Poondu Kuzhambu
South Indian style Tamilnadu Spicy Chettinad Poondu Kuzhambu recipe with step by step pictures.
My husband Vinodh’s grand mother – Sinthayamma paati was 94 when she left us. Paati had a cook called Naacha. Naacha came to paati as a 10 year old. She never married and was 78 years old when paati died. She retired after paati left us. My son was 6 months old then and paati’s health was slowly going downhill. She had this habit of chewing tobacco called as pogailai in Tamil. Vinodh’s father had stopped the supply of tobacco due to her deteriorating health. We visited her when my son was 6 months old and Vinodh’s parents had to travel at that time. So it was me, my son, paati and Naacha in the house for a week. Naacha would hide the tobacco in her saree and sneak it in paati’s hands and make sure that no one was watching. It was a cute little scene. I did not tell about this to anyone as I felt that it was the very few little pleasures of life that was remaining for paati. She could barely walk. She would sit all day long in the portico watching people come and go at the farm. She was very old, ate very less and I thought the tobacco kept her going. I told this to my father in law after paati died and he laughed. He too knew what was going on. Even he chose to remain silent as he felt it was the little pleasures of life. Naacha left us once grand mom died. She still comes to the farm and I get very happy when I see her. She is so caring, an awesome cook and I love her food. This is her Poondu Kuzhambu recipe. Poondu Kuzhambu is my favorite. Everytime I make this Poondu Kuzhambu at home, I remember paati and Naacha and their cute little bonding. Below is a picture, the only picture of Naacha that I have.
Here it is, Naacha’s awesome poondu kuzhambu.
Heat oil in a pan and add in the sesame oil. Sesame oil is important and its the preferred oil in Tamilnadu cuisine and for this Poondu Kuzhambu. When the oil is hot, add in 3-4 methi-fenugreek seeds. Its called as vendhayam in Tamil. Do not add a lot as the Poondu Kuzhambu curry will turn very bitter. 3-4 seeds are good enough. Add in the cumin and the black pepper too. Let it splutter. The oil will foam a little. That’s fine. Add in 10 cloves of garlic and saute briefly.
Add in one sprig of curry leaves and roughly chopped onions. Saute for 2-3 minutes until the onions turn soft. Add in the tomatoes and fry for a minute.
When the tomatoes are briefly sauteed, add in the kuzhambu milagai thool / kuzhambu masala powder. If you cannot source kuzhambu milagai thool, you can substitute sambar powder. If you want it spicy add in a tablespoon more of kuzhambu milagai thool. Saute to combine. Add in the fresh shredded coconut and remove off heat.
Let the Poondu Kuzhambu masala mixture cool a bit.
Grind the Poondu Kuzhambu masala to a very smooth paste. Add a cup and a half of water while grinding. Set aside.
Soak a big lime size tamarind in 2 cups of hot water for 15 minutes. Crush between your fingers and make a pulp. Strain the liquid and set aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and add in the mustard seeds and urad dal. Let it splutter. Add in two whole pods of peeled garlic. Fry for a minute.
Add in a lot of curry leaves. About 3 sprigs. Curry leaves are an important flavor component. So do not skip. Add in the onions too and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add in the tamarind pulp/juice, salt, asafoetida, turmeric and coriander powder.
Add in the ground Poondu Kuzhambu masala. Stir well and let it simmer covered with a lid on a very low flame for 30-40 minutes. Stir once in 10 minutes so it does not scorch at the bottom.
Add in the jaggery. This is the SECRET to a good poondu kuzhambu. It brings all the flavors alive. The spicy, tangy, oh so yumm……. It wont be sweet. It just brings all the flavors alive.
Let it simmer for 5 minutes more. Remove off heat and serve Poondu Kuzhambu with rice or idli. It tastes awesome with idli and dosa. It tastes double awesome the next day.
Spicy Chettinad Poondu Kuzhambu
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
South Indian style Tamilnadu Spicy Chettinad Poondu Kuzhambu recipe with step by step pictures.
