Thursday, December 4, 2014

Thattapayar/Karamani Puli Kuzhambu/Black Eyed Cow peas & Tamarind Stew



Thattapayar/ Cow peas Puli kuzhambu is a tasty lunch side that can be made on days when you run out of either vegetables or ideas (like me!). It can be made with brinjals or drumsticks as well. It tastes damn good with Peerkankai/ridge gourd kootu. But I couldn’t get hold of them so had with beetroot usili and hot rice which tasted heavenly in this chill weather.
Ingredients:
Thattapayar/Cow peas-1/2 cup, (I used the white variety)
Shallots-15, peeled and chopped
Tomatoes-2 medium, chopped
Tamarind- lemon sized, soak in 1 cup water and collect the extract
Salt-as needed
To Grind:
Coconut- ¼ cup shredded
Fennel seeds-1 tsp
Add little water and grind them to a smooth paste.
To Temper:
Mustard seeds- 1tsp
Urad dal-1 tsp
Curry leaves-1 sprig
Oil-1 tbsp

How it Happened:
1. Wash and soak the cow peas for minimum of 6 hours or overnight. Pressure cook them in just enough water to immerse them along with salt for 2 whistles in medium flame.
2. Heat oil in a kadai; add ingredients given under the ‘To Temper’ list. When they pop, add onions and fry until transparent.
3. Then add the tomatoes and cook them until mushy.
4. Add the sambar powder and salt, mix well and cook for a minute in low flame. Add the tamarind extract and add more water if needed. Cook in medium flame.
5. When the mixture starts boiling add the boiled cow peas and cook in low flame for 10 minutes until the raw smell goes off.
6. When the volume of the mixture is reduced and when they have slightly thickened add the coconut paste and cook in simmer until the mixture froths up. Do not let them bubble/boil.
7. Switch off the flame and serve hot with rice.

Notes:
*Soaking the cow peas is important. Do not overcook them else they will become mushy.
*You can skip tomatoes if you want them to be too tangy.
*If you don’t like the flavor of fennel seeds, you can skip it. But it adds a unique flavor.
*A mixture of red chili powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder can be used instead of sambar powder.

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