding any vathal..
snehalathaish
Hi Raks, Itired this recipe and it turned out fine except that it was a bit bitter. What would have been the reason?
Raks anand
Sure it will be good.
Raks anand
May be its from too much of turkey berry or you have nt fried properly
akshaya
hi Raji, no need to add tomatoes in this curry?
Raks anand
We usually do not add, but if you want you can add one small after onion
sara
Very nice
Vanitha Francis
Can this be made with other vegetables like small eggplant. How about addition of ground coconut?
Raks anand
You can add eggplant. Coconut can also be added.
Shobia Priyatharsini Rajasekaran
Very nice..thank u for sharing
Shobia Priyatharsini Rajasekaran
Very nice..thank u for sharing
Harini
Hi raji... can i add chilly powder and dhaniya powder if I don't have sambar podi? If so wats the ratio?
Raks anand
Hi Harini, you can try 1 & 1/2 tsp red chilli powder and 1 tsp dhaniya powder
ashvitha
how long can we store and have?
Manonmani Suresh
Can I try it with coconut paste
Raks Kitchen
Yes sure.
Vidhu
Hey Raks...thank-you for the recipie. I tried making this for the first time. The gravy tastes superb but the berries are super bitter. Do they usually taste like that?
Raks Anand
It has slight bitter taste. Let me share some points to note - Make sure you roast it really well while tadka. It should get fried well from the inside. Also if it gets enough spice, tamarind, salt, it wont be that bitter. But the vathal has slight natural bitterness which you cannot avoid. The vathal process also plays a role. Mom usually boils, soaks well in sour butter milk prior and salts well and dries. Hope this helps 🙂
Ahalya Manohar
Hi... I got a question here...
When the kulambhu is done, are the berries crispy like freshly fried or will it turn soggy as we are boiling it in the kulambhu?
Raks Anand
It will turn soft.