Ingredients
For the Masala
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 4 methi seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoon black pepper corns
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 2 very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon kuzhambu milagai thool (or sambar powder)
- 1/4 cup fresh shredded coconut
Other Ingredients
- 1 lime size tamarind
- 4 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon urad dal
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 whole pods peeled garlic
- 3 sprigs curry leaves
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1–2 tablespoon jaggery
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan and add in the sesame oil. When the oil is hot, add in 3-4 methi-fenugreek seeds. Add in the cumin and the black pepper too. Let it splutter. The oil will foam a little. That’s fine. Add in 10 cloves of garlic and saute briefly.
- Add in one sprig of curry leaves and roughly chopped onions. Saute for 2-3 minutes until the onions turn soft. Add in the tomatoes and fry for a minute.
- When the tomatoes are briefly sauteed, add in the kuzhambu milagai thool / kuzhambu masala powder. Add in the fresh shredded coconut and remove off heat.
- Grind the masala to a very smooth paste. Add a cup and a half of water while grinding. Set aside.
- Soak a big lime size tamarind in 2 cups of hot water for 15 minutes. Crush between your fingers and make a pulp. Strain the liquid and set aside.
- Heat oil in a kadai and add in the mustard seeds and urad dal. Let it splutter. Add in two whole pods of peeled garlic. Fry for a minute.
- Add in a lot of curry leaves. About 3 sprigs. Curry leaves are an important flavor component. So do not skip. Add in the onions too and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the tamarind pulp/juice, salt, asafoetida, turmeric and coriander powder.
- Add in the ground masala. Stir well and let it simmer covered with a lid on a very low flame for 30-40 minutes. Stir once in 10 minutes so it does not scorch at the bottom.
- Add in the jaggery. This is the SECRET to a good poondu kuzhambu. It wont be sweet. It just brings all the flavors alive.
- Let it simmer for 5 minutes more. Remove off heat and serve with rice or idli. It tastes awesome with idli and dosa. It tastes double awesome the next day.
Notes
If you cannot source kuzhambu milagai thool, you can substitute sambar powder.
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: South Indian
Oh my! This is the best food I’ve ever made from an online recipe. May the gourmet gods continue to bless you, Kannamma, and all your descendants.
Thank you!
Foolproof recipe…Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. My favorite restaurant made a delicious egg chettinad but they unfortunately closed down due to covid and I have not been able to successfully recreate the taste or look. Your recipe is very different than what I had tried before so I’m really excited to give this a go.
If you make a cookbook, I would definitely buy it.
Thank you!
Tried it, yummy… just had a problem it turned out sweet, what can be done for it. My hubby doesn’t prefer sweet taste in gravy, sabji etc
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I am sorry the gravy turned sweet. It should not be sweet. Looks like you added more jaggery.
Sadly you cant do much about it.
Simply awesome!!!
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Thank you!
Super delicious gravy. Thanks for such an awesome..traditional recipe..
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Thank you!
Excellent. Trying it second time the same week.
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Thank you!
hey I ve been making this for last 3 years and all of us in my family love it – it is healthy and awesome with rice and papas
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Thank you.
Amazing Recipe dear Suguna!
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Thank you so much Sudha.
Awesome…tasted very good
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Thanks Anuradha. Glad you liked the Chettinadu Poondu Kuzhambu.
Awesome one.
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Thank you so much. Glad the recipe turned out well.
What is kolumbu milaga thool?
U mean dry red chillie powder
Kuzhambu milagai thool is like a south Indian style hot and spicy garam masala. Its a combination of spices like red chilli powder, coriander seeds, cumin etc…
You will be able to get it in a south Indian grocery store or online.
Look for brands like “aachi” and “sakthi” that are widely available.
Do you have a do-it-yourself recipe for the Kuzhambu milagai thool? I’m not able to find it where I live and cannot find it online either, but I think I should have access to all the main ingredients.
will post one soon.
Hi, this was fantastic! Thanks for sharing. I used sambar powder since I didn’t have the kozhumbu thool. Do you happen to have a good recipe for that as well?
Again thanks for sharing and keep blogging – it’s a pleasure to read as well as try your recipes.
Take care,
Nandini
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Came out very well… Awesome taste… Thanks for sharing
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Awesome. The taste reminded me of my own mom’s cooking. The brief background story to your recipe added to the awesomeness. Thank you
Mam, Would you be kind enough to share the kuzhambu milagai thool. Thanks in Advance!
