Fenugreek Spiced Tamarind Gravy "Venthaya Kuzhambhu"

A few weeks ago everyone in the family fell sick. First it started off with my son feeling sickly, thanks to the germs he picked up from the daycare. Then hubby got sick quickly followed by me. My son coughed right into my eye and my eyes got it too. It was horrible.Initially I thought it was pink eye and then the doctor clarified that it wasn't. My son's goop was traveling places. :). Gross, I know! I think it was the worst flu strain cause besides the usual symptoms, my mouth was feeling extremely dry and everything tasted like mud.FYI, I have eaten mud and bricks when I was young. So I know what I am talking about. The only best part of that sickness was that I actually lost a few pounds due to frequently skipping meals. I mean, who wants to eat anything that tasted like mud,right?(Well, I guess I didn't feel that way when I was really young).Anyways, I remembered that mom always tells me to eat something hot and tangy to delight my taste buds. So I made this "Venthaya Kuzhambhu" and ate it with such gusto that the food vanished from the plate in a blink of an eye.And I was ready for seconds.

I know the photo looks fancy and all but its eaten best when the rice and gravy/kuzhambhu are combined/mashed with hands and eaten like so. With Chips on the side. Oh yeah!

Ingredients:

• 1 Small Onion
• 1 Small Tomato
• 1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
• Golf-ball size Tamarind, soaked in 1/2 Cup warm water for 10-15 minutes
• Salt as needed
• 1 Stalk Curry Leaves, Optional but highly desired
• 2-3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

For Making the Ground Masala:

• 3 Tbsp Red Lentils
• 1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds
• 4-5 Tbsp Fresh or Frozen Grated Coconut
• 1 Tbsp Black Peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp Fenugreek Seeds
• 3-5 Dry Red Chili

Procedure:

• In a pan, heat about 2 tsp oil and brown the red lentils. When they start turning lightly brown add the cumin, fenugreek, red chilies and saute for a minute more. Switch off the stove and add the grated coconut and stir to combine. Cool and grind to a smooth paste with little water.

• Heat the remaining oil in a pan/kadai and add the dry mustard seeds. When they start sputtering, throw in the onions and curry leaves(if using). Saute until the onion is translucent.

• Add the turmeric powder, chopped tomato and fry till the tomato loses raw smell.Extract a thick pulp from the soaked tamarind.

• Pour the extracted tamarind pulp along with salt.

• Add the ground masala along with some water and slowly stir to combine.

• Lid the Kadai and bring it to a boil on a medium flame for 10 minutes or so. The gravy/kuzhambhu should look something like this-

• Serve with piping hot rice and chips.

Enjoy!