Vatha kulambu / Puli kulambu

We call this as ' Vatha kulambu' or puli kulambu. During mango season. My grandma make  'Maavathal' .That is drying the mango which is soaked in salt water under the sun. It is a time consuming process and takes 2 - 3 days for preparing this vathal. My grandma makes in large batches and store it in a big container. She usually gives a small portion from it to my mom when we are visiting her place.

Before making kulambu ,my mom soaks this vathal in a hot water for 15 mins and add it to the sambar while adding onion. thats why it is named as vatha kulambu. As it contains enormous amount of tamrind(puli in tamil), it is also kown as puli kulambu. ok... stories over... back to the recipe...

Puli kulambu

Ingredients:

Onion (big) - 1

Garlic - 1 pod

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Tamrind - lemon sized

Sambar powder - 4 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Seasame oil - 2 tbsp

Salt as needed

Water as needed

Method:

1. Chop garlic and onion , thorn curry leaves.

2. Heat oil, splutter mustard, add chopped garlic and then onion. Fry till onion turns transparent.

3. Now add tamrind extract, Sambar powder, turmeric powder and salt.

4. Allow it to boil until  kulambu gets thicker. check for the salt and spicy level and adjust accordingly. Add tsp of sesame oil towards end.

Now Puli kulambu is ready to be served...

We had with surakai kootu and kollu thogayal. Kollu thogayal is the best combo for puli kulambu. My hubby always ask for kollu thogayal whenever i make vatha kulambu.

Take a close up look... 

Notes

• I used home made sambar powder. So depending upon the spicy level of your powder, you can adjust the quantity of sambar powder.
• You can also add veggies like drumstick or brinjal after adding onion.
• You can also add tsp of powdered jaggery at end. So that tangy and spicy level will get adjusted with each other.