Onion & Garlic Vathal kozhumbu

Vathal Kozhumbu is one of the most tangiest dishes of south india. It is basically a thick tamarind gravy with vathals of choice.

Vathal (or Vatral) comprises of sun dried stuff...the most common one's used in this dish being sundakkai and manathakkali (Sorry, I don't know the english names for these).

There are many of versions of this kozhumbu.

1. A typical brahmin style of vathal kozhumbu involves only vathal and no onion or garlic.

2. There is one that spices things up by addition of onion and garlic. You can also use shallots instead of onions.

3. Some prepare vegetable vathal kozhumbu where veggies like okhra etc are used.

4. My mom used to prepare 'Appalam vathal kozhumbu' where pieces of appalam (rice papad) were fried and then the tamarind extract was added. However I felt that the very USP of appalam 'its crunchiness' was destroyed in this version.

Personally I find the onion-garlic version absolutely yum. So here goes the recipe...

Ingredients (Serve size -2) :

Tamarind - Little more than lemon sized soaked in water

Gingelly / Sesame Oil - 4 tbsps

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Udid (Black gram) dal - 1/2 tsp

Chana (Bengal Gram) dal - 1/2 tsp

Methi (Fenugreek) seeds - 1/4 tsp

Hing (Asafoetida)

Red Chillies - 2

Curry leaves - One sprig

Onion - 1 (cut length wise)

Garlic - 3 to 4 cloves

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Sambhar powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Jaggery - 2 tsps

Rice flour (Optional) - Dissolved in water for thickening

Extract juice from soaked tamarind (Atleast 3 cups). Set aside.

In a pan, heat gingelly oil. Splutter mustard seeds. Add hing, udid dal, chana dal, methi seeds, red chillies, garlic and curry leaves.

Thereafter add onion and saute till it turns translucent. Add turmeric, red chilli powder, sambhar powder and coriander powder.

Add the tamarind pulp. Let it simmer till the raw flavour of the tamarind goes off. Add jaggery (Some people dont use jaggery, however i feel that jaggery compliments the tanginess of the dish).

If you want the kozhumbu to be like a paste, you can add dissolved rice flour to thicken it. Alternatively you can keep simmering it till it thickens (I found this the best way to have thick kozhumbu however the quantity can reduce)

Traditionally this dish is prepared in lots of gingelly oil. My mother infact adds some gingelly oil over the kozhumbu once its done so that it gives off a nice aroma.

Vathal kozhumbu tastes best with steaming hot rice, potato fry / brinjal fry and appalams.