SUNDAKKAI VATHA KUZHAMBU / VATHA KUZHAMBU RECIPE

Sundakkai Vatha Kuzhambu recipe with step by step photos | How to do Vatha Kulambu

Sundakkai Vatha Kuzhambu – is a spicy tangy and a finger licking Tamilnadu style Curry made using turkey berries , shallots and few freshly ground spices . Served with hot rice with a drizzle of ghee or sesame oil on top , this vathal kozhumbu tastes so good !!

Vathal kulambu recipe is one of the popular dishes in Tamil Nadu and is very common in restaurants and households of the state. There are so many ways this dish can be made and each region has its own unique style of making it . Some make it minus Onion Garlic , some minus coconut , some add veggies like bhindi , brinjal etc and some keep it simple with just few basic ingredients .. but what doesn’t change in any of these variations is usage of tamarind and sesame oil .

Usage of Sesame oil in Vatha Kozhumbu , makes the curry so flavorful and gives it a perfect authentic taste .

And they serve this curry as a side dish with white rice, vegetable dal Kootu, and other similar dishes. One can easily relish vatha kozhumbu for 3-4 days without keeping fridge and the best part ,the taste just keeps getting better each day .

What is Sundakkai ?

Sundakkai is the Tamil name for Turkey berries , which are also known as Kudane / Kudanekayi in Kannada. There are so many dishes that one can make from these berries . The fresh ones will be pale greenish in color and are not commonly found in cities . But the sun dried versions are easily available and are good replacement.

The fresh berries are soaked in a salt-buttermilk mixture for couple of days and then dried and stored for making curries. This sun dried vathals can be stored for number of years to be used as and when required.

Few Points to note while making Sundakkai Vatha Kuzhambu :

• Please note .. the sun dried sundakkai ( turky berries ) have salt in it .Hence be careful while adding salt to the curry .
• Sundakkai are little bitter in nature . So the gravy will have slight bitterness which will be balanced from tamarind and jaggery .
• Use Sesame oil ( Gingelly ) only for this kozhumbu for authentic & best taste . However , if you are not used to the strong flavor , can used any oil , however the taste may vary .
• Dry roast the spices nicely on medium heat until it turns aromatic and crisp. So make sure not to burn the spices which will alter the taste of this curry.
• Don’t compromise on the tamarind , spice and jaggery quantity . This curry has to be tangy , spicy with a tinge of sweetness . So balance the taste accordingly.
• Use shallots / small onions, for best taste.
• Addition of coconut enhances taste .But it’s optional, however try not skipping it.
• Instead of turkey berries , as an alternative you can also use black night shade berries ( sun dried ganake hannu / manathakkali ) / make plain with just onion tomato

Some of the other tamarind based curries that you can try are Brinjal Gothsu , Ulli theeyal , Puli Inji etc