Vathal Kuzhambu, precisely manathakkali vathal kuzhambu is a finger-licking spicy and tangy tamarind-based gravy with the dried sun berries or the black nightshade berries. Check out this authentic recipe from Tamil Nadu, with a detailed video.
Vathals:
Vathals:Vathal Kuzhambu is a famous recipe from Tamil Nadu made with sundaikai vathal or the manathakkali vathal. My weekly menu is incomplete without the vathal kuzhambu. :-)
Vathal is a Tamil word, meaning dried (sun-dried) vegetable. The veggies will be first soaked in salted yogurt or buttermilk and then sun-dried. I have already posted okra vathal, karuvadagam, and karuvadagam vathal kuzhambu on my blog. You can make vathals similarly with brinjal, cluster-beans, etc. and you can use any of those vathals for this kuzhambu. But the taste varies depending upon the vathal that we add. Here are the pictures of the manathakkali vathal and the sundaikai vathal.
Tamarind:
Mostly, all the South Indian gravies are mostly tamarind-based ones. That said, the tamarind you use plays a significant role. The age of the tamarind determines the tanginess and the color of the kuzhambu. So adjust the tamarind according to the variety you have. But for this recipe, I used store-bought tamarind paste. If they are sweet, increase the sambar powder to 1.25 or 1.5 tbsp, if not 1 tbsp should be sufficient for this quantity.
Sambar Powder or Vathal Kuzhambu Powder?
In our household, we don’t make separate vathal kuzhambu powder. But in Indian groceries, you can find vathal kuzhambu powder. I have tried using the Grand-Sweets brand, but I powder for vathal kuzhambu too. Between, I have included a few tips in the recipe notes section, don’t miss it.
Now without any further ado, here is the detailed video and the recipe of the vathal kuzhambu. Please don’t forget to subscribe to my channel and share your feedback.
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp corn oil or any regular cooking oil
- 2 tsps gingelly/sesame oil (divided, 1 tsp + 1 tsp)
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tsps fenugreek seeds
- 1/4 tsp hing
- 1 red chili broken into two
- 2 tsps manathakkali vathal / dried sun berries
- 5 curry leaves
- 2 tsps tamarind paste
- 2 cups water (divided, 1 cup + 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup)
- 1 tbsp sambar powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp rice flour
Prep-Work:
- Dilute the 2 tsps of tamarind paste in 1 cup of water and set aside.
- Similarly, mix 1 tbsp of sambar powder in 1/2 cup of water and 1 tsp of rice flour in remaining 1/2 cup of water and set aside.
Steps:
- Heat a pan or clay pot and add 1 tbsp of regular oil and 1 tsp of gingelly oil.
- Then add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, hing, red chili, and curry leaves. Allow the mustard seeds to splutter.
- Then add the dried sun berries or the manathakkali vathal and fry for a minute over medium-low heat.
- When the vathal is crisp, reduce the heat to low and add the tamarind water — followed by salt and turmeric powder. Mix it and let it simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until the raw smell of the tamarind goes off.
- Now add the water mixed with sambar powder and stir it. Again, simmer it for 3 to 4 minutes.
- At this stage, add the rice flour water and simmer it for 3 to 4 minutes and bring it to a boil and turn off the heat. The rice flour mix helps the kuzhambu to thicken a bit.
- Finally, add the remaining 1 tsp of gingelly oil and serve this hot with rice and your favorite curry or kootu.
- Store-bought dried vegetables usually contain salt. So depending upon that adjust the salt measure. Start with a small amount and adjust as needed.
- Do the tempering in medium-low heat and do not brown the fenugreek seeds as might make the kuzhambu bitter.
- Instead of tamarind paste, you can use tamarind pods. In that case, soak a small gooseberry sized tamarind in 1 cup of water for at least 30 minutes and extract the juice.
- Mixing the sambar powder in water avoids the lump formation. But you can add directly too. Make sure there aren’t any sambar powder lumps.
- If you want a thin consistency sambar, skip the rice flour and add that 1/2 cup of water and simmer the kuzhambu.
- As always, adjust the salt and spices according to your taste preference.
- Instead of manathakkali vathal, you can use dried turkey berry/ sundaikai vathal, dried okra, brinjal, cluster beans or even appalam.
PS: If you try this vathal kuzhambu recipe, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. Also, please check out my videos and do subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Vathal Kuzhambu | Manathakkali Vathal Kuzhambu
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp corn oil or any regular cooking oil
- 2 tsps gingelly/sesame oil divided, 1 tsp + 1 tsp
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tsps fenugreek seeds
- 1/4 tsp hing
- 1 red chili broken into two
- 2 tsps manathakkali vathal / dried sun berries
- 5 curry leaves
- 2 tsps tamarind paste
- 2 cups water divided, 1 cup + 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup
- 1 tbsp sambar powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp rice flour
Instructions
Prep-Work:
- Dilute the 2 tsps of tamarind paste in 1 cup of water and set aside.
- Similarly, mix 1 tbsp of sambar powder in 1/2 cup of water and 1 tsp of rice flour in remaining 1/2 cup of water and set aside.
Steps:
- Heat a pan or clay pot and add 1 tbsp of regular oil and 1 tsp of gingelly oil.
- Then add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, hing, red chili, and curry leaves. Allow the mustard seeds to splutter.
- Then add the dried sun berries or the manathakkali vathal and fry for a minute over medium-low heat.
- When the vathal is crisp, reduce the heat to low and add the tamarind water — followed by salt and turmeric powder. Mix it and let it simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until the raw smell of the tamarind goes off.
- Now add the water mixed with sambar powder and stir it. Again, simmer it for 3 to 4 minutes.
- At this stage, add the rice flour water and simmer it for 3 to 4 minutes and bring it to a boil and turn off the heat. The rice flour mix helps the kuzhambu to thicken a bit.
- Finally, add the remaining 1 tsp of gingelly oil and serve this hot with rice and your favorite curry or kootu.
Video
Notes
- Store-bought dried vegetables usually contain salt. So depending upon that adjust the salt measure. Start with a small amount and adjust as needed.
- Do the tempering in medium-low heat and do not brown the fenugreek seeds as might make the kuzhambu bitter.
- Instead of tamarind paste, you can use tamarind pods. In that case, soak a small gooseberry sized tamarind in 1 cup of water for at least 30 minutes and extract the juice.
- Mixing the sambar powder in water avoids the lump formation. But you can add directly too. Make sure there aren't any sambar powder lumps.
- If you want a thin consistency sambar, skip the rice flour and add that 1/2 cup of water and simmer the kuzhambu.
- As always, adjust the salt and spices according to your taste preference.
- Instead of manathakkali vathal, you can use dried turkey berry/ sundaikai vathal, dried okra, brinjal, cluster beans or even appalam.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in 2013 but now updated with new photos and video.
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