Chettinadu Poondu Kuzhambu

Chettinad features the rich craftsmanship and social legacy of Tamil Nadu. Chettinad is notable for its palaces ,artisan athankudi tiles, basket weaving  and culinary treats.

My trip to Chettinad was an eyeopener as to how the well the engineering minds of this small district planned the interconnecting roads, rainwater harvesting to avoid shortage of water, the tiled roofing,high ceilings, open courtyard to keep the house cool during warm weather and the large kitchens with traditional grinders to make tasty cuisine.

Well this is just one part of the entire experience . The food that was served during my stay there has no words that can can describe it. It was an experience eating the sweet made from kavani rice(black unpolished rice), the aapam and the kuzhambu .

Sharing my limited knowledge of the kuzhambu here that I re-tried when I was back home.

What you’ll need

1. Tamarind – A gooseberry size ball
2. Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp
3. Salt to taste
4. Asafoetida- a pinch
5. Jaggery – 1 tsp
6. Sesame oil -2 tbsp
7. Onion chopped long -1 medium size
8. Garlic -1/2 cup

For the spice paste

1. Sesame oil – 2 tsp
2. Fenugreek – 1/4 tsp
3. Black pepper corns – 1 tsp
4. Cumin - 1 tsp
5. Garlic cloves 10
6. Onion  - 1 medium roughly chopped
7. Tomatoes - 1 roughly chopped
8. Sambar powder -2 tbsp
9. Fresh scraped coconut – 1 cup
10. Curry Leaves – few sprigs

For Tempering

1. Sesame oil – 2 tsp
2. Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
3. Urad dal-1 tsp
4. Curry Leaves – few sprigs

Method

1. Soak the tamarind in hot water for 10 minutes and extract the juice from it, by adding about 2 cups of water.
2. Heat a small frying pan, with 2 tsp of oil, fry the , fenugreek seeds,black pepper corns,cumin,once they sputter add the garlic cloves,onions ,tomatoes,fresh scraped coconut and curry leaves. Take care not to burn the fenugreek at the same time it should be fried well else it will give a bitter taste.
3. Add the Sambar powder to the sauteed ingredients.
4. Grind the above with fresh coconut into a smooth paste adding little water
5. Heat a frying pan with the remaining oil, temper with mustard seeds, urad dal. Once they sputter add the garlic, onion  and curry leaves and fry for about 3-5 minuted or till the garlic becomes slightly soft.
6. Add the tamarind extracted juice,salt asafoetida ,turmeric.Let this boil for a bit till the raw tamarind smell goes.
7. Now add the ground paste, mix well. Check for seasoning.
8. Let this simmer on low flame, keep it closed and allow to cook for 20-30 minutes. stir well so it does not  scorch the bottom.
9. Add the jaggery  mix it well and remove from flame 

Serve hot with plain rice,lots of ghee and any curry