A Kuzhhambu For All Seasons
Pooja Mahesh shares the recipe for poricha kuzhambu, a vegetable stew with coconut milk that is as forgiving as it is delicious.
With the onset of the rains, comfort meals that warm me from within become my number one priority. So let me tell you about the poricha kuzhambu. This is a dish I make often because it is a zero-hassle one-pot meal. And if you have an odd mix of vegetables that need to be used up, poricha kuzhambu is just the thing you’re looking for.
Poricha kuzhambu is a mildly spiced stew made using a variety of vegetables. The kuzhambu is wonderfully forgiving – it is best with fresh veggies, but will accommodate frozen vegetables in a pinch. When you can, of course, reach for what is locally available and in season: snake gourd, chayote, drumstick and its leaves, ridge gourd, amaranth leaves, brinjal, cluster beans and pumpkin (white and yellow) are the stars of a stellar poricha kuzhambu.
The other two components are a dal (most often, split moong), and a coconut-based spice mix. Once these are ready, the dish comes together quickly, making it the perfect dish to make a large back and freeze. It will keep for a week in the refrigerator, and up to a month in the freezer.
Consider making the kuzhambu in a cooker or the Instant Pot. Combined with pre-cut vegetables, the dish comes together in no time at all. The only point I will press on, is that the spice paste be made fresh, as this will lend the kuzhambu its signature flavour.
Eating it fresh is wonderful, of course, but to me the kuzhambu truly shines when it has been allowed to rest for a few hours. It is at this point that the flavours truly come together to create that ‘warm hug,’ perfect for a particularly cold, wet night.
The kuzhambu’s stew-like consistency and balance of nutrients makes it a great soup; light yet filling. Similar to molagootal (a dish that is made using mixed vegetables, dal and coconut paste), but a little spicier given the addition of pepper.
While the kuzhambu is best eaten with steaming hot rice (and thogaiyal, roasted appalam and ghee), it also pairs beautifully with rotis. I will confess this kuzhambu was not my favourite growing up, but recreating it in my home in Delhi these last few years has evoked many memories.
Poricha kuzhambu is made differently in every home. While the base remains the same, the proportions vary and the vegetables can differ. The recipe I am sharing below is the way we make it at home, from the region my grandparents were from – Tirunelveli.
RECIPE FOR PORICHA KUZHAMBU FROM TIRUNELVELI
Ingredients
Kuzhambu paste
1 tbsp pepper
3-4 dry red chillies, depending on your spice preference
1 tbsp urad dal
½ tbsp channa dal
¼ cup grated coconut
½ tbsp jeera
Tempering
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp channa dal
½ tsp hing
1 sprig curry leaves, chopped finely
½ tbsp coconut oil
1 cup vegetables of choice
1/3 cup moong dal
Salt, to taste
½ tsp turmeric
½ l water
Method
Dry roast together pepper, dry red chilli, urad dal and channa dal and keep aside for cooling.
While the roasted items cool, grind coconut and jeera in the blender. Once done, add the cooled roasted spices to it and grind it once more into a smooth paste. If needed, add some water as well. Keep aside for later.
Cook the moong dal in a pressure cooker for around 3 to 4 whistles. You should be able to mash it easily once cooked.
While the moong is cooking, cut the vegetables of your choice into small cubes (for easy and quick cooking).
Boil the cut vegetables with some salt and turmeric.
Once the vegetables are 3/4th cooked, add the cooked dal and the coconut-spice paste to it. Let it come together until it is cooked well. If needed, add water (boiling preferably) to adjust consistency.
Once cooked, add the tempering and serve hot.
Pooja Mahesh is a freelance writer based in New Delhi.
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