Aachi style Paruppu Kulambu!

The Best native style comfy food in our home - Parupu Kulambu!

My father, father-in-law, hubby all of them are a BIG fan of this kulambu. My hubby will be very happy to eat this everyday!
This kulambu has no fancy vegetables or any fancy cooking method or even cream to make it rich. Well, you can ask me, then what is so special about this kulambu, that makes it irresistible?? The simplicity and the extremely light feeling that you get even after third helpings is what makes it soooo special. Its simple and elegant taste makes you want more always....

This is also one of the easiest kulambu to make. You just dump everything in one pot, strain, mash and finally you temper it. That's all. The main things that you need to balance here are the salt, sour and the hot. And finally the texture is very important for this kulambu, it shouldn't be thick as a sambar neither should it be too watery as a rasam.

Before going to the recipe I would like to share a very little background story that my father used to say -  During my father's childhood days, scarcity of food was so common so they keep dal for rice very rarely only. There won't be enough dal to make a thick sambar for everyone, so my grandma will take very little dal and add the veggies that she can get easily and dilute it with plenty of water so that there is enough for everyone and that's how this kulambu came into being.
My dad still used to say that the kulambu that my grandma used to make in the village used to be more awesome! ( urula aachi vaikira kolumbu avolo manama irukum! )

 

Parupu Kulambu

 Lite and comforting native style Parupu Kulambu!
 Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 35 min
 Total time: 45 min |Yield: serves 4 or 5 people

INGREDIENTS:
Toor Dal: 100g 
Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp 
Hing: 1/4 tsp 
Shallots: 1/2 cup 
Garlic: 6 or 7 cloves 
Brinjal: 2
Green Chilli: 4
Tomato: 2
Tamarind: 3"piece
Water: 4 cups + 1 and 1/4 cup ( or as required )
Salt: to taste
To Grind:
Coconut: 1/2 tsp (chopped)
Cumin seeds / Jeera: 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves: a sprig
To Temper:
Oil: 1 tbsp
Mustard: 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal: 1/2 tsp
Dry Chilli: 2
Curry Leaves: a spring
Shallots: 3 ( finely chopped )

METHOD:
1) Wash and drain the toor dal twice to remove any impurities. Add 4 cups of water, turmeric powder and hing bring it to a boil.
2) In the meantime, soak tamarind in 3 tbsp water. Grind coconut, jeera and curry leaves in a mixer ( no need to make a fine paste )
3) When the Dal comes to a boil, add the shallots, garlic, brinjal ( cubed ) and green chilli. Close and let the dal cook.
4) When the dal is cooked but still is firm, add the tomatoes. Here I have used the native variety tomatoes ( see picture below ) as they are more sour compared to the other variety which is what makes this kulambu tastes like olden days ( refer notes for substitution )
5) After adding the tomatoes, let the dal continue to cook. When the tomatoes too are tender like the picture below, turn off the stove. Now close the dal pot with a lid. With the help of a cloth lift it with your 2 hands holding its rim. Now gently tilt the pot and drain the dal water in a separate bowl ( alternatively, you can also use a laddle to separate the dal water )
6) Add sea salt to the drained dal and with the help of mathu or a potato masher, mash the dal.
7) Now add the dal water, tamarind water and the coconut mixture prepared in step 2. 
8) Give everything a good mix.
9) Add 1 and 1/4 cup water and check the consistency. It should be thinner than a sambar but thicker than a rasam. Keep it back on stove until it just comes to a boil.

10) For tempering - Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add the urad dal. When it starts to turn golden, add the dry chilli ( broken into 2 ), shallots and curry leaves. Fry in a low flame until the shallots are caramelized and golden in colour. This step is crucial in all tempering as it uplifts the flavour and also you can see the tempering floating beautifully on the surface of the kulambu because of this ( but please don't burn the shallots as it will yield a bitter taste )

 Add the tempered mix to the parupu kolumbu

There you have it, the most comforting and tasty dal that pairs extraordinarily with rice and dosa!!!

NOTES:
1) Don't mash the dal to a fine paste as it will affect the texture of the kulambu.
2) If you can't find nattu thakali (native tomato), you can use the regular tomato, but just make sure to add 3 of them to balance the sourness for the kulambu.



Happy Cooking,
Sindhiya.S

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Paruppu kulambu/moong dal curry

Hi everyone,this dal curry is my hubby's favourite recipe. He takes this dal with rice and chappathi. This was the first curry which I learnt from my MIL. This was the first curry which i gave to my kids when they were six months old. Have it with spoonful of ghee ,it tastes heavenly!!!!!!!!!Now on to the recipe with just simple ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

Moong dal - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds -1/4 tsp
Pepper corns - 3 to 4
Hing - a pinch
Water - 1 3/4 cup

Shallots-10 to 15(or 1 medium sized onion)
Tomato -1
Green chilli - 4 or 5
Garlic - 5
Drumstick -1
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - to garnish
Water - 2 1/2 cup

To grind:
Coconut -1/2 cup
Cumin seeds -1/2 tsp

To temper:

Oil -1 1/2tsp
Mustard -1/4 tsp
Dry red chilli-1
Shallots -1-2( chopped)
Curry leaves -10

PROCEDURE:
Step 1
Dry roast the moong dal until nice aroma comes without changing the color (may be 3-4 minutes).
Pressure cook roasted moong dal along with turmeric,cumin seeds, hing, pepper corns and 1 3/4 cup of water for 2 whistles.


Step 2
Grind coconut along with cumin seeds into a nice paste. Keep aside
Step 3
Cut the vegetables.
When the pressure releases add shallots, tomato, garlic, drumstick and green chilli.
Now add your grinded coconut paste and add 2 1/2 cups of water and salt.


Check for salt and spice.



Let it boil for around 10 -15 minutes and then keep in simmer for two minutes until raw smell leaves and the drumstick gets cooked.

Step 4
Now temper with the items under the title to temper.
Garnish with some coriander leaves.

Your dal curry is ready to serve
Enjoy.

Notes:
Use fresh drumstick, else the gravy will turn bitter.
You can make it plain without any drumstick also.
I have added big onions as I had no shallots in hand.

Cheers
Jayanthi

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Kaadai kulambu (quail curry)

Hai everyone, has anyone has heard of Kaadai (Quail), a small bird, but it taste so good than your chicken.This kaadai gets cooked soon and tastes heavenly with rice, roti, idli, dosa and even poori. Do try and tell me...

INGREDIENTS:

Kaadai - 1/2 kg
Oil - 2 tbsp
Shallots - 15
Tomato - 1
Water - 1 cup
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 10
Salt  - to taste
Coriander leaves -  few

To roast & grind:

Oil - 1 tsp
Dry red chilli - 3
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Saunf - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

 PROCEDURE:
1) Clean Kaadai completely. Roast the items under the heading To Roast And Grind and grind them to a fine paste.  Now in an earthernware ware( I prefer non veg in earthernware ware as it gives good taste and the non veg also gets cooked so well :) )add oil,then shallots and then fry until they are translucent.


3) Now go on with ginger garlic paste and fry until raw smell leaves then add tomatoes and fry until mushy. Next add turmeric.

4) Now add your Kaadai and fry for two minutes and then add the grinded masala.


5) Next add a cup of water and salt to taste. Let it boil for five minutes in medium high flame,and reduce the heat to low,and cover and cook until the Kaadai is cooked and the oil starts to separate on top (approx 20-25 minutes). Finally garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot and enjoy!!!

Notes:
This is medium spicy. Add some chilli powder for some nice hot spicy kaadai.



Cheers
Jayanthi

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