Tag Archives: South Indian

Recipes: Iru Puli Kuzambu

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Belonging to the family of kuzambus, Iru Puli Kuzambu is what results from sambar and mor kozambu marrying and having a baby! I heard about this kozambu in the WhatsApp group of the retirement community my parents live in, and everyone was raving about this dish. I was intrigued and decided to find out more.

This is one of those deeply comforting dishes that manages to be both rustic and complex. It’s a beautiful example of heritage Tamil Brahmin cuisine, particularly from the Iyer households of the Thanjavur and Tirunelveli regions. The name “Iru Puli” literally means “two kinds of sourness,” traditionally referring to the combination of tamarind, or puli, and buttermilk, or mor, which are used in the same dish. That’s what makes it unique: it layers tanginess in a way that’s both subtle and rounded.

Iru Puli Kuzambu is considered a heritage recipe, often cooked on special occasions or when families want to use up leftover buttermilk without waste, a very Tamil way of resourcefulness. Many households in the Cauvery delta region, especially in Kumbakonam, Mayavaram, and Tirunelveli, still make this dish exactly as their grandmothers did, without onions, as part of the pathiya samayal or satvik style.

I made it slightly differently because I only had baby onions or sambar onions and white pumpkin at home. You can use any vegetable you use for a sambar, but if you want to go traditional, then don’t use onions or garlic in this recipe.

Iru Puli Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups peeled and cubed vegetables
  • Lemon-sized ball of tamarind, soaked in warm water for 20-30 minutes
  • ½ cup yoghurt, beaten well
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste
  • ¼ cup fresh grated coconut
  • 4-5 dried red chillies (adjust according to the chilli’s heat and your spice tolerance)
  • ¼ tsp fenugreek or methi seeds
  • ½ tsp raw rice, soaked in water for 20-30 minutes
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • 5-6 curry leaves
  • ⅛ tsp asafoetida
  • Oil as required

Method:

  • Extract the water from the tamarind pulp and keep it aside.
  • Whisk the yoghurt and add some water to thin it, and keep it aside.
  • Drain the water from the rice and keep it aside.
  • In a small pan, add 1 tsp of oil, and once the oil warms up, add the fenugreek seeds and then the red chillies. Let them sauté for a few seconds until the fenugreek seeds turn golden brown. Keep aside.
  • Add this to a mixer along with the drained rice and coconut and grind into a fine paste. Add water as needed.
  • In the same pan, add 2 tsp oil and add the mustard seeds and let them sputter. Then add the curry leaves and let them crisp a bit.
  • Now add the vegetables you plan to use. Sauté for a few seconds, then add the turmeric powder and asafoetida, and continue to sauté.
  • Add 1 cup of water and salt, and let the vegetables cook until they are 50% done.
  • Now add the tamarind water and cook for an additional five minutes, until the raw smell of the tamarind has dissipated.
  • Now add the ground paste, mix well, and add more water if the kuzhambu is thick.
  • Let this come to a rolling boil and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
  • Lower the flame and add the whisked yoghurt. While adding in the yoghurt, make sure you are continuously stirring the kuzhambu.
  • As the kuzambu comes to a boil, let it boil for a minute and switch off the flame.
  • Serve with rice and any curry of your choice.

Note: The key to this dish is balance. Too much tamarind and the yoghurt flavour disappears; too much yoghurt and it becomes mor kuzhambu. The ideal ratio is about 2:1 tamarind to buttermilk.

Recipes: Kottu Rasam

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Rasam is a favourite with BB & GG and they are happy to have it for every meal. But I don’t make it that often. Having said that, I had not made this Rasam as yet for the children. When I did make it, it was a huge hit. It does not take a long time to make and can be eaten with rice or as a soup. In my home, kottu Rasam is prepared for those who are not well. It is prepared without using dal and is lightly tempered.

