Curry leaves kuzhambu - Karuvepilai kuzhambu

Ingredients:

Curry leaves - Karuvepilai - 1 bunch
Tamarind - Puli - lemon size
Red gram - Thuvaram paruppu - 1 table spoon
Bengal gram dal - Kadalai paruppu - 1 table spoon
Red chillies - Kaintha milagai - 5 nos.
Black pepper - Karuppu milagu - 1 table spoon
Mustard seeds - Kadugu - 1 tea spoon
Fenugreek seeds - Vendayam - 1 tea spoon
Asafoetida - Perungayam - a pinch
Turmeric powder - Manjal thul - a pinch
Grated/Shredded coconut - Thuriviya thengai - 2 table spoons
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak tamarind in hot water and make a paste out of it. Dust particles has to be removed using filter. Keep other ingredients ready.
2. Heat oil in a pan/kadai, fry asafoetida, fenugreek seeds, red gram, bengal gram dal, curry leaves and grind them to a powder once it is cooled. Grind coconut to a paste. Care must be taken not to fry fenugreek for long since it will taste bitter.
3. Heat oil in a pan/kadai, splutter mustard seeds, add asafoetida, curry leaves, red chilly and add tamarind paste and required water and salt. Mix them well, add turmeric powder and the grinded powder. Finally add grinded coconut.

Hot curry leaves kuzhambu is delicious and ready to be served. It can be served with white rice. It can be served for 3 persons. It requires some 20 minutes to cook.

Note: Remove dust particles from tamarind. Wash curry leaves before using.

Optional: Ingredients can be added/removed. Pearl onions and garlic can be added while frying.

Nobody seems more obsessed by diet than our anti-materialistic, other wordly. New Age spiritual types. But if the material world is merely illusion, an honest guru should be as content with Budweiser and bratwurst as with raw carrot juice, tofu and seaweed slime
Edward Abbey