Sundakkai Vatha Kulambu

Sundakkai or turkey berry is so good for health. Benefits are discussed in the link below by our blogger friend.

http://www.anupamablog.com/health/turkey-berry-health-benefits

Now coming to the recipe, I have used the dry version of the turkey berries that you see in the link above. It gives a bit of a bitter taste to the gravy, but it is so tangy that the bitter taste does not dominate much.

You can make this using a wok (kadai) but it takes a while for the raw smell to go, so I always use a pressure cooker.
In a pressure cooker...

Steps to follow:

• Add two tablespoons of gingelly oil and fry Kulambu vathal or 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds, 5 curry leaves.

• Later add pieces of small onion and 6 pieces of whole garlic, fry till the onion turns a little brown. Add 6 to 8 pieces of sundakka (wash with water before adding)

• At this stage, you need to grind 4 small onions, 3 pieces of garlic, 4 curry leves and sundakka (4 pieces), 1/2 tbsp each of whole pepper and jeera. Add this to the above mixture in the cooker.

• Add tsp chilly pwd, 1.5 tsp vatha kulambu mix (readymade) and 3 tsp coriander powder and fry well.

• Add one chopped tomato and fry till it turns mushy. Sprinkle water if the mixture is too dry.

• Before closing the pressure cooker, make 1 cup of tamarind juice with little water and add to the mixture, add salt. Give two whistles.

• After opening the lid, boil the gravy for some more time to make it thick if it is loose, otherwise it is ok not to boil it.

• Add 2 tbsp thick coconut milk and boil it for less than a minute. Now the kulambu is ready to enjoy with idli, rice and dosa

• This is a tangy, spicy gravy, pls adjust coconut milk according to spice levels you need.

• Hope you enjoy this dish.