Skip to main content

Kadayam Vathakuzhambu - Kadayam Chettiyar Mess Vathakuzhambu - Vathakuzhambu Recipes

Kadayam is a small village in the Tenkasi district. . Kadayam village is near to our hometown Ilanji and this vathakuzhambu is a famous dish in a mess. Last year Suresh sir, asked me to prepare this Kadayam vathakuzhambu in the Amul live cookery show. Before that I haven't tried this vathakuzhambu. Later, my Perippa arranged to get the recipe from his friend Kalyani Sivagaminathan Sir from Kadayam. Then he gave me their contact details. Their mess name is Kalyani Chettiyar mess. She shared the vathakuzhambu recipe clearly with the step by step instructions and cooking methods. The way she explained made me to try this vathakuzhambu on that day for our lunch, but somehow delayed posting in Virundhombal. Again prepared this vathakuzhambu on the next day evening for the live show. After watching my live show, they were very happy and appreciated it. It turned out well. I liked the taste of sundakkai vathal and the garlic on the next day because they got soaked well in the tamarind gravy. 


Before going to the recipe, let us see the important tips for this vathakuzhambu. 

1. The important step in this kuzhambu is roasting each and every ingredient until you get a nice aroma. If any one of the ingredients are half done, you will miss the flavour. Roasting the spices on low heat is very important because all the spices will get roasted well and browned evenly. 

2. Saute the garlic cloves well on medium heat until it turns golden brown and then we have add the small onions. She mentioned to saute the garlic cloves until it turns in copper orange colour. 

3. After adding sundaikkai vathal, garlic and onions,  allow them to cook in 1/2 cup of water for a few minutes and then  add the tamarind extract. Ensure to use tamarind in correct quantity because if you add more tamarind it will change the taste entirely. 

4. The roasted spices are ground along with small onions to a smooth paste. Small onions are added to reduce the spice level, so do not skip it. 

5. Finally, a small piece of palm jaggery(karupatti) is added to balance the taste equally. If you do not have palm jaggery, replace it with jaggery.  

Kuzhambu recipes

Here is the video for Kadayam Vathakuzhambu 

Here is my Kadayam Vathakuzhambu article in Vikatan 


Kadayam Vathakuzhambu Recipe Details

Prep time : 20 minutes
Cook time : 35 minutes
Serves : 6 to 8
Category : kuzhambu
Author : Muthulakshmi Madhavakrishnan

Ingredients

  • medium lemon sized
  •  tamarind
  • 15 small onions
  • 20 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup sundaikkai vathal
  • 1/2 tsp fenugreek
  • 1 tsp mustard and urid dal
  • 2 tsp  tbsp palm 
  • /2 tsp asafoetida powder
  • 1/2 cup gingely oil
  • salt to taste

For vathakuzhambu masala

  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tbsp toor  dal
  • 2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp rice
  • 9 red chillies
  • few curry leaves
  • 3 tsp oil


Cooking Directions

Heat 2 tsp oil in a kadai on medium heat and add toor dal and rice. Fry them until the rice pops and then add pepper, cumin and coriander seeds. After a few seconds, add curry leaves. Roast well until you get a nice aroma. Once all the spices are roasted well, transfer it to a plate.


Then add 1 tsp oil and add red chillies. Roast until crisp and transfer. Allow all the ingredients to cool down. 


Then add it to the chutney jar and powder them coarsely. Then add 10 to 12 small onions and  2 to 5 tbsp of water. Grind it nicely.  

Soak the tamarind in hot water for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes extract the tamarind juice with 1.5 to 2 cups of water. Transfer the ground masala to a vessel. 


Heat 1/4 cup oil in a heavy vessel and add the fenugreek. When it splutters add the mustard and urid dal. Allow them to crackle, add the sundaikkai vathal and fry for a few minutes. The sundaikkai vathal will puff up slowly and starts to turn crisp. Next, add the garlic cloves and fry them until it turns in copper orange colour. 

Now add the small onions and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. 

Slowly add in 1/2 cup water. Let it come to boil. 

When the garlic and onions are half cooked, add in the tamarind extract along with required salt. Add the ground masala and  mix well. If you are adding salted sundaikkai vathal, check and adjust the salt.


If the kuzhambu appears thick, add water  and mix well. Close it with a lid and simmer the kuzhambu for 10 to 12 minutes. 

After 10 to 12 minutes the kuzhambu starts thickening, at this stage and add the powdered palm jaggery and asafoetida powder. 

Add in another 2 tbsp gingely and mix well. 


Allow the kuzhambu to boil for another 7 minutes or until the oil specks on the top of the kuzhambu. 


