Pongal Kara Kuzhambu

I usually call this preparation of my mom's as "Pongal Kuzhambu" and this tops my list of favorites. This is made during the time of Thai Pongal (Tamil festival of harvest) and it tastes so divine. The specialty of this dish is the variety of vegetables used and hence tastes much better than your normal kara kuzhambu.No "English vegetables" must be used for this Kuzhambu.

Pongal Kuzhmabu

Ingredients

Note: We normally use all of these vegetables listed below. But you could still try it with any 5-6 vegetables from the below list [discounting potato] and I promise you it will taste brilliant. A strict no to veggies like beetroot/cabbage/cauliflower/carrots/peas etc.

Serves - 4
Spice level - Medium

Shallots - 15 peeled, and each shallot cut into 2
Garlic cloves - 10
Tomato - 1 large chopped
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Drumstick - 2 cut into 10 pieces
Potato - 1 cut into medium sized pieces
Mochai [Field beans] - 1/2 cup
Karamani [Yard Long beans]- 5 chopped
beans - 5 chopped
Pumpkin - 4-5 medium sized pieces
Radish - 1 medium- cut into pieces
Avarkai [Flat beans] - 5 cut into pieces
Tamarind - size of a large lemon, extract thick juice from it.

Mustard - 1 Tbspn
Fenugreek -1 Tspn
Jeera - 1 Tbspn
Urad dal - 1 Tspn
Salt - to taste
Sambar/Kuzhambu powder - 4 Tbspn
Coriander powder - 1 Tbspn
Oil - 6 Tbspn


Method

Firstly, extract thick tamarind juice and mix 1.5 cups of water to it. Add the kuzhambu powder and coriander powder to it and make sure they dissolve well and keep aside.

Take a pressure cooker vessel and heat about 6 Tbspn of oil.Add mustard, and when it crackles, add in the fenugreek seeds, cumin , urad dal, and curry leaves and let them roast.Add shallots ,garlic cloves and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add in the tomato pieces and saute till it becomes soft and lets out juice.Now throw in all the vegetables and mix well with the onion-tomato mix.Add in the tamarind extract mixture prepared before.Mix well. Now add another 2 cups of water and salt. Make sure the water level in the cooker is well above the vegetables. Now close the cooker with its lid and pressure cook for 15 minutes. Cook at high flame until the first whistle and then sim the stove and cook for remaining time.After the cooker cools, open the lid, let the kuzhambu boil for another 15-20 minutes until it thickens.Add more salt/water/kuzhambu powder if needed and boil again to get desired consistency and switch off flame.

Serve hot with rice and appalam.


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