Karuvepillai Kuzhambu

When Nupur of UK Rasoi asked me for a post for the "Be my Guest" event, I wanted a very authentic recipe and I chose this one. Karuvepillai, (Curry leaves in English) is a great Indian herb. More predominantly used in South Indian cooking, its flavor, color, taste and aroma are phenomenal. Curry Leaves is very good for health and there are lot of medicinal properties to it – see end of post for health benefits. This is a very authentic recipe. This can be stored in an airtight container for at least a week, may be more. Serve it with hot rice with sesame oil. This is also a great dish to have on hand for lunch boxes. Prepare rice on the day and mix it with the kuzhambu and you have a quick and healthy lunchbox ready. You might feel that this has a lot of oil, but this has about 10 – 15 servings easily. So each serving will get less than a table spoon oil.

Ingredients
Curry leaves - 3 cups (leaves only)
Ulutham Parupu / Urad Dal - 2 table spoons
Kadalai Parupu / Channa Dal - 2 table spoons
Tuvaram Parupu / Toor Dal - 1 table spoon
Black Pepper (whole) - 1 1/2 table spoons
Red Chili - 3 + 1
Coriander Seeds - 3 table spoons
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tea spoon
Oil (preferably Sesame Oil / Gingelly Oil) - 1 table spoon + 6 table spoons
Salt - 1 tea spoon
Asafetida - 1/4 tea spoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tea spoon
Tamarind - Golf ball size
Water - 1 cup
Method
Soak tamarind in warm water for about 10 minutes. Take the pulp and set aside
Heat a pan and add a table spoon of oil and roast the dals (channa dal, urad dal, toor dal), coriander seeds and red chili under the dals become lightly golden
Now add the black pepper and roast until golden brown
Remove from heat and allow it to cool
In the same pan, sauté the curry leaves until it looses most of its moisture, but not crisp. This took about 4 minutes on medium flame - continuously stir to avoid burning
Allow the curry leaves to cool
Once cooled grind dal mixture and the curry leaves to a paste and set aside
Heat 6 table spoons of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add fenugreek seeds, red chili and after 10 seconds, add the tamarind pulp
Add turmeric powder, asafetida, salt and cook until the raw flavor of tamarind goes away - about 5 minutes
Add the grinded paste and stir continuously to avoid lumps
Now the mixture would become very thick and oil will start to float on top
Remove from heat and serve

Points to note (about Curry Leaves) – from Timesofindia article (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-01/diet/30184194_1_curry-leaf-health-benefits-hair-tonic)
Curry leaf has many medicinal properties. It stimulates digestive enzymes and helps break down food more easily. Have a glass of buttermilk mixed with a little hing (asafetida) with a few curry leaves thrown after meal for good digestion.
A good remedy for nausea and indigestion. Extract juice of curry leaves, squeeze a lime and add a pinch of sugar. Chew a few leaves every day to lose weight
Curry leaves are also known to improve eyesight, so make sure you do not throw away the leaves while eating. It is also believed to prevent cataract. Curry leaves are also good for hair growth and color. If you don't like its raw taste, you can buy the curry leaf powder widely available in the market and have it with dosa or hot rice. You can also make it at home. This will prevent pre mature greying of hair. Alternatively, you can also add a few curry leaves to your hair oil and boil it for a few minutes. Applying this hair tonic will keep your hair healthy. These are just few of the many benefits that the curry leaves possesses. Include this in your daily diet for better health

Sending this Tickling Palate's Legumes and Lentils , South Indian Cooking Series #1 Happy to be part of Nupur's Be my guest event, CWS - Channa Dal, CWS - Urad Dal, Priya's page,