A tasty gravy mixed with rice or used as a side dish.
Ingredients
Tamarind lemon sized ball ( soak in hot water and squeeze out the pulp to make 1 cup tamarind water).
Baby onion(skinned) 1/2 cup.
Tomato 1 no.
Curry leaves 1 twig.
Sesame/Til oil 1 tablespoon.
Mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon.
Red chilli 2 nos ( cut into 1 inch pieces).
Groundnut 1 tablespoon.
Sambhar powder 1 to two teaspoons (depending on how spicy you want).
Hing a smallpiece.
Salt to taste.
Method
Chop the tomato and curry leaves into fine pieces.Heat oil in a kadai,add mustard seeds.When it crackles add groundnut,hing and red chillies, fry till the groundnut is golden. Add onions tomato and curry leaves.Fry for 3 minutes in a medium flame stirring continously. Add sambar powder and mix well.Add tamarind pulp and salt and cook till the mixture thickens, say for 4 minutes.Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve hot with rice.
Alternate method (microwave)
You will need a microwave safe glass bowl with lid to avoid the oven getting dirty. The lid also helps cook faster.
In a microwave safe glass bowl pour oil and mustard seeds. Close the lid and heat in the micromode for 30 seconds.Add groundnuts, hing and chillies and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Add onions, tomato and curry leaves. Microwave on high for 90 seconds. Add sambar powder, salt and tamarind water and micro high for 3 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve hot with rice or as a side dish.
Recomended side dishes for Vethal kuzhambu rice
Paruppu usali with any vegetable.
Potato,arbi, eggplant, ladysfinger or bitter gourd stir fry curry.
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[…] hot with Uchellu Podi, Green Tomato Chutney, Vethal Kozhambu or […]
[…] Vethal Kozhambu with Groundnuts and Small Onions – Small Onions don’t taste this good in any other dish. […]
Being an iyer married to an iyengar, i could not help but notice some differences in the cuisines in my in-laws’ place. One of them being that they make more of different variations of kozhambus and only on tuesdays and fridays they make paruppu kozhambu, now i am not sure if this is typical of my in-laws household or is common among all Iyeangars. Nonetheless, I would be delighted to get those yummy kozhambu recipes which are quite similar to vettha kozham but with subtle variations, like vendhaya kozhambu for example!!
Cheers
Neeraja
[…] Serve hot with sauce or Vethal kuzhambu. […]
Love the color Lathamma!
~ Siri
Namaskaram
I am pleased with all of your receipe. But usage of onions in the vettha kozhumbu is fly in the ointment.
Does Sri Vaisnava use onion and garlic? I humbly request you to incorporate the system without deviation. I am sure a pure Vaisnava won’t use onions and garlic.
Please forgive me for any inadvertent mistake.
many thanks
Bharani
I feel vettal kozhambu is different we use maratakali, sundaikai or kothavaranga vettal and not onions. The podi is also different from sambar podi.
thats how we iyengars make vettal kozhambu.
No vettal, vettal kozhambu. It is more like puli kozhambu.
[…] Serve hot with Avial, Pulikaichal or vethal kuzhambu. […]