Drumstick Kara Kuzhambu

Kuzhambu is a maincourse dish in Tamil Nadu, it is a spicy tamarind-based dish that can include a variety of vegetables, dried berries and in some cases, coconut. Kuzhambu is traditionally eaten before sambar in lunchtime; it is served in small quantity and marks the beginnning of the traditional main course.

Today, I will share with you my recipe to make drumstick kara kuzhambu at home. The  ingredients and proportions shared below helps serve four people.

Gather the following ingredients;

1. Drumsticks - 300gm
2. Madras Onion - 150gm
3. Tomato - 150gm
4. Garlic - 6 Cloves
5. Green Chilli - 4 Medium
6. Tamarind - 100gm
7. Fresh Coconut - 100gm [One-third of medium fresh coconut]
8. Mustard Seeds - 1 tablespoon [tbsp]
9. Split Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
10. Red Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
11. Fenugreek Seeds - 1 pinch
12. Turmeric Powder - 1 teaspoon [tsp]
13. Curry Leaves - 3 tbsp
14. Guntur Chilli - 4 medium with stem
15. Ramnad Gundu Chilli - 6 small with stem
16. Sunflower Oil / Corn Oil - 100ml
17. Asafoetida - 1 pinch
18. Salt - 1 tbsp or to taste

Preparation

• Begin by peeling cloves of garlic.
• Chop and dice tomatoes into smaller pieces.
• Slice green chillies into long pieces, do not chop.
• Wash and cut drumsticks into 2 inch long pieces; discard ends.
• Boil water in a sauce pan and add pinch of salt, before adding chopped drumsticks.
• Do not let the drumsticks split, boil until moderately soft.
• Soak madras onion in hot water for 5 minutes before peeling and removing skin.
• Break and remove fresh coconut from shell and and keep water aside for grinding.
• Soak tamarind in hot water for 5 minutes before making paste; filter if required.

Wet Masala Grinding

• Add deskinned madras onion, fresh coconut, one tbsp red chilli powder along with garlic cloves in a mixie jar for grinding.
• Use coconut water for grinding and add a pinch of salt for flavour release.
• Do not grind the wet masala too fine; to avoid separation during cooking.
• After grinding, keep aside and let air for 5-7 minutes.

Cooking & Serving

• Heat a thick-bottomed fry pan or cooker-base [approx. 3ltr]; add 100ml sunflower or corn oil on medium flame.
• Add tadka of long-cut green chillies, split urad dal, mustard, curry leaves, asafoetida, fenugreek seeds, split guntur chillies, ramnad gundu chilli, turmeric powder.
• Now add finely chopped tomatoes to the tadka and fry on medium heat until tomatoes are soft; sprinkle salt to develop a well-fried paste.
• Increase flame to high and add tamarind water to the masala in the fry pan.
• Add the wet masala to the pan; after it comes to a boil, reduce flame to medium.
• Cover the masala and let boil for 2-3 minutes on low flame.
• Add the chopped and boiled drumsticks to the masala and cover and mix constantly to blend the flavour together.
• Boil the drumsticks and masala together for 10 minutes to achieve a consistent mix.
• Check salt and consistency of the kuzhambu before transferring to serving pot.

Enjoy your kuzhambu with rice or serve with plain dosa's and enjoy with your family.