Kottu Rasam

Ingredients:

  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 1 tsp ghee
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 5-6 curry leaves
  • 1 tsp crushed ginger and green chilli paste
  • 1 small lemon-sized ball of tamarind
  • 1.5 tsp rasam powder
  • 1 tsp jaggery powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Soak the tamarind in hot water for about 30 minutes. Then crush the tamarind pulp and drain, keeping the tamarind water aside.
  • Either finely chop the tomatoes or use a food processor and crush the tomatoes into fine pieces.
  • In a pan, heat the ghee and when it warms, add the mustard and cumin seeds and let them pop. Then add the crushed ginger and green chillis and stir for a couple of seconds.
  • Now, add the tomatoes, sprinkle some salt and let the tomatoes cook for about five minutes.
  • At this point, add the tamarind water, rasam powder, jaggery powder and any additional salt, if needed.
  • Let this cook for about 5-7 minutes, then switch off the flame. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Notes:

  • This is great as an accompaniment to rice or as a soup.
  • Instead of crushing the tomatoes, you could also use tomato puree for a more soup-like experience.
  • Tamarind paste or lemon juice could be substituted for tamarind water.

Recipes: Kadamba Kuzhambu

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This is another typical recipe which is usually served in temples. It is a no-onion, no-garlic recipe. My mother was talking about this recipe and so I got her to make it while she was here. In Tamil, Kadamba means mixed and this can be eaten as a sambar or a gravy which makes this dish very versatile. The masala is similar to arachavitta sambar and the vegetables are cut similarly to how we cut them for avial. You can use pretty much all root vegetables, including pumpkin, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, drumsticks, raw bananas, beans etc. This was the first time I made this and it was so yummy.

Kadamba Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

  • 2 raw bananas, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 sweet potato, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 drumsticks, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 small piece of white pumpkin, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 5-6 curry leaves
  • 1½ tbsp + 1 tsp chana dal
  • 2½ tbsp coriander seeds
  • 10-12 dried red chillies
  • ½ cup fresh coconut
  • 1 lemon-sized ball of tamarind, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
  • ½ cup toor dal, soaked for 20 minutes
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish
  • 2 tsp jaggery powder
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp sambar powder (optional)
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • In a small pressure cooker, pressure cook the toor dal with ¼ tsp turmeric powder till it is soft and the dal has broken down completely. This usually will take around 3 whistles in the cooker. When the pressure reduces, open the cover of the cooker and then whisk the dal well. Keep aside.
  • Mash the tamarind when it becomes cool to touch and then squeeze the tamarind and drain the water so the fibres get separated and you have the water. Alternatively, use 3-4 tbsp tamarind paste which you can get at any Indian store.
  • In a pan, dry roast 8-10 dried red chillies, 1½ tbsp chana dal and 2½ tbsp coriander seeds and once the seeds start to brown, add in the coconut and roast, stirring continuously, until the coconut loses moisture and turns brown. Remove from the flame, and let it cool completely and then grind to a fine powder and keep aside.
  • Heat oil in the same pan and when the oil heats up, add in the mustard seeds, balance chana dal and dried red chillies which have been broken into 2-3 pieces each. Let the mustard seeds splutter and then add the chopped and washed vegetables.
  • Now add the balance of turmeric powder and sambar powder and let the vegetables cook for about 5 minutes. When the vegetables are almost cooked, add the tamarind water and salt as required. You can also add in the jaggery powder if you are using it at this point. Let the water come to a boil and let it simmer for another five minutes.
  • Next, add the cooked dal and the ground powder and mix well. At this point, check for seasoning and add if anything is missing. You can also add extra water if the kuzambu is still thick.
  • Let it come to a boil and let it boil for five minutes.
  • Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and shut off the flame. Let it stay covered for 10 minutes for the flavours to infuse and serve hot with rice.