Turn off the heat and close it with a lid for 20 minutes and then transfer it to the serving dish. Delicious vathakuzhambu is ready to serve. 



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Easy Paneer Gravy - Paneer Masala within 20 minutes - Paneer Recipes

This easy paneer gravy is a mouthwatering side dish made with paneer cooked in a rich gravy prepared with  onions, tomatoes and other spices. It's mild and not very spicy, which tastes so good with chapathi, nann, roti and pulao.  Paneer gravies can be made in a variety of ways. This recipe is the easy version of paneer butter masala. Most of the time we prepare paneer gravy with fresh cream, butter and cashew nuts. To make a tasty paneer masala, you do not need fresh cream. You can easily make restaurant style paneer gravy with easily available ingredients in your kitchen. I always like to add a few cashew nuts while making gravies, which gives a creamy consistency. The addition of dried kasuri methi leaves gives a unique flavour for paneer based gravies. I used homemade garamasala powder for gravies which does not include red chillies or pepper in it. Add garamasala powder to your personal taste preferences.Now let's see how to prepare this easy paneer gravy with step by step

Mushroom Gravy With Curd - Mushroom Curd Masala

Mushroom Gravy with Curd recipe with full video and step by step pictures. This mushroom gravy preparation is little different from other gravies. As the name suggests this gravy is prepared using thick curd and the ground masala paste is made with onions, green chillies, garlic, ginger, poppy seeds, pepper and whole garam masala. The addition of whole garam masala cinnamon, cloves, fennel and cardamom makes the gravy aromatic. This gravy is a good variation from our usual kurma and masala. For this gravy there is no need for tomatoes, cashew nuts and red chilly powder.  This is a quick and easy gravy recipe with a few ingredients.  Spices - you will need bay leaf, cumin, kasuri methi leaves and coriander leaves. For the masala paste onions, ginger, garlic, green chilly, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, cardamom and poppy seeds. Poppy seeds are added to give thickness for the gravy.  In the final stage, half teaspoon garam masala powder is sprinkled for flavour but you omit it. 

Roadside Mochai Masala - Tirunelveli Style Mochai Recipe

This is the popular street food recipe from Tirunelveli called mochai. A healthy semi dry gravy with mochai prepared in streetside pushcarts across many places in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin.  Until recently I never had a chance to taste this mochai but my husband tasted it many times during their school days. During last month's trip to Tirunelveli, we tasted this mochai masala near Murappanaadu river. It was delicious and my son asked me to prepare this mochai for his snack box. This roadside mochai masala is made with boiled mochai beans (Lima beans), lots of onions, ginger and  green chillies. As mochai beans have a slightly bitter taste, hence you have to use plenty of onions for this masala . You have to use dried mochai for this masala.  To spice up this masala you have to add a good amount of green chillies and ginger which gives a nice flavour and tastes yummy. This mochai masala makes a filling and comforting dish for breakfast or evening snack. I prepared this mochai in a

Keerai Chaaru - Arai Keerai Kuzhambu - Arai Keerai in Tamarind Gravy

Keerai Chaaru is a quick and simple kuzhambu with arai keerai and tamarind as the main ingredient. If you are looking out for a kuzhambu recipe without any coconut or dal with simple cooking, then this keerai chaaru is the perfect recipe.  When you have a huge bundle of arai keerai, you can split them for 3 varieties. Because sometimes, it is very difficult to finish a big bowl of keerai poriyal or kootu. Last week my husband bought a big  arai keerai bundle  and I made poriyal, keerai masiyal and keerai chaaru too. My mom frequently, prepare this kuzhambu along with vazhaikkai poriyal, pottukadalai thuvaiyal and sutta appalam. I was planning to post this recipe for a long time but delayed to publish it without recipe video. Finally last week when I decided to make keerai chaaru, I took the video. A few months ago, one of my followers asked me to post this recipe and decided to post the recipe along with the video. This keerai chaaru tastes good with arai keerai. The aroma of the kuzha

Chana Masala - Homestyle Chana Masala - Chana Masala for poori, chapathi and nann

Today we are going to see our all time favourite Chana Masala. It's a simple yet complete food that's easy to make within 30 minutes. I got this recipe from our friend's mom who is from Bodi. The flavours are just delicious. She gave me one kg of her homemade garamasala powder and it is one of our new favourites! The garamasala powder is free from the addition of preservatives, artificial colours and mono sodium glutamate. Any masalas or kurmas made with a unique blend of spices, tastes good. I have been trying to make my own garamasala powder but just keep putting it off. Now I am confident to prepare homemade garamasala powder as she clearly explained the recipe with exact ingredients and measurements. I will try posting the homemade garamasala recipe in virundhombal soon. During our visit to their house, she prepared so many dishes and all of them were lip smacking and the masalas were perfectly balanced, not overpowering the other.  This Chana masala is not the authenti