Hi, You can use this recipe.
https://www.kannammacooks.com/sambar-powder-recipe-tamil-sambar-powder/
Tried and came out delicious..thanks for the recipe😍
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Tried and came out well.. everyone liked very much! Thank you 😊
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Awesome … It came out very well.. I love all your unique recipes.. Thank You
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Tried this version and with very little oil the kozhambu came out great. Thank you
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I am a big fan of veg chettinadu cuisine. Especially the snacks which we cannot dream to buy in bangalore. Tried this recipe today, wonderful
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Thank you!
Hi,
How to make garlic curry . it is not in your website . Pl repost it .
Thank you
Lalitha
https://www.kannammacooks.com/post-partum-poondu-kari/
Nice recipe and will try to make this soon. Do you have a recipe for “kuzhambu milagai thool” that you have mentioned?
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Thanks a lot. Yummy kulambu. Vet clearly given and so was very easy to prepare
Thank you!
Tried the recipe, forgot to add the shredded coconut, yet got a fantastic poondu kuzhambu.
Thank you Kannamma for the excellent, detailed recipe.
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Thank you!
Awesome recipe. I tried it. Very nice. My father in law appreciated. Thank u so much
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Hi, I love this story ., never comment for any one till now .. some how felt a kind of good feel after reading this particular recipe with highlighting story .. ll try soon and definitely ..
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Hope you like it!
Awesome recipe. Came out great. If you are buying readymade kolambu podi, what brand do you buy?
Hello Suguna. Tried this receipe very well described and yeah it came out really well . Am newly married and my husband , mom in law n father in law really loved this dish . Am gonna cook again today coz it’s over n it had become my husband’s favourite dish too . Thanks a ton !!!
Thank you!
Thaarumaar Suguna!! after the prawn masala…tried the poondu kuzhambu yesterday. amma never had a ground masala for this but this version of ur grandma…just gave it the extra special touch 🙂 had it with lamb kheema and rice for dinner and with dosa for brekkie this morning! The main thing we miss about chennai is the food but by putting in a bit of effort…ur recipes just bring the same taste home! Thanks for hosting an awesome blog!
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Thank you Anu! Really glad that you liked it!
Hi mam, just loved the taste…wow it came out well..thanks for the recipe..
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Thank you!
It turned out to be really awesome !! Thanks a lot for the recipe. 😀
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Thank you. Glad you liked it!
One word…Aweeeesomeeee…Kudos to Naacha🙏🏻
Thank you so much!
Easy steps for beginners. Vera level taste. Thank you mam.
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Thank you Lokesh.
That was a Kick-ass recipe !! It turned out excellent. You really make beginners like me do wonders in the kitchen. Thanks a lot !
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Thank you Vidhya!
Hi kannamma, i tried poodu kuzhambhu,the taste was awesome….
For every dishes I was using ur blog. Thank u
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Thank you so much. Glad you liked the recipe. Happy cooking.
Beautiful recipe indeed!
Every flavour speaks . It really turned out well. Looking forward for more recipes.
Thank you
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Thanks much!
Tried this recipe., and it turned out awesome ??
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Thank you so much.
Hi kannama. I tried this recipe today. Came out really good. I added vadagam in thalipu . Keep the wonderful work going. ??
Thats a nice touch – vadagam. Happy cooking!
Hi kanna Amma I chanced upon your website when I was searching for the Recipe .
I am also from Coimbatore , I never even knew kongunadu had so many varieties
I liked your receipe and hv tried the neikkarapati
Kurma it turned out well but was not spicy
I tried this spicy chettinad garlic kozhumbu .
It turned out very sweet and was not spicy at all .
There is no green chilli or red chilli in your receipe
How can it be spicy ?
I added 2 table spoons of jaggery and that made
It very sweet
I am making a mistake some where
Please correct me as I plan to try it one more time.
Poondu Kuzhambu has 2 tablespoon kuzhambu milagai thool (or sambar powder) which will make this spicy apart from the black pepper. Did you add?
Yes I added 2 Table Spoons ( Got the Kuzhambu Milagai Thool From Grand Sweets).
shall I add red chilies separately then to the masala ?
Ananth
2 tablespoon is 30ml. I am surprised that it was not spicy enough. You can def add more to your liking.
I got the kuzhambu as it looks in the photos. Great instructions too….
Really glad PK.
Super Authentic taste….adding pepper and coconut makes this kuzhambu tastes so good and gives great flavour.
