Poondu Vengaya Vatha Kuzhambu

#Quickrecipe #TraditionalSouthIndianFood #Vathakuzhambu

‘Vatha Kuzhambu’, is one of the popular everyday sambar varieties down South. It is full of flavours and has an amalgamation of spicy, sweet, sour and salty taste.

There are many versions of this recipe ‘Poondu Vengaya Vatha Kuzhambu‘. Each one differs with the level of spiciness and the choice of veggies added to it. Traditionally, it is made with sundried black nightshade berries(manthakkali) or turkey berries(sundakkai). Veggies like brinjal, drumstick, onions, broad beans, garlic can also be added to give some variation to this sambar.

How to make Poondu Vengaya Vatha Kuzhambu?

Here, I have used shallots(vengayam) and garlic(poondu) in this recipe. The core ingredients are tamarind and sambar masala powder. Two quintessential ingredients arhar dal and coconut, that are present in most of the sambars are not needed in this recipe.

Ingredients

1. Shallots – 1 cup, peeled
2. Garlic – 10 to15 cloves, peeled
3. Imli – medium lemon-sized
4. Sambar Powder- 1 tbsp
5. Rice Flour – 2 tsp
6. Haldi – 1/4 tsp
7. Jaggery – small gooseberry-sized
8. Salt to taste
9. Rai – 1/2 tsp
10. Urad Dal – 1/4 tsp
11. Methi Seeds – 1/4 tsp
12. Red Chilly – 1 or 2, broken into pieces
13. Curry Leaves- few leaves
14. Oil – 2 tbsp (preferably til oil)

Method

1. Soak imli in 2 cups of warm water for 15 minutes. Extract imli water.
2. In a kadai, heat oil and add rai.
3. When it splutters, add urad dal, methi seeds and roast till dal turns golden in colour.
4. Add curry leaves, red chilly and saute for few seconds.
5. Add shallots, garlic and saute till they are translucent.
6. Now, add sambar powder and mix well.
7. Pour in the prepared imli water and add haldi, salt, jaggery.
8. Let it boil well for 3-4 minutes so that the raw flavour of imli gets reduced.
9. Make a paste of rice flour with little amount of water and add it to the sambar.
10. Let sambar boil for 2-3 minutes.
11. Remove from flame and serve hot with steamed rice.

Notes

1. The best way to savour this sambar is to pair with thogaiyal rice, a simple curry of your choice and a papad.
2. For sambar masala, you can either use the store-bought sambar powder or the freshly grounded one.

This podimas goes well with Urulai Kizhangu Podimas, Thenga Paruppu Thogaiyal.

For yet another interesting lunch combo, plz checkout Kambam Kanji with Madhura Kizhangu.

Happy Cooking!