I happen to see a Youtube video of Srirangam Radhu and got inspired by the name of Kathirikaai Kutta Kuzhambu. So I decided to prepare it. This is a Tanjore special dish. The reason for this attractive name is, this kuzhambu is a thick gravy and not like sambar or other kuzhambu varieties. Kutta means 'Short', that means the kuzhambu is thick and should be only ¼th of its original water consistency. Also the main change in this kuzhambu when compared to others is that we fry the sambar powder nicely before we add the brinjal and tamarind. Very easy dish to prepare with all available ingredients. It tastes awesome when served with a teaspoon of gingelly oil and sutta appalam. It's also a perfect accompaniment to Pongal.
Brinjal and chickpeas are cooked in tamarind water along with other spices till it gets into thick consistency. Fried coconut that we add at the end brings additional taste and flavor. It tastes awesome when served with a teaspoon of gingelly oil and sutta appalam
Like this Kathirikaai Kutta Kuzhambu, Ennai Kathirikaai kuzhambu is also one of the popular kuzhambu variety. In Ennai Kathirikaai Kuzhambu, we first prepare spice powder that we need to stuff inside the brinjal and then stir-fry the brinjal in oil. Here in this Kathirikaai kutta kuzhambu, we are not stuffing the brinjals. We are just stir-frying brinjal and add cooked whole and cook in tamarind water. This kuzhambu should be more thicker in consistency than our usual kuzhambu consistency.
You can also try:
- Black Chickpeas Masala Kuzhambu
- Kathirikaai Puliyita Poricha Kuzhambu
- Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu
- Pakoda Kuzhambu
- Anjaraipetti Kuzhambu
Recipe Card
Kathirikaai Kutta Kuzhambu
Ingredients
- 250 grams Brinjal
- ¼ cup Cooked Chick Peas Frozen Chick Peas also can be used
- 1 lemon size Tamarind
- 3 teaspoon Sambar Powder
- ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- ½ teaspoon Asafoetida (Asafetida / Hing)
- 1 teaspoon Grated Jaggery
- 1.5 teaspoon Salt Adjust to your taste
For Seasoning
- 1.5 teaspoon Gingelly Oil
- 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Split Bengal Gram (Channa Dal / Kadalaparuppu)
- 1 fistful Curry Leaves
- ½ teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 Red Chili
- 1 tablespoon Grated Coconut
Instructions
- Wash the brinjals and finely chop it and soak it in water. We need to immediately drop the chopped brinjals in water else it will turn black
- Heat gingelly oil in a pan, and add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds
- When the mustard seeds starts to sputter, add channa dal, broken red chiili and fry till it becomes golden brown color
- Now add the sambar powder and fry well
- To this add coriander powder, turmeric powder and fry them all for atleast 5 minutes so that the raw smell of sambar powder and coriander powder goes off well. This is the main step
- Add the curry leaves and fry this as well
- After 5 minutes, add chopped brinjals and fry it in oil fully
- Add the cooked chick peas and mix well
- Now add the tamarind juice, hing and salt and stir well. Allow the tamarind mixture to boil well so that the raw smell of tamarind goes off. Keep the flame in medium-low and allow the mixture to boil.
- The tamarind juice should reduce to ¼ of its quantity to get a thicker gravy.
- Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add 1 teaspoon of gingelly oil and add grated coconut
- Fry it well till it turns golden brown color. Remove the fried coconut from flame
- Add the fried coconut to the final kuzhambu and add grated jaggery and stir once and remove the kuzhambu from flame
- The yummy Kathirikaai Kutta Kuzhambu is ready to serve with plain rice
Video
Notes
- Jaggery is optional, the main reason for adding is that it helps in raising the flavour of tamarind and spicy
- While frying coconut we can add curry leaves which will add more flavour to the kuzhambu
- I have used frozen chick peas. If you don't get the frozen chick peas or if you don't like it then you can use the fresh chick peas. In this case we have to soak the chick peas overnight and pressure cook till it becomes soft
- Gingelly oil will have its own flavour. For those who don’t get gingelly oil outside India, then we can use Ghee instead of Sunflower oil
- You can also fry few baby onions separately and add it to the kuzhambu while adding the tamarind water. It enhances the taste and flavor.
Nutritional Info
Method to prepare Kathirikaai Kutta Kuzhambu:
- Wash the brinjals and finely chop it and soak it in water. We need to immediately drop the chopped brinjals in water else it will turn black
- Heat gingelly oil in a pan, and add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds
- When the mustard seeds starts to sputter, add channa dal, broken red chiili and fry till it becomes golden brown color
- Now add the sambar powder and fry well
- To this add coriander powder, turmeric powder and fry them all for atleast 5 minutes so that the raw smell of sambar powder and coriander powder goes off well. This is the main step
- Add the curry leaves and fry this as well
- After 5 minutes, add chopped brinjals and fry it in oil fully
- Add the cooked chick peas and mix well
- Now add the tamarind juice, hing and salt and stir well. Allow the tamarind mixture to boil well so that the raw smell of tamarind goes off. Keep the flame in medium-low and allow the mixture to boil.
- The tamarind juice should reduce to ¼ of its quantity to get a thicker gravy.
- Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add 1 teaspoon of gingelly oil and add grated coconut
- Fry it well till it turns golden brown color. Remove the fried coconut from flame
- Add the fried coconut to the final kuzhambu and add grated jaggery and stir once and remove the kuzhambu from flame
- The yummy Kathirikaai Kutta Kuzhambu is ready to serve with plain rice
