My husband Vinodh’s grand mother – Sinthayamma paati was 94 when she left us. Paati had a cook called Naacha. Naacha came to paati as a 10 year old. She never married and was 78 years old when paati died. She retired after paati left us. My son was 6 months old then and paati’s health was slowly going downhill. She had this habit of chewing tobacco called as pogailai in Tamil. Vinodh’s father had stopped the supply of tobacco due to her deteriorating health. We visited her when my son was 6 months old and Vinodh’s parents had to travel at that time. So it was me, my son, paati and Naacha in the house for a week. Naacha would hide the tobacco in her saree and sneak it in paati’s hands and make sure that no one was watching. It was a cute little scene. I did not tell about this to anyone as I felt that it was the very few little pleasures of life that was remaining for paati. She could barely walk. She would sit all day long in the portico watching people come and go at the farm. She was very old, ate very less and I thought the tobacco kept her going. I told this to my father in law after paati died and he laughed. He too knew what was going on. Even he chose to remain silent as he felt it was the little pleasures of life. Naacha left us once grand mom died. She still comes to the farm and I get very happy when I see her. She is so caring, an awesome cook and I love her food. This is her recipe. Its my favorite. Everytime I make this at home, I remember paati and Naacha and their cute little bonding. Below is a picture, the only picture of Naacha that I have.
Here it is, Naacha’s awesome poondu kuzhambu.
Heat oil in a pan and add in the sesame oil. Sesame oil is important and its the preferred oil in Tamilnadu cuisine. When the oil is hot, add in 3-4 methi-fenugreek seeds. Its called as vendhayam in Tamil. Do not add a lot as the curry will turn very bitter. 3-4 seeds are good enough. Add in the cumin and the black pepper too. Let it splutter. The oil will foam a little. That’s fine. Add in 10 cloves of garlic and saute briefly.
Add in one sprig of curry leaves and roughly chopped onions. Saute for 2-3 minutes until the onions turn soft. Add in the tomatoes and fry for a minute.
When the tomatoes are briefly sauteed, add in the kuzhambu milagai thool / kuzhambu masala powder. If you cannot source kuzhambu milagai thool, you can substitute sambar powder. If you want it spicy add in a tablespoon more of kuzhambu milagai thool. Saute to combine. Add in the fresh shredded coconut and remove off heat.
Let the masala mixture cool a bit.
Grind the masala to a very smooth paste. Add a cup and a half of water while grinding. Set aside.
Soak a big lime size tamarind in 2 cups of hot water for 15 minutes. Crush between your fingers and make a pulp. Strain the liquid and set aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and add in the mustard seeds and urad dal. Let it splutter. Add in two whole pods of peeled garlic. Fry for a minute.
Add in a lot of curry leaves. About 3 sprigs. Curry leaves are an important flavor component. So do not skip. Add in the onions too and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add in the tamarind pulp/juice, salt, asafoetida, turmeric and coriander powder.
Add in the ground masala. Stir well and let it simmer covered with a lid on a very low flame for 30-40 minutes. Stir once in 10 minutes so it does not scorch at the bottom.
Add in the jaggery. This is the SECRET to a good poondu kuzhambu. It brings all the flavors alive. The spicy, tangy, oh so yumm……. Add in a good 2 tablespoons. It wont be sweet. It just brings all the flavors alive.
Let it simmer for 5 minutes more. Remove off heat and serve with rice or idli. It tastes awesome with idli and dosa. It tastes double awesome the next day.
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 4 methi seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoon black pepper corns
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 2 very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon kuzhambu milagai thool (or sambar powder)
- ¼ cup fresh shredded coconut
- 1 lime size tamarind
- 4 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon urad dal
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 whole pods peeled garlic
- 3 sprigs curry leaves
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon asafoetida
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 2 heaped tablespoon jaggery
- Heat oil in a pan and add in the sesame oil. When the oil is hot, add in 3-4 methi-fenugreek seeds. Add in the cumin and the black pepper too. Let it splutter. The oil will foam a little. That’s fine. Add in 10 cloves of garlic and saute briefly.
- Add in one sprig of curry leaves and roughly chopped onions. Saute for 2-3 minutes until the onions turn soft. Add in the tomatoes and fry for a minute.
- When the tomatoes are briefly sauteed, add in the kuzhambu milagai thool / kuzhambu masala powder. Add in the fresh shredded coconut and remove off heat.
- Grind the masala to a very smooth paste. Add a cup and a half of water while grinding. Set aside.
- Soak a big lime size tamarind in 2 cups of hot water for 15 minutes. Crush between your fingers and make a pulp. Strain the liquid and set aside.
- Heat oil in a kadai and add in the mustard seeds and urad dal. Let it splutter. Add in two whole pods of peeled garlic. Fry for a minute.
- Add in a lot of curry leaves. About 3 sprigs. Curry leaves are an important flavor component. So do not skip. Add in the onions too and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the tamarind pulp/juice, salt, asafoetida, turmeric and coriander powder.
- Add in the ground masala. Stir well and let it simmer covered with a lid on a very low flame for 30-40 minutes. Stir once in 10 minutes so it does not scorch at the bottom.
- Add in the jaggery. This is the SECRET to a good poondu kuzhambu.Add in a good 2 tablespoons. It wont be sweet. It just brings all the flavors alive.
- Let it simmer for 5 minutes more. Remove off heat and serve with rice or idli. It tastes awesome with idli and dosa. It tastes double awesome the next day.