THENGAI PAAL KUZHAMBU | COCONUT MILK KUZHAMBU | TIRUNELVELI SPECIAL GRAVY

Thengai Paal Kuzhambu is a typical Tirunelveli special Coconut milk-based gravy which has a lot of variations. Sodhi is one among them. But this is a very unique and authenticTirunelveli Brahmin recipe which is a speciality dish in my in-laws' place. My mom-in-law and her MIL are experts in cooking this flavorful recipe to perfection and it is a 'Must-do' item in the menu when we have guests. Back then, when we were in their hometown Tuticorin, we used to do it with home-grown sweet coconut, which makes it even more delicious.

PREPARATION TIME - 30  MINUTES
COOKING TIME  -   30 MINUTES
SERVES - 8


INGREDIENTS : 
(The below measurements yields a larger quantity enough to serve 8-10 pax. So, if you are doing a smaller batch,reduce everything to half)

TAMARIND | PULI	2 LEMON SIZE
SAMBAR POWDER	4 tablespoon
SALT	1 – 1 and a ½ tablespoon
DRUMSTICK	2 NOS
BRINJAL  (INDIAN  VARIETY)	4 NOS
POTATO	3 NOS
LADIES FINGER	250gm
SMALL ONION | SHALLOTS	250gm
COCONUT OIL	For frying
COCONUT, GRATED	1 medium-sized
FENUGREEK | METHI SEEDS	1 teaspoon

METHOD

1.  Cut the veggies into thin slices as shown below. It should be suitable for deep frying. Peel the shallots and chop into fine spirals.

 

  

2.  Soak the tamarind in 1 litre of warm water for 15 minutes and prepare the tamarind extract. In a big Kadai or heavy-bottomed vessel, add tamarind extract, sambar powder and salt and bring to boil. Let it boil for 15 min on a medium flame until the raw smell goes. Thereafter until the veggies are fried, let it sit on a very low flame.

3.  Meanwhile, deep fry the veggies one after the other in coconut oil. Follow this order - Drumstick, Brinjal, Potato, Ladies finger and lastly the chopped onion. This frying process takes about 20-25 minutes.

3.  While the frying is in process, we can get on with preparing coconut milk. Add about 300ml lukewarm water to the grated coconut and whip it in a blender / mixie for just a few seconds. DO NOT overdo the blending as it would end up in something like a paste instead of a coarse mixture. Now, strain this mixture in a fine strainer. Use your hand and squeeze out the thick coconut milk. Keep this aside. Add another 500ml of water to the ground coconut mixture and repeat the above procedure to extract the second milk which is thinner. Keep it aside.

4.  Stir in the fried veggies , except onion to the gravy / kuzhambu mixture. Let it boil for 5 minutes on a medium flame.

5.  Add the thin coconut milk to this. After adding coconut milk, DO NOT let it boil.The flame SHOULD be simmered.

6.  In another 2-3 minutes, add the thick coconut milk and the fried onion. After about 2 minutes, switch off the flame.

7.  Temper the gravy with dry roasted  fenugreek / methi seeds. 

Serve this coconut milk gravy with hot rice or as an accompaniment to idli / dosa. The nice aroma and rich flavours are sure to make you addictive.