Paruppu Kuzhambhu

Ask anyone from any location in / around Tirunelveli about paruppu kuzhambhu...... they will say 'wow..... I love that'. Atleast one person per house will be called as 'paruppu chatti' because they love to eat and drink it all thro' the day. Such an amazing, mouthwatering yet, easy to prepare kuzhambhu. Add in more quantities to rice and taste.....With less tamarind add to dosa and eat.......With no tamarind add to idly and say 'hmmm  hmmm yummy'. Idli / dosa easily gets soaked in this kuzhambhu and hence can be given to infants / kids very easily.

Ingredients

Toor Dhal - 1 handful
Brinjal - 2 (cut to bite size pieces)
Drumstick - 1 (optional)
Tomato - 1 (cut to bite size pieces)
Small onions - 5 to 10 Nos.
Garlic pods - 5
Hing (Asafoetida) - 1/4 sp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 sp
Coconut - 1/8th of a whole coconut
Cumin - 1/4 sp
Green chilli - 2
Tamarind - 1 1/2 pods
Seasoning:
Oil - 3 sp
Mustard - 1/4 sp
Urad dhal - 1/4 sp
Red chilli - 1 (optional)
Onion - 2 sp
Curry leaves - 10 Nos.
Coriander leaves - To garnish
Salt - To taste

Method

1. Soak tamarind in hot water and extract the tamarind juice.
2. Grind coconut, cumin and green chillies to a fine paste adding sufficient water.
3. Add toor dhal, brinjal, drumstick, tomato, small onions, garlic, hing and turmeric powder to a pressure cooker along with water sufficient enough to fully cover the ingredients.
4. Cook for 5 whistles till the ingredients are well cooked.
5. Mash them with a 'mathu' so that all the vegetables are totally mashed and can't be separated.
6. Add the tamarind juice, grind masala, salt to the mashed items in the pressure cooker with necessary water.
7. Do the seasoning and add to the cooker.
8. Let this boil in a medium heat for 5 - 7 min (not more than that.... the taste will change) till the masala is well cooked.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves.
10. Serve with white rice. Normally this kuzhambhu is added in more quantities to rice...which will taste even better.

Note

1. This kuzhambhu should never be in a thick consistency. It should be kind of little watery.
2. Never boil the kuzhambhu for an increased time. This will totally spoil the taste of the kuzhambhu.
3. Some people boil the kuzhambhu for just 2 min. This can also be done if you don't feel that the kuzhambhu has a raw flavour.
4. The tamarind can be reduced to 3/4th pod or totally avoided, and the kuzhambhu can be served with idly / dosa.
5. In general, prepare the kuzhambhu in large quantities w/o tamarind, serve for breakfast. Then add tamarind juice, allow it to boil for 3 min and serve with rice.

Tips

1. The toor dhal in this recipe may cause gastric troubles in some people. This can be avoided by adding more garlic pods and hing to the kuzhambhu.
2. Else, after lunch, eat some hing along with a glass of warm water.