Vatha Kuzhambu is one of the most common dish in Tamil Nadu. Atleast twice a week I make Vatha Kuzhambu and kids love it especially with curd rice. Yellow Pumpkin, Ladyfinger, brinjal, carrot, papad, sundakkai vathal, manathakali vathal are some of the most common things we add in vatha kuzhambu. Shallots are always a healthy veggie and also it gives a rich flavor to any recipe. This version of vatha kuzhambu has shallots and that makes it much richer and flavorful.
There are 2 ways of making Vatha Kuzhambu
- Grinding Method: In this method, we grind the fresh vatha kuzhambu masala and this method will make the Vathakuzhambu thicker and tastier like we use to taste in marriages
- Instant Method: This is the quick method without grinding, where we fry the sambar powder in sesame oil first and then add the tamarind juice and finish the vatha kuzhambu. This way makes the kuzhambu thin in consistency.
Tips to make tasty Vatha Kuzhambu
- While frying Sambar Powder, make sure that it is not getting burnt. Keep the flame low once the oil is hot, add sambar y powder, fry till the sambar powder changes the color slightly and immediately add tamarind water.
- Shallots Vs. Onion – I recommend using the shallots as it gives very good flavor and taste. If you don’t have shallots you can use the conventional onion (bigger one). Vatha Kuzhambu tastes better with shallots
- Use Gingelly Oil – Though we can use other oils, Vathakuzhambu tastes well with Gingelly oil. It has unique flavor and I recommend to use Gingelly oil for making this kuzhambu
- Addition of Jaggery is optional. This gives additional mild sweetness to the kuzhambu
- Vatha Kuzhambu tastes better in the next day :-). Store it in fridge and use it in the next day if you like.
- For the thickness for the kuzhambu I have added rice flour in the recipe. You can use Vatha Kuzhambu without rice flour as well.
- In the conventional Vatha Kuzhambu we don’t add Omam. But I always add omam which gives excellent flavor to the kuzhambu.
You can also try:
Recipe Card for Vengaya Vatha Kuzhambu | Onion Vatha Kuzhambu
Vengaya Vatha Kuzhambu | Onion Vatha Kuzhambu
Shallots cooked in tangy and spicy tamarind gravy is a wonderful mix for hot steaming rice. Vatha Kuzhambu is one the traditional recipe in Tamil Brahmin kitchen. We can make Vatha kuzhambu in 2 different ways. This is an instant method the most common method for routine cooking.
- 1 Lemon Size Tamarind
- 1 Cup Shallots (Finely Chopped)
- 1½ tbsp Sambar Powder
- 1 tsp Salt (Adjust As Needed)
- 1 tbsp Rice Flour
For Tempering
- 2 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- ½ tsp Fenugreek seeds
- ½ tsp omam
- Few Curry Leaves
Soaking Tamarind
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Soak tamarind in warm water for about 10 mins and extract the juice. Set this tamraind juice aside
Tempering Process
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Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and allow it to sputter. Then add fenugreek and omam and give a mix. Then add curry leaves and mix well
Cooking Vathakuzhambu
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To the pan, now add the chopped shallots and saute the shallots till translucent
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Once the onions are translucent, add sambar powder and fry the powder in oil till its brown
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Then lower the flame and add the tamarind extract. Add salt and allow the tamarind extract to boil for about 5 mins
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Allow the vatha kuzhambu to boil for about 5 mins. Meanwhile, take rice flour in a bowl. Add water and make it to paste.
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Add this rice flour to the vatha kuzhambu. Adding rice flour paste makes the kuzhambu thicker. So we can adjust the consistency by adding water.
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Keep in flame and bring it to boil and then switch off the flame
Serving Time
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The mouth-watering Vengaya Vatha Kuzhambu is now ready. Serve with hot rice along with a teaspoon of sesame oil and toasted papad and enjoy your meal!
- We can add a teaspoon of grated jaggery to adjust the tanginess of the tamarind
- Instead of shallots we can add yellow pumpkin, ladyfingers, carrot, brinjal etc
Instructions with Step by Step Pictures
SOAKING TAMARIND
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Soak tamarind in warm water for about 10 mins and extract the juice. Set this tamraind juice aside
TEMPERING PROCESS
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Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and allow it to sputter. Then add fenugreek and omam and give a mix. Then add curry leaves and mix well
COOKING VATHAKUZHAMBU
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To the pan, now add the chopped shallots and saute the shallots till translucent
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Once the onions are translucent, add sambar powder and fry the powder in oil till its brown
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Then lower the flame and add the tamarind extract. Add salt and allow the tamarind extract to boil for about 5 mins
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Allow the vatha kuzhambu to boil for about 5 mins. Meanwhile, take rice flour in a bowl. Add water and make it to paste.
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Add this rice flour to the vatha kuzhambu. Adding rice flour paste makes the kuzhambu thicker. So we can adjust the consistency by adding water. Keep in flame and bring it to boil and then switch off the flame
SERVING TIME
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The mouth-watering Vengaya Vatha Kuzhambu is now ready. Serve with hot rice along with a teaspoon of sesame oil and toasted papad and enjoy your meal!
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