Vatha Kuzhambu

Where does vatha kuzhambu come from?

Vathal means something sun-dried in Tamil, and kuzhambu means a gravy for rice. This belongs to a long tradition of Tamil household cooking in which vegetables and berries are dried in summer, kept in jars and fried when fresh vegetables are short. It is served with plain hot rice, usually with a thread of raw gingelly oil on top. Unlike sambar, it contains no cooked dal, and it is thicker, sharper and spicier than rasam. A spoonful is enough to flavour a lot of rice, which is exactly how it is eaten.

Versions vary from home to home. Many Tamil Brahmin households make it with no onion or garlic, and flavour it with only the vathal, asafoetida and spice powder. Many other homes add shallots and garlic generously. Both are authentic. Leave those two items out if you want the first style, and increase the vathal by a tablespoon.

The technique that matters: frying and the long simmer

Two stages decide the flavour. The first is the tempering. Sundakkai is bitter by nature, and a brief fry in oil softens that bitterness into a pleasant savoury note, but it burns easily. Keep the flame low and watch for the puff. Fenugreek is the other risky item: it should only just darken, and burnt fenugreek will spoil the pot.

The second is the simmer. Raw tamarind tastes sharp and thin, and it needs time to cook down. There is no shortcut here. The cue that matters is the oil, which separates as the water reduces, and pools on top of the gravy. Stirring a kuzhambu that has not reached this point will leave a raw edge that no amount of salt can fix.

What goes wrong, and how do you rescue it?

Bitterness comes from burnt fenugreek or scorched berries. If it is slight, a second teaspoon of jaggery and a tablespoon of fresh tamarind extract can pull it back. If it is strong, it is better to start again, because the taste spreads through the whole pot. If it is too sour, add jaggery a little at a time and a little salt, since salt also tames sourness. If it turns out too thin, simmer longer, or stir in 1 teaspoon of rice flour mixed with 2 tablespoons of water and boil for 2 minutes, which is a common shortcut. If too thick, loosen with a little hot water and bring back to the boil. If the gravy tastes flat, it may be short of salt, which is often the case with this sort of sour dish.

Substitutions if you cannot find sundakkai

Sundakkai vathal is sold in Tamil grocers and online, and manathakkali vathal, dried black nightshade berries, is the classic alternative. It is milder and slightly sweeter. Dried okra or dried cluster beans (kothavarangai vathal) work too. With no vathal at all, make the same gravy with fresh vegetables: fry sliced drumstick, brinjal or extra garlic until browned, then proceed. Strictly speaking this makes it a puli kuzhambu, which is a close and excellent relative. Sesame oil from the Chinese shelf is toasted and tastes wrong here, so use cold-pressed gingelly oil, or groundnut oil if you have nothing else. Most compounded asafoetida is bulked with wheat flour, so anyone avoiding gluten must buy a packet labelled gluten-free. Ready-made sambar powder is fine, though a kuzhambu podi with more chilli and coriander gives the proper depth.

There is no truly lighter version that stays faithful, since the oil carries the spices. You can bring it down to 3 tablespoons without much harm, and portions are small anyway.

What goes with vatha kuzhambu?

Mix a spoonful or two into hot rice with a little raw gingelly oil or ghee, and serve something mild and cooling next to it. A beans poriyal, a kootu and fried appalam are the traditional company, and curd rice makes a good second course. It also goes very well with idli and dosa on the morning after, or spread sparingly on a plain uttapam. The sharp taste calls for at least one bland dish on the plate, which also helps balance the meal.

Storing and reheating

This gravy keeps better than most, thanks to the tamarind, salt and oil, and many cooks think it improves on the second day. Cool it, transfer it to a clean glass or steel jar and keep it in the fridge for about a week, always using a clean, dry spoon. To reheat, warm only what you need over a low flame until it just bubbles, adding a spoonful of water if it has become too thick. It does not freeze particularly well, as the oil can separate and the berries turn soft, but it remains safe to eat after a month in the freezer if you do.