SUNDAKKAI VATHAL KUZHAMBU:
Sundakkai/ turkey berry named for vathal kuzhambu. These berries are spicy in flavor but slightly bitter in taste. But very healthy one. These have amazing healing qualities. Some of its health benefits are
- Treatment for diabetes
- Treatment for cold and flu
- Prevent from cardiovascular disease and strokes
- Prevent from pains and even gout
- Prevent and treat from kidney disease
In an average sundakkai bush, it yields hundreds and more. You cannot make them all at once. One fine way to store this precious sundakkai by means of vathal. Vathal is nothing but nudge the berry gently and soak them into buttermilk and sundry it. You can store this for very long period of time.
Most of our summer ends with this kind of work. Very interesting work to do especially during summer. Because our family members don’t know how to handle us during the annual leave (a very long leave about 1-2 months) on summer its very hot outside, making us sit at one place is too hard for them, so by giving this type of interesting work will make both of us happy.
Ingredients
- Small onion – 5-8 nos
- Garlic – 5-8 nos
- Sundakkai vathal – ½ cup
- Tamarind puree – ½ cup (semi-thick)
- Kuzhambu powder – 3 tblsp
- Salt – as req
- Water – as req
- Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
- Gingelly oil – 3 tblsp
- Jaggery -1 tsp
- Asafetida – ½ tsp
Procedure:
Step 1:
In a kadai/ sauce pan add about 2 tblsp of gingelly oil, once the oil get enough hot add some fenugreek seeds, let it splutter. Add the chopped small onions and garlic, saute for a while.
Step 2:
In a mixing bowl add the tamarind puree/ puli saru along with 2-3 tblsp of kuzhambu powder/ sambar powder and salt with required amount of water to the kuzhambu. Pour the mixture to the tempering and bring it to boil. Within 8-10 mins, the kuzhambu gets started thickening.
Meanwhile in a small kadai add about a tsp of gingelly oil once the oil get hot add the sundakkai/ turkey berry and saute for a while. Add to the kuzhambu mixture along with some asafetida and jaggery towards the end and turn off the flame. Enjoy with hot rice.
NOTE/TIP:
- The puli saru/ tamarind puree should be little thick, otherwise you won’t get the exact taste.
- Those who don’t have kuzhambu podi, you can use the sambar powder or 1:2 ratio of plain chilie powder and coriander powder with some turmeric powder.
- I usually don’t add tomato for any of my tamarind related kuzhambu. If you want to, then you can. Without tomato you can keep the kuzhambu for long time.
- Add the sundakkai towards the end will enhance the kuzhambu flavor, if you add at the initial stage then the kuzhambu turns slight bitter.
- You can add maa vathal( dried raw mango), manathakkali vathal (dried sun berry/wonder berry), kothavarangai (dried cluster beans)
