Manathakkali Vatha Kuzhambu | மணதக்காளி வத்த குழம்பு

Ingredients :-
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Manathakkali Vathal	2 tbsp
Onions* (finely chopped)	1 cup
Tamarind	small lemon size
Sambar powder	1 tbsp
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Fenugreek	¼ tsp
Sesame oil	1 tbsp
Mustard	½ tsp
Cumin	1 tsp
Fenugreek	¼ tsp
Curry leaves	2 sprigs
Salt	to taste

 
Method:-
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1). Soak tamarind in water and extract its juice, discarding the pulp. Keep aside. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard, cumin and fenugreek, let it splutter. 

2). Add urad dal and curry leaves and saute till dal turns golden. Then add manathakkali vathal and saute for few seconds. Add finely chopped onions along with salt. 
3). Saute the onions till they golden brown and add extracted tamarind juice. Add turmeric powder and sambar powder and let it cook. 
4). Cook on medium flame until it thickens and leaves oil on the sides. It will take around 15-20 minutes for the gravy to reach thick consistency. Finally add jaggery and combine, Switch off !
Serve with steamed rice, appalam and vegetable poriyal. It has a good shelf life for about a week in the refrigerator.

Notes :-
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# Shallots suits best for this kuzhambu as the natural sweetness of the onions adds more flavor to the gravy. 
# Check the vathal if it already has salt in it. If so adjust the salt quantity in the gravy. 
# The consistency of the gravy thickens as it cools down, so adjust accordingly.
# Using of gingely oil is must to achieve the authentic vatha kuzhambu taste.  
# Do not skip jaggery, it enhances the taste when combined with tamarind and vathal.   
# You can replace manathakkali vathal with any vathal which you have handy.  
# You can also add crushed garlic along with onions. For no onion-no garlic version, skip the onions in the above recipe. 

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