Pachai Sundakkai Kuzhambu | பச்சை சுண்டக்காய் புளிக்குழம்பு
Spicy south Indian style tamarind gravy made using fresh turkey berries!
Servings: 6
Equipment
- Sauce pan or Kadai
- Mortar & Pestle
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sundakkai / Fresh Turkey Berry
- 1/2 cup Onion chopped
- 10 each Indian shallots `
- 10 cloves Garlic
- 1 each Green chili 1/2
- 1/2 cup Tomato
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp Kuzhambu Milagai Thool / All purpose curry powder ***read notes
- 1.5 tsp Salt or to taste
- 1 cup Water
- 1 lemon size Tamarind
- 1/2 tsp Jaggery
- 4 tbsp Oil preferably gingelly oil
- 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 tsp Split black gram
- 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
- 6 each Curry leaves
Instructions
Prep work
- Snap off the stem from fresh turkey berry. Wash and keep them soaked in water.
- Gently crush the berries using a mortar and pestle. Alternatively you may even chop them into halves. Make sure to soak them in water or buttermilk till use to avoid discoloration.
- Soak lemon size tamarind in 1 cup water. Extract the pulp and set aside.
For the Curry
- Heat oil in a deep sauce pan or kadai, preferably gingelly oil which gives a lot a flavor to this curry.
- Temper with mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, split black gram, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves.
- Add garlic cloves along with green chili, shallots and regular chopped onions.
- Saute these until soft and then add tomatoes. Cook them until mushy.
- Add turmeric powder, Kuzhambu Milagai thool and salt. Saute until the raw smell goes.
- Add the crushed turkey berries at this stage and saute along to coat the masala and to cook.
- Add a little jaggery at this stage to balance the heat.
- Cover with a lid and cook the berries for 5 minutes over low flame.
- Now add thick tamarind extract and bring it a boil.
- Simmer until it thickens or till the oil separates on top.
- Garnish with fresh curry leaves and turn it off.
- Serve hot topped over rice!
Optional
- For variation - try adding thick coconut extract to enhance flavor and to increase quantity.
Notes
Kuzhambu Milagai Thool - is a must for this gravy, alternate option is to use Sambar Powder. You can also substitute with 1 tsp red chili powder, 1 tbsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper powder and 1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder.