Arai Puli Kuzhambu

This is a favorite in my house. An exotic, home-made item called "kuzhambu karuvadam", made of ground, spiced, sun-dried, black-eyed peas, that my Mom usually adds to this kuzhambu gives it all the flavor and taste that it would vanish in a jiffy once my Mom sets it on the table. Yum yum :-). But, even without the kuzhambu karuvadam, I liked it when I made it.

Ingredients (3 - 4 servings):

Tamarind soaked in water- about the size of a small lemon
(If using tamarind paste - 3/4 table spoon)
Sambar powder - 2 table spoons
Pumpkin cut into small cubes - about a cup
Asafoetida - 1 teaspoon
Whole dry black channa - about a handful
Toor dhal - 1/2 cup using a measuring cup
Turmeric - 1/4 teaspoon
Rice flour - 1.5 teaspoons
Salt to taste

To dry fry and grind to a coarse powder:

Channa dhal - 2 table spoons
Dried red chillies - 3
Coriander seeds - 2 teaspoons

For seasoning:

Coconut oil (this is a must) - 3 teaspoons
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Urad dhal - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves (optional) - a few

Procedure:

1. Fry dried black channa in 2 teaspoons of oil, pressure cook it and set aside.
2. Pressure cook toor dhal with 1.5 cups (using a measuring cup) of water with turmeric and set aside. I generally use dhal and water in the ratio 1:3.
3. Dry fry channa dhal, dried red chilli and coriander seeds separately, grind them to a coarse powder and set aside.
4. Extract about 2 - 3 cups (using a measuring cup) of the juice of soaked tamarind or dilute the tamarind paste with about 2 -3 cups of water in a thick bottomed vessel. Place it on the stove top on medium heat.
4. Add sambar powder, asafoetida, salt and bring it to a boil.
5. Once the mixture starts boiling, add the pressure cooked black channa and pumpkin pieces and boil for some more time until the vegetables cook well and the raw smell of tamarind and sambar powder goes away. This normally takes about 20 minutes on medium heat.
6. After step 5, add the cooked toor dhal, the powder from step 3 and rice flour and boil for 1o more minutes.
7. In a small pan, add coconut oil and after the oil gets heated, add mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter. Immediately after that, add urad dhal and fry till it turns light golden brown in color. Transfer the contents to the mixture from step 6.
8. Garnish with curry leaves. Arai puli kuzhambu is ready :-).

This tastes excellent with rice, ghee (refined butter) and plain cooked toor dhal. The kuzhambu karuvadam fried in oil (only if you have it) and added to this kuzhambu at the very end, gives it an ecstatic touch.