Vetta Kulambu ( A gravy to be eaten with Rice) How to make Sambhar Powder.

Vetta Kulambu is a South Indian Tamil preparation which is eaten with cooked rice. It is simple, easy to cook, tasty dish. This can be prepared with simple variations in the vegetables or the dried vegetables (which are called Vattal) used in the preparation, there by getting variety in the same dish.
The basic Ingredients for this are

1. Tamarind one small lemon size, if it is tamarind paste 1 to 1and 1/2 Table spoon.
2. sambhar powder 1 to 1 and 1 1/2 t spoon. This is available in the Indian stores. (the method of preparing sambhar powder is given in the end.
3. salt to taste.
4. Mustard seeds 1 t spoon
5. Channa Daal 1 t spoon
6. Asafotida 1/2 t spoon (optional)
7. cooking oil 1 to 1 and 1/2 table spoon
8. curry leaves (if available)
9. Red chili 1

Normally the Vetta Kulambu is prepared using two vattals malathakali vattal or sundaikkaivattal (which are dried green seeds of plants) which are available in Indian stores (previously this was dried at home)
The method is almost same the variations I will be writing after writing the basic method.
Take a Frying Pan or a Kadai or a Iluppa Chatti.Pour Oil in the pan and put the mustard seeds and red chili (break it into pieces) when the mustard splutters add channa dal and either of the vattal a table spoon. when the channa daal turns brown add the curry leaves and the tamarind water.
(earlier put hot water in the tamarind and extract the juice about a cup or more. if it is a paste add water and mix well)
add salt and sambhar powder. let this boil well. (for around 20 minutes in medium flame) when the mixtures thickens switch off the stove. (if it is very watery, to make it thick take a spoon full of rice powder mixed with water and add it to the boiling mixture and stir well, which will thicken the Vetta Kulambu)

Coconut can be cut into small pieces and can be fried and added . This should be added when the curry leaves are added and fried for few minutes and then tamarind water should be added.

Appala vetta kulambu will be very tasty where appalam which is the south Indian pappad which is made of urad dal (available in indian store) is used.
Just when the channa daal is added instead of the dried vegetables add pieces of appalam. the appalam will get fried in the oil and once it is fried add the curry leaves and the tamarind water.


Vengaya Vetta Kulambu is prepared using onions. Cut the onions into pieces and instead of dried vegetable , add this while adding the curry leaves. Fry the onion before adding the tamarind water. While using onion no need to use asafotida. A small piece of jaggery will enhance the taste. This can also be added while adding the tamarind/salt sambhar powder.


Black chick peas can be added (kottu kadalai) this should be fried and pressure cooked earlier and added while adding the tamarind water. The coconut pieces added in the kottu kadalai vetta kulambu will enhance the taste.


Any vegetable like, drum stick, lady'sfinger (okra) , brinjal (egg plant) can be cut and added while adding the curry leaves. all of them have to be fried a little before adding the tamarind water. Each vegetable has to be added separately and prepared as separate dish.

Preparation of Sambhar powder.

1. chili powder 50 gms
2. coriander powder (dhaniya powder) 75 gms.
3. turmeric powder 1 table spoon
4. 1 table spoon black pepper
5. 1 table spoon jeera cumin seeds
6. 1 table spoon urad dal
7. 1 table sppon tuar dal
8. 1 table spoon channa dal
9. 1 t spoon methi seeds
10. 1 t spoon of asafotida

The items 4 to 9 have to be fried in a dry frying pan for few minutes and powdered in a mixi nicely. (You have to seive it with a seive so that the powder is in a nice form and the remains on the seive should be ground again and seived again. )  add this mixture to chili powder and coriander powder (available in market) and sambhar powder is ready.