Mixed Vegetable Rice with Dal - One Pot Protein Rich Rice Recipe - Modern Kootanchoru

Mixed vegetable rice with step by step photos and video. Quick one pot rice within 30 minutes. Apart from kootanchoru and thuvaram paruppu sadham we make this mixed vegetable rice for weekend lunch and family get togethers.  During our childhood days, my Karthi mama makes this rice for dinner and always one of our favourite rice dishes for our whole family. During his bachelor days in Delhi, they prepared this rice frequently with whatever vegetables available in their kitchen. Making of this vegetable  rice doesn't involve any grinding or soaking and bachelor's can easily cook this rice. When it comes to any rice with dals, it must be slightly mushy with soft texture. But I do not like mushy rice, so I have reduced the amount of water. You can change it according to your preference. Allow the rice to cook on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes or pressure cook for 2 whistles. Cooking time may vary depending on the quality of the rice and the pressure cooker.  To make this healthy

Onion Tomato Chutney - Chettinad Onion Tomato Chutney for Idli, Dosa and Paniyaram

Onion tomato chutney recipe with full video and step by step pictures. In 2005 when we were in California I have seen this Chettinad style onion tomato chutney recipe in the Aval vikatan magazine and made it immediately for dinner. I have been thinking to post this chutney in my blog for a long time. Finally, after 16 years, today I made this onion tomato chutney for paniyaram. Normally for tomato chutney or onion chutney we saute the red chillies in oil and then we grind it along with the onions and tomatoes. But for this chutney, the red chillies are dry roasted well and then powdered separately. This red chilly flakes are further sauted with onions and tomato puree. I have tried  many chutneys onion tomato combinations, but this chutney is a unique dish. We are adding the chopped small onions in this chutney without grinding it and that makes it more flavourful with a mild chunky texture. This chutney has very few ingredients, so make sure they are good and fresh. Chop fresh onions,

White Pumpkin (Ash gourd) Dosa - Vellai Poosanikai Dosa

White Pumpkin(Ash gourd) Dosa is an easy tiffin for your breakfast or dinner. Another healthy recipe from my Grandmother. It is one of our family favourite dinner dishes. These white pumpkin dosas are delicious and a great way to use the white pumpkins. My husband likes white pumpkins very much and always get a whole white pumpkin from the market. It will be good up to a month before cutting and you have to finish it within a day after cutting them. So whenever he bought this vegetable, definitely this dosa will be in our menu. We always prepare kootu, sambar and thayir pachadi with this white pumpkin, but I wanted to try something different with this vegetable. As usual, I asked my grandmother to tell me ideas to prepare healthier dishes with this white pumpkin. My grandmother told me they prepare this dosas frequently with this white pumpkins during their olden days with their garden fresh pumpkins. Now these dosas are unbelievably easy to prepare. Start by soaking the rice an

Collection of Kuzhambu varieties for lunch

KUZHAMBU RECIPES, 20 KUZHAMBU RECIPES FOR LUNCH Kuzhambus are the foundation for a good lunch in South Indian cuisine. Although there are many rice varieties in South Indian cuisine, a bowl of rice and kuzhambu with any vegetable side dish makes our tummy happy. In this collection, I have shared many traditional Tirunelveli kuzhambu recipes. I have suggested authentic ingredients and spices in my kuzhambu recipes. If you find any spices are inconvenient, you may change according to your taste. Now let's see the collection of kuzhambu recipes here. Click on the pictures or the recipe here to view the recipe details with step by step instructions.   Collection of Kuzhambu varieties for lunch 1. Sodhi - Sodhi is one of Tirunelveli's traditional and popular kuzhambu.This kuzhambu is a special menu on the next day of marriage. A Tirunelveli wedding meal would not be complete without this Sodhi, potato poriyal and ginger chutney.  RECIPE HERE. 2. Pulikuzh

Amla (Gooseberry) Rice | Nellikai Sadham - Easy & Healthy lunch box recipe

Nellikai Sadham - a healthy rice for your lunch box with simple cooking methods. Once again thanks to my Karthi Uncle who taught me the Aloo Gobi recipe prepared this healthy rice. The way we prepare for lemon rice and mango rice applies to this Amla(Nellikai) rice also. In addition, we want to grind the amlas in a mixer jar without any water and then we have to saute it with our classic tempering ingredients. Ponni raw rice is much preferred when preparing these type of rice varieties, but if you are looking for a healthier choice you may replace it with cooked millets.