Arachuvitta VathaKuzhambu Recipe

We had this vathakuzhambu in a banquet..It was excellent.We all had 2 ,3 servings..One of my relatives asked the recipe from the cook and told my MIL.She tried at home and it came out well…Last week i made this for my husband’s lunch box along with chow chow kootu..It was a divinely combination..I stocked it and had for 2 days .Day by Day i found the taste got improved and made me thought, i could have made it more ….So here comes the flavorful , restaurant style vathakuzhambu ..I’ve given the recipe for two people.

Ingredients

• Tamarind – A big gooseberry size or a small lemon size
• ***Sambar powder – 1/2 – 3/4 tsp (adjust)
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
• Sundakkai / Dried Turkey berry – 10 nos
• Garlic – 10 – 12 flakes..
• Gingely oil – 1 tbsp
• Jaggery – a small piece
• Salt & water – as needed.

To Roast & Grind:

• Mustard seeds – 1/8 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp
• Jeera – 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal – 1/4 tsp
• Red chillies - 5 nos
• Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
• Toor dal / Thuvaram paruppu – 2 tsp 
• Curry leaves - 1 small sprig ( 5-7 leaves)
• Grated Coconut – 1 tsp 

To Saute:

• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Small onion- 5 nos (finely chopped)
• Garlic – 3 flakes (finely chopped)
• Curry leaves – a sprig (finely chopped)
• Oil – 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Soak tamarind in water for 15 mins and extract the juice from it.
2. Add sambar powder,turmeric powder and salt to it..Keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a kadai with 1 tbsp of oil and roast the turkey berries till nice aroma arises(It should turn black)..Set aside.
4. In the remaining oil roast all the ingredients given under “roast & grind”  in the same order.No need to roast the coconut.(Make sure no ingredient turns black..this will spoil the nice aroma of the gravy).Cool and grind it to a paste by adding little water.
5. Now add the roasted turkey berries to the paste and set aside.
6. Heat the kadai with oil and add mustard seeds,chopped onion,chopped garlic and whole garlic flakes,chopped curry leaves and saute till garlic turns light golden brown with nice aroma. Saute in medium flame.
7. Then add the tamarind extract and let it boil for sometime. Add the jaggery.
8. Finally add the paste along with turkey berries and allow to boil for sometime.The gravy will become thick and reduce in volume.So add little water .It should neither be too thick nor watery.
9. Last but not the least, add 2 tsp of gingely oil , mix it and cover..

Serve with any kootu and papad!!
Note:
It tasted  best the next day.So prepare at least two,three hours in advance before serving !! I’ve added the turkey berries at the end because i want it a bit crunchy..If u like u can add with tamarind water in the beginning…!!

***OUR SAMAR POWDER:
 1cup - 200ml

• Coriander seeds – 1/4 kg ( 1.25 cup)
• Red chilly(long ones) – 1/4 kg (1.25 cup)
• Fenugreek seeds – 50 gms ( 1/4 cup)
• Toor dal – 50 gms (1/4 cup)
• Channa dal – 50 gms (1/4 cup)
• Pepper corns – 50 gms (1/4 cup)
• Jeera – 2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder – 50 gms (1/4 cup)

We usually grind this in flour mill and use it for 3-4 months …We use this powder for Sambar , vathakuzhambu , pitlai , poricha kuzhambu ,Kootu , poriyal and paruppu rasam.This powder plays the major role in our day-to-day cooking..We don’t use red chilly powder at all..This itself is sufficient..
For this kuzhambu , u can  any brand  sambar powder or replace with 1 tsp of coriander powder and 1/2 tsp of red chilly powder..
Bye.Catch u all in my next post