Gulab Jamoon

Gulab jamoon is an Indian sweet made out of Milk Khova. Milk Khova is what you get when you go on heating the milk and it solidifies into Khova. If sugar is added to the Khova it becomes a sweet called pal khova.
In some Indian cities you get unsweetened khova which can be used to make many sweets and one of them is jamoon. Khova can be made at home but it is a laborious process.
The easiest way to make jamoons is to buy the ready to make packs of instant gulab jamoons. it is available in all Indian Stores. The method is given in the pack as to how to make the gulab jamoons.
if it is the batter from the ready pack Just mix with water (take lesser quantity of water than specified so that the batter does not become watery) and mix very lightly and add 1 t spoon of ghee and set it aside for 5 minutes. make into small round balls.
if it is the khova you are using to make the jamoons mix the khova with maida (white flour or all purpose flour) (1 or 2 table spoons for 1/4 kg of Khova ) add 1 t spoon of ghee and make into small round balls.

Sugar Syrup.

if it is ready made mix the quantity of sugar would be specified on the pack. If with Khova for 1/4 kg of khova you would require around 1kg of sugar.
mix equal quantity of water as the sugar and boil it in a hard bottomed pan. Let it boil for around 15 minutes. switch off stove.

Frying the Jamoons

In another stove keep a Frying pan and add cooking oil. once the oil is heated reduce the stove to sim postion .(lower heat) Add the round balls of jamoon one by one. when the jamoons turns dark brown take them and put them into the hot sugar syrup.
Serve the jamoons hot with the syrup .

Coconut Rice

Ingredients

1. Rice (preferably Pulav rice) 1 cup
2. Grated coconut 1 1/2 to 2 cups
3. Urad Dal 2 table spoons
4. mustard seeds 1 t spoon
5. Red chillies 2
6. Green chillies 2
7. Curry leaves few for garnishing
8. Asofotida one or two pinches
9. urad pappad one or two (optional)
10. cooking oil 1 table spoon
11. ghee one t spoon (optional)
12. salt to taste (around 1 t spoon)
    

Cook the Rice and keep it separately. Pulav rice will be better. use 1:1 & 1/2 cup water to cook rice. If it is normal rice use 1 : 2 ratio of rice to water.
Take a Frying pan (kadai or iluppa chatti)
Pour the oil into the pan and add the mustard seeds and broken red chilllies. when it splutters add the urad dal. when it turns light brown , add the asafotida powder and the raw pappad (break it into small pieces and add).Let the pappad pieces get fried in the oil. Now add the cut green chillies and also curry leaves. add the grated coconut and fry for 5 minutes. Add salt . Mix well and add the ghee.
Switch off the stove.
Take a basin or a wide open vessel and spread the cooked rice. Add the coconut mixture and mix well. Coconut rice is ready.

Alu Onion curry 4 / Puri Masal Curry

This curry is almost the same as the previous one. But this one is not dry . This is called puri masal, that is this curry is used as a side dish for poories. (A dish made out of wheat flour)

Ingredients.
1.Potatoes 4
2.Onion 1
3.green chillies 2
4.ginger one small piece
5.turmeric powder 1/2 t spoon
6.chilli powder 1/2 t spoon
7.mustard seeds 1/2 t spoon
8.curry leaves a few
9.channa daal 1/2 t spoon
10.cooking oil 1 table spoon
11.salt to taste (about 1/2 t spoon)

Boil the potatoes. peel the skin and mash it.
cut the onions, chillies and ginger into small pieces.
Pour the oil in a frying pan or a kadai or a iluppa chatti.
put the mustard seeds. when it splutters add the channa daal.
when it turns brown add the curry leaves, ginger , green chillies and onions. Add red chilli powder and stir well.
when it turns brown add the turmeric powder, salt and also the mashed potatoes. Mix well . Now add some water and let the curry boil. mix well and add some more water. let the curry boil well and become a curry with thick gravy. switch off the stove.

Alu Onion curry 4

Ingredients

1. Potatoes 4
2. Onion 1
3. green chillies 2
4. ginger one small piece
5. turmeric powder 1/2 t spoon
6. chilli powder 1/2 t spoon
7. mustard seeds 1/2 t spoon
8. curry leaves a few
9. channa daal 1/2 t spoon
10. cooking oil 1 table spoon
11. salt to taste (about 1/2 t spoon)

Boil the potatoes. peel the skin and mash it.
cut the onions, chillies and ginger into small pieces.
Pour the oil in a frying pan or a kadai or a iluppa chatti.
put the mustard seeds. when it splutters add the channa daal.
when it turns brown add the curry leaves, ginger , green chillies and onions. Add red chilli powder and stir well.
when it turns brown add the turmeric powder, salt and also the mashed potatoes. Mix well and keep on the stove for five more minutes and the curry (dry) is ready.

