Chettinad Karuveppilai Kuzhambu/Curry leaves Gravy

Karuveppilai Kuzhambu/Curry leaves Gravy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Curry leaves is packed with Vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, which aids digestion, gives better eyesight, prevents premature greying of hair, helps hair growth and many more..

We should consume it more often, so I always try to find different ways of including it in our diet.  This is a traditional recipe, which is widely cooked by Achis.  I try to make it less oily.

Whenever, mom finds no vegetable, she would head straight to the garden,(yes, we had a lovely small garden in our backyard, which had curry leaves tree, lemon tree, hibiscus and few more plants) pick stalks of curry leaves and make this gravy. So it’s a ‘rare’ dish, not cooked often.  Her recipe is the most delicious one, which I feel I can never reproduce. 

 

Ingredients:

 

Curry leaves – 2 Cups

Garlic cloves (finely chopped) – 6 to 8

Small Onion (finely chopped) – 12

Large ripe Tomato (pureed) – 1
 

Tamarind Extract - 2 tbsp.

Salt – to taste

 

Karuvepeeilai/Curry leaves!

Masala:

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp.

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp.

Black Pepper - 1 tsp. (optional)

Long grain rice – 1 tsp.

Dried red chilli – 3 to 4

Grated Coconut – 2 tsp. (optional)

Dry roast the above spices, except coconut for 1 minute, let it cool.  Grind everything together with coconut and curry leaves, with little water.  Set aside.

 

Tempering:

 

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp.

Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp.

Oil – 2 tbsp.

 

Method:

 

In a Kadai or deep pan, pour oil and do the tempering.  Stir in finely chopped garlic, followed by small onion.  Sauté for few minutes, now add the tomato puree and cook for 2 more minutes. (can add finely chopped tomato as well, but sauté well). Combine the ground masala, tamarind extract and ½ a cup of water. Add enough salt and simmer for about 10 minutes until everything blends together.  The oil would start floating on the surface and the gravy would have thickened by this time.  The gravy is ready to serve with hot rice, Idli or Uthappam.  Nutritious, yet very delicious gravy is suitable even for children, since it’s less spicy. However, you can add ghee or gingelly oil before you feed the children.

 

Curry leaves gravy with Soft Idlis!