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Thanks PK.
Thanks a lot for this wonderful recipe. I tried the same way as you mentioned. It was great.I kept it for 5 days in fridge. Thanks a lot.please post some of great NAC Chas recipe please
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Thank you.
Thank you for the recipe. The taste was good, but I was not able to get the color. But that is fine. I will keep trying.
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Thank you Regith.
Hi Sugana,
When I was in chennai this time I had a curry made of garlic for the first time. I didn’t even knew that we can make a curry entirely from garlic.
I tried to make it once it was a disaster and then luckily one day I came across your wonderful blog,I tried to make the garlic curry again following your receipe to the t and woala …. it came out so well that I finished it within a day having it with almost everything …. thank u so much for this lip smacking dish Iam excited to try your other dishes as well !!!! Can’t wait …..
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Thank you so much Roopa!
Very nice , authentic taste and delicious. Yummy when taken with appalam.
Thank you!
Awesome taste and I also used small onion… It’s yummy with idly dosa and Rice….. Thank you so much for sharing. Love your baby…. So cute…
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Thank you so much!
Tried garlic kuzhambu and it tastes awesome….after long search I found this recipe which taste same as my moms garlic kuzhambu….
Thanks for awesome recipe with photos….
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Thank you very much!
semaaaaaaaaaaaa recipe superrrrrrrrrrrr
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Thank you!
Hi Suguna
I tried this kara kuzhambu recipe and the taste has come out to be mind blowing. I am a bachelor and I try to make recipes that would last for few days and puli kozhambu is always my go to dish. This variant of yours has really impressed me and I’m gonna stick to it in the future.
I just have one doubt. Can you let me know please what is the key to bringing the deep brown texture which you have shown in the pic. Is it the puli/tamarind color ? I used the darker one only though and I could only manage a more lighter shade in the final dish, though the taste is still top notch.
Thanks and cheers.
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The color of sambar powder may be. Thank you. Glad you liked the recipe.
I have tried this recipe & it came out very well ?
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Thank you Ramya!
Hi,
Tried this recipe yesterday, it came out very well 🙂 my husband loved it.. thank you 🙂
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Really glad you liked the recipe Judith Christy Vijay!
Suguna, I grew up in a tambrahm household, but after my paati’s cooking, the next cuisine I hold closely to my heart (when it comes to Indian food) is Chettinad. I love the bold flavours and the intricate style of cooking. I went to a school called Chettinad Vidyashram in Chennai, it has been 14 years since I passed out from school, and the mess food (Chettinad style) as I remember, still makes my mouth water. Those fluffy bondas, melt in mouth kaara chevais and pan cake like small dosais that would be served at breakfast (I could go on and on) had a distinct flavour to them, all made by cooks brought down from Karaikudi, I assume. Pardon my rambling here, but your posts on Chettinad food bring back really fond memories and I think I’m going to whip up this poondu kozhambu tonight to mop my dosais with. Also, I’ve been hunting for a very authentic cook book on Chettinad food. Any names come to mind?
Thanks for writing in Vijetha. Loved reading about your menu at school! Looks like one good place.
Refer to my below posts to know about the chettinad cookbooks. I have mentioned it in there.
http://www.kannammacooks.com/milagai-mandi/
http://www.kannammacooks.com/chettinad-chicken-kurma/
I made this and it is super tasty. Thank you. Pl tell me how long this dish can be stored in refrigeration.
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You can store it in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Hats off to nacha patti mam. Chanceless recipe. Thank you very much for sharing. We all become fan of patti too.
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Thank you so much Nalini. Really glad that you liked it.
hello mam,
i love your poondu kuzhambu recpie…. ths is the only recepie i follo for making poondu kuzhambu….
Thank you Vishnukumar
Tried the receipe and came very well…..everyone in my family too liked it very much….it’s awesome…..☺
Thank You!
I already tried a week before,,came very well,thanks mrs suguna,,Tomorrow I am gonna try again,,
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Thank you Praveen for trying it out. I am glad it came very well.
Mrs suguna ,Everthing k but it is too liquid ,so could u tell me how to make SEMI SOLID poondu kulambu(with same taste)
Thanks in advance
Praveenkumar
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Did you follow the recipe. It comes as a pretty thick gravy. Can you tell me what exactly you did?