Recipe: Orange Kozambu

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During the Chinese New Year period, here in Singapore, you get lots of different types of Mandarin oranges. I love Mandarin oranges and during that time, on a call with my mum and sister, we started talking about the Orange Kozambu my mum used to make. Inspired by that call and the two cartons of Mandarin oranges I had in the house, I made some of this delicious kozambu. I made it slightly different from how my mother makes it, making it more like my Milagu Kozambu and I felt this was a better way to make it as it kept for more than a week in the fridge. This is perfect with some rice and any stir-fried curry on a cold or rainy day. You can increase the number of peppercorns depending on your spice tolerance.

Orange Kozambu

Ingredients:

  • 2 mandarin oranges
  • 2 tsp Peppercorns
  • 7-8 Red Chillies
  • 2 tsp Urad Dal
  • 3 tsp Chana Dal
  • 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 3 tsp Coriander Seeds
  • 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
  • Tamarind piece as big as a piece of lime (make sure you remove all fibre from the tamarind as well as any seeds which may be there). Alternatively, you can use 1-2 tbsp tamarind paste
  • Salt to taste
  • 2-3 tbsp jaggery powder
  • ¼ tsp Asafoetida
  • 2 tbsp Gingelly Oil (if this oil is not available, then use the oil you use for your daily cooking)

Method:

  • Peel the oranges and remove any fibre from the peel as well as the segments.
  • Chop the orange peel into fine pieces and remove the seeds from the segments and chop them also finely.
  • Wash the peel and the segments and keep them aside.
  • In a pan, heat about 1 tbsp gingelly oil and after the oil warms up, add the tamarind piece, peppercorns, red chillies, urad dal, chana dal, asafoetida, cumin seeds and coriander seeds and fry them until the urad dal turns a golden brown colour.
  • If you are using tamarind paste, don’t add the paste to the oil, instead, you can use it while cooking the kozambu.
  • Once the spices cool down, blend them to a fine paste and keep aside.
  • Heat the balance gingelly oil and when the oil warms up, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.
  • Then add the chopped mandarin orange peel and segments and fry for about 5-7 minutes, until the peel is fully cooked.
  • Then add the blended paste and enough water to make the kozambu to the consistency you require. This kozambu will thicken slightly when cool, so thin it accordingly.
  • Add salt to taste as well as some jaggery if you find it spicy and let it cook till the orange peel and segments are fully cooked and the mixture becomes thick and reduces.
  • Check for seasoning and switch off the gas.
  • Serve hot with rice and any curry. Potatoes go very well with this kozambu.

Recipes: Vazhakai Podimas

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A very traditional tambram dish, Vazhakai Podimas is a healthy plantain stir fry which barely uses any oil. So this is a very good alternative for those who want to eat green bananas, but don’t want to fry them.

Vazhakai Podimas

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium-sized raw bananas
  • 4 tbsp grated coconut
  • 1 tbsp grated ginger
  • 1 tbsp oil or ghee
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tbsp split urad dal
  • 1 tsp green chilli paste or 2 green chillies, chopped
  • 3-4 curry leaves, torn
  • 1-2 tsp lemon juice
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Wash the raw banana and discard the top and bottom. Cut the bananas into 2-3 large pieces.
  • In a large pan heat water and once the water comes to a rolling boil add the raw bananas and cook them for about 5-6 minutes until the bananas are cooked. You can also steam the bananas.  
  • Once the bananas are cooked evenly and the skin darkens, remove them from the water and peel the skin. Because it is fully cooked, the skin should come off easily.
  • Take out the cooked raw bananas from the water and allow them to cool completely. Peel the skin and grate them after peeling.
  • Now add the grated ginger, coconut and salt and gently mix so the grated raw banana does not get mushy.
  • Heat the oil or ghee in a pan. Once the oil is warm, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. At this point, add the urad dal and let the dal slightly brown.
  • Then add the green chilli paste or green chilles and curry leaves and stir well.
  • At this point, add the grated bananas which has been mixed with ginger, coconut and salt and mix gently so the tempering is mixed with the vegetable.
  • Drizzle some lemon juice and serve hot with any south Indian meal like sambar or rasam.