Vatta Kozhambu

This gives you the feeling of comfort food especially with its spicy, tangy taste and aromatic character that makes us remember our home. I have added onions but you need not add onions. You may add some vegetables like seetaphal too. Some people also add potatoes although I am not too fond of it.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil

mustard seeds

10 methi dana/ fenugreek seeds

2 red chillies

dried vattral

pinch of asafoetida

curry leaves

1/4 turmeric powder

1 tsp sambar powder

salt to taste

1/2 lemon size tamarind immersed in a cup of hot water

1 tsp rice powder dissolved in a few tsp of water

1 small onion (optional) sliced lengthwise

1tsp toor daal

METHOD

1) In a frying pan add some oil. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, toor daal, dried Vattral, asafoetida. Fry them on medium flame. 

2) You can at this point of time add sliced onions and then fry them well. Once they are fried, add turmeric powder, sambar powder and fry for  few seconds stirring continuously. Turn off the heat or transfer the pan to another stove which has not been used.

3) Now add the tamarind juice which is extracted from squeezing out tamarind. Switch on the flame. Let the mixture boil for 15 mts. Once done, add rice powder that was dissolved in water. This brings the thickness. 

4) Fry some vattral in oil until it changes colour and turns crispy but not very dark. 

5) Season the kozhambu with curry leaves and vattral. Serve it hot with rice or have it as a side dish with curd rice.