This ‘Poondu Kuzhambu’ came very nicely….not so dark as depicted in the picture. Cheers ….!
Tried your recipe today. It’s delicious but colour is lighter than yours. Must be the tamarind!
We have tried this recipe and it came out very well!!! yummmyyyy!!! Thanks to nacha patti for sharing this wonderful recipe:)
fine memory of a ‘Paatti’ and her ‘thozhi cook Naachchi Ammaal’. Let me cherish their memory as you do. Thank you. Your Poondu Kuzhambu’ looks horribly black at first sight. I do not like anything black, girls being an exception. I’ll try your recipe and report to you back. Poondu Kuzhambu might have a good shelf life……Cheers to you …….!
Dish was came very well,thank u Mrs suguna Vinoth,,,
Thank you !
hi madam,
i am going to cook for my friends those who are staying here (not going home for pongal holidays) . shall i add in additional here brinjal and i dont have jaggary, instead this shall i add sugar
Yes Muthukrishnan. you can! It will work. Happy cooking.
Hi I m interested to try this kulambu. But would like to know that instead of kulambu mil again tool nd sambar powder, can we add normal red chilli powder… thank u
You can Aurifa, but I prefer sambar powder or Kuzhambu Milagai Thool. You can buy it readymade.
Hi suguna,
I am a recent but an avid reader of your food blogs. Just like you I am a native coimbatorian and this october i got married and My husband is an authentic chettinad guy. In a lot of ways I love your website because I can easily relate to your website and the recipes that you post (a mix of both cbe n chettinad cuisines) I’m about to start cooking for the first time in life from next week onwards following the guidelines of your website. Thanks to you 🙂 Wish me luck
Will keep you posted on every recipe that I try in the comments below
So nice Mythili. Kongunad and Chettinad in a marriage. It doesnt get happier than this. Feel free to contact me if you need any help with the recipes. My best wishes to you.
Hi mam I had prepare that dish .the outcome was great .. Thanks for the dish
Thank you so much Vivin for writing in. Next time you do something, don’t forget to send me a picture. Happy cooking! I am glad the poondu kuzhambu came out well.
Hi, Yesterday we did this dish and today we had it for lunch. Awesome. Entire family loved. Keep it up.
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Thank You so much Kavitha! I am glad your family loved it. Thanks for writing in.
It’s mouthwatering and awesome. Thanks for sharing this.
Vanakkam. Kolombu came out well. Different from the puli kolambu dishes I know. Thank you for such nice recipe. I made badam halwa also. Awesome s not the word. First time- grand success. Your recipe and the comments followed is the reason.your blog stands out different as you mention the water or liquid proportion accurate , very important for the consistentcy of the finished product. Not to mention about your beautiful intro of recipe and people behind them.kannamma cooks s my household name and another member in your fan club.keep going…
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I am so happy Andal. Thank you for your kind words. I am really glad to know that you had success with the recipes.
I tried the recipe and it came out so well. The dish was awesome. Since I didn’t have coconut, I prepared without it. Even then it had a great taste. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you so much for writing in SasiRekha. I am really glad that you liked the Spicy Chettinad Poondu Kuzhambu-Kulambu- Garlic Curry.
TKS SUGUNA
:). Thank you Binu!
hi suguna,
I tried ur andhrastyle potato fry and vanilla sponge.It vas awesome.
Can u please tell the ingredients for kuzumbu milagai thool.i had this
dish from anjappar once and I loved it… you suggested sambhar powder instead
of kuzambu milagai thool…I am living in kerala..for sambhar
we use only corianderpowder,turmericpowder,chillipowder,asafoetida,fenugreek
and curryleaves..Is it ok?
Yes Binu. The sambar powder will work. I will post the kuzumbu milagai thool recipe soon.
Wow awesome recipe .I tried it today. It was super hit. My hubby loved it alot .I have included this recipe in my routine
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Thank you so much Raji.
All ur recipes are excellent . Appreciate ur neat way of presenting things . Jus curious to know about the ur cookware brand . The kadai ur using looks like stainless steel . Won’t it get burnt at the bottom ?
Thank you for your kind words Nandhini. Yes you are right. Its a stainless steel kadai. I let the gravy simmer on low flame only. It doesn’t scorch at the bottom. Its an old kadai. There is no brand on it. I am sorry about that,