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Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Vendakkai Puli Kuzhambu, a delicious tamarind based curry made with vendakkai/okra. It's such a simple recipe but the flavor and the taste are amazing. Tastes best with the steamed rice and if i had any leftover curry from lunch, i like to have it with dosa for dinner :-)
 
Amma makes puli kuzhambu with different vegetables and each vegetable gives unique flavor to the kulambu. Brinjal, drumstick, okra and pearl onions are the most common vegetables used in the puli kuzhambu . 
Either with any one of these vegetables  or with a combination of two or more also , you can make this  puli kulambu following the same procedure that i have mentioned here.

Sometimes she makes this puli kulambu with pearl onions & garlic  and in the end she adds a few paruppu vada or masala vada in the  kulambu & switch off. We call it "Vada Kulambu" and the vadas soaked in puli kulambu tastes so great & it's our family favorite too. 

It's truly a life saver recipe when you're out of vegetables and still you wanna have a hearty lunch. So with one simple recipe, you can make so many varieties of curry depends on what you add in it .


Related: How to make Masala Vadai

Are the puli kulambu and the kara kulambu the same ? 


Puli Kuzhambu is a tamarind based curry ( puli means tamarind in tamil). Kara Kuzhambu means spicy curry (kara loosely means "spicy" in tamil) and it's also a tamarind based curry but in some places, it's made with tomatoes alone for sourness.

Additionally, in some places, coconut masala is used for making these curries whereas in some other places, a small  amount of jaggery is used to balance the sourness and hotness and the coconut masala is skipped totally. 

So, puli kuzhambu and kara kuzhambu  are more or less the same curry with little bit of variations  across different regions in Tamilnadu. But both the names are easily interchangeable in many places as far as i know. 
  Okra Kara Kuzhambu

Vendakkai Puli Kuzhambu

Preparation Time : 30 mins for soaking | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: India
Vendakkai Puli Kuzhambu, Vendakkai Kara Kulambu, Okra Kara Kuzhambu, Puli Kuzhambu Vendakkai Puli Kuzhambu, a delicious tamarind based curry made with vendakkai/okra.
Ingredients
Vendakkai/Okra- 7 
Pearl onion - 4
Tomato -1
Tamarind - small gooseberry size
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Split urad dal- 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek Seed - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Red chili powder -1/2 tsp
Sambar powder / Coriander Powder - 1 & 1/2 tsp 
Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
To grind
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Peal onion - 2 
Garlic pods - 2
Cumin seed- 1 tsp

Vendakkai Puli Kuzhambu
Procedure
Soak tamarind for 1/2 hr, wash and cut the okra into 1/2 inch pieces and tomato into small pieces. Peel the onion and keep it ready. Put all the ingredients listed under "To grind" into mixie jar and grind into smooth paste. Heat the kadai with oil.
Add mustard, urad dal and fenugreek seed , let the mustard splutter, add onions and curry leaves.Then add the okra and saute it in oil for 3-4 mins.
Add tomatoes and extract the tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind pulp and add into the kadai.Then add the spices (turmeric, red chili & sambar powder) & salt.
Now add the coconut paste and add the water according to your preferred consistency. Let it comes to boil. Keep the flame in medium till the oil floats on top.
Tangy and tasty Vendakkai Puli Kulambu is ready to serve.We had it with rice and potato podimas

Related : How to make Vatha Kulambu

Vendakkai Puli Kuzhambu
Notes:
  • Saute the okra/vendakkai in oil helps to remove the sliminess of the okra.
  • Instead of sambar powder, you can use the coriander powder too.
  • My sambar powder doesn't have more chilies, if your's have, then adjust the amount of chili powder accordingly.

  • The color of the curry depends on the red chili powder color. So use bright red chili powder for vibrant color.

Related : Vendakkai Thayir Pachadi

Vendakkai Kara Kuzhambu

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