Alu Curry 3

Ingredients

1. Potatoes 4
2. Green Chillies 3 or 4
3. Ginger a small piece
4. Lemon half
5. Coriander leaves
6. Curry leaves
7. Fresh grated coconut (optional)
8. Mustard seeds 1/2 t spoon
9. Channa daal (kadalai paruppu) 1 t spoon
10. Turmeric Powder (optional) 1/2 t spoon
11. Oil 1 Table spoon
12. Salt to taste (approx 1 t spoon)

Boil the potatoes or pressure cook it after cutting into pieces.

Remove the skin and mash the cooked potatoes.

Take a Frying pan or a kadai or a iluppa chatti. Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. let it splutter. add the channa dal. when it turns brown add the curry leaves, cut green chillies and cut ginger.Turn it well. Now add the mashed potatoes , turmeric powder and salt. Mix the curry well. Add grated coconut (optional) and mix well. switch off the stove. (This curry need not be on the stove for long. It should be kept till everything is mixed well and properly.)

Now (after switching off the stove) add the lemon juice (after removing the seeds from the lemon) and coriander leaves and mix it well. Curry is ready.

Alu Curry 2

True to what I said in my earlier recipe I will follow my own methodology to write this.
Ingredients

1. potatoes
2. cooking oil
3. salt
4. chilli powder
5. turmeric powder
6. mustard seeds

In my recipes curry means dry curry and not with a gravy.

This curry is called in our home as 'gundu' urulai curry which roughly means fat and round potato curry .
Take 4 to 5 medium sized potatoes and cut into 8 pieces and boil them well in water. It is better if you pressure cook it. Give 2/3 whistles in the cooker.
The potatoes should be well cooked.
Remove the skin and then cut the potatoes into smaller pieces roughly about 1 and 1/2 inch cubes.
Take a frying pan or kadai or iluppa chatti and put one and half to two table spoons of cooking oil.
Put 1/2 t spoon of mustard seeds and let it splutter.
Now put the peeled cut potatoes and add salt (roughly 1/2 t spoon) or according to taste, 1 t spoon of red chilli powder and 1/2 t spoon of haldi powder (turmeric powder). Cover the dish with a lid and keep the stove in medium/low flame. Keep stirring the curry without damaging the potatoes ( without smashing them). when the potatoes turn golden brown switch off the stove and curry (dry) is ready.
This can be done with another type of potatoes which is called gola potatoes which are round and small. These can be boiled or pressure cooked and peeled and made into curry directly without cutting them.

Alu Curry 1

Well, I am starting this blog so that it will be easy to cook simple dishes following the recipes. (I hope). I will not be following any orderly way as the usual cook books follow. It will be just a flow of writing as the thoughts come. (Justifying my inability to follow a proper pattern in writing a cook book I suppose).
This is the simplest way of cooking potatoes into a curry (dry).
Ingredients

1. potatoes
2. salt
3. chilli powder
4. turmeric powder
5. cooking oil
6. mustard seeds

Wash potatoes and cut into small pieces of about 1/2 inch cubes. Do not peel the skin of the potatoes. (wash very well )
Take 4 medium sized potatoes and cut them.
Take a Frying Pan or a Kadai or a Iluppa chatti.
pour 1 and half table spoons of cooking oil.
put 1/2 t spoon of mustard seeds. let it splutter.
Now put the washed cut potatoes.
add half t spoon of turmeric powder (haldi powder).
Add one t spoon of red chilli powder (mirchi powder)
Add salt to taste. (may be 1/2 t spoon)
cover the pan with a lid and let the stove burn in medium to low heat.
Keep stirring the curry off and on.
Switch off when the potatoes are cooked and some of them (in the bottom of the pan) turn brown in colour.