Kariveppilai Kulambu/ Curry Leaves Gravy

Today I bring you a very traditional Tamilnadu gravy. We love tamarind based gravies a lot. I have made puli kulmbu using garlic, onion, eggplant, bitter gourd and ladies finger. Today the main ingredient in this puli kulambu is curry leaves. usually curry leaves are used in tempering and it gives a wonderful flavour to the dish. And it has so many health benefits too. My mom always insisted on eating all the curry leaves which comes to the plate as it helps in hair growth. So ever since my childhood, I have been eating curry leaves without any complaints. My grand mother used to make a delicious spice powder with curry leaves which goes very well with rice and a dollop of ghee. I was introduced to this gravy after I started blogging. I have seen so many recipes and mostly all the recipes have same ingredients. I made my own version with garlic and onions.

My husband loves onions and garlic cloves in tamarind based gravies. Usually pearl onions give a great taste to such gravies. As I was out of stock, I used the normal onion. But do use pearl onions instead if you have it. It will take the gravy to the next level. Adding garlic cloves is completely up to you. If you love the taste of garlic, then add it else you can skip it. The spiciness in this gravy comes from pepper corn. I have made it mildly as I wanted Sruti to taste it. If you want a spicier gravy add a teaspoon of pepper corn extra. This goes very well with rice and fried appalam. I made a spicy potato roast to go with it and it was a simple yet very very tasty lunch.

Ingredients:

For The Spice Paste:

Oil-1 tsp

Curry Leaves-1 cup

Channa Dhal-1 tsp

Urad Dhal-1 tsp

Pepper Corns-1 tsp

Asafoetida-1/4 tsp

Red Chilly-2

Coriander Seeds-1 tsp
For The Gravy:

Till / Gingelly Oil-3-4 tbs

Mustard Urad Dhal-1 tsp

Onion-2 / Pearl Onion-20

Garlic-2 whole

Tamarind-a small lemon sized

Salt-to taste

Turmeric Powder-1/4 tsp

Procedure:

1. First let us prepare the spice paste.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add urad dhal and channa dhal.

3. When they turn slightly brown, add the pepper corns, asafoetida, coriander seeds and red chilly.

4. Saute for 2-3 minutes on low flame until aromatic.

5. Switch of flame and add the curry leaves.

6. Saute it in the heat of pan for 2 minutes and allow it to cool completely.

7. Grind this to a fine paste using some water.

8. In the same pan add gingelly oil and add mustard, urad dhal.

9. When they crackle add the whole garlic pods and onion.

10. Saute until golden.

11. Soak tamarind in water and extract juice twice.

12. Now add the spice paste, tamarind juice, turmeric powder and salt.

13. Add enough water to thin down the gravy.

14. Cover and cook on medium low flame until the garlic is mushy and oil floats.

15. Serve hot with rice.

Potato roast was a perfect match for this gravy.

Here are some of the puli kulambu recipes featured in my blog. Click on the photo for the recipe..

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