21. Pitlai

Pitlai  is a kuzhambu vaiety. Any fried vegetable is a good combination. We can make pitlai with pakarkai/bitter gourd, brinjal or jack fruit seed.

Ingredients:
Toor dal - 3/4 cup
Channa dal - 1/4 cup.
Tamarind - 1 lemon size
Turmeric powder - a pinch
salt - 1tbs
Hinge - a pinch
vegetable - 1cup
Black channa or ground nut - 1tbs

For grinding:
Coriander seeds - 1tbs
Channa dal - 1tbs
Hinge - a pinch
Red chilli - 5
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1tbs  for frying the above

Seasoning:
Oil - 1tbs
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hinge - a pinch
Red chilli - 1
Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Pressure cook Toor dal and channa dal together.
2. Extract tamarind paste.
3. Cook chopped vegetables and channa in tamarind water with salt, turmeric powder and hinge.
4. Roast the items given under grinding till the dal turns brown. Grind along with coconut.
5. Mix cooked and smashed dal with the ground paste and add to the tamarind paste.
6. Allow it boil for a few seconds.
7. Season and serve hot.

Note: Chop pakarkai in round shape. If you use brinjal chop into small cubes. If you use jack fruit seed, cook it in pressure cooker in a separate vessel along with dal and remove the white skin. cut them into small cubes.

20. Killi thirumari parupu kuzhambu

This is a modified form of parupu kuzhambu, Vegetables like brinjal and okra(both or any one) or drumstick can be used.

Ingredients: 
Toor dal - 1 cup
Chopped vegetable - 1 cup
Tamarind - 1 lemon size
salt - 1tbs
Hinge - a pinch
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Curry leaves

For grinding:
Channa dal - 1tbs
Daniya - 1tbs
Hinge - a pinch
Fresh curry leaves - few

For seasoning:
Oil - 1tbs
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli - 7 ( broken)
Methi/vendhayam - 1tsp
Hinge - a pinch
Curry leaves

Method:

1. Dry fry the items given under grinding and make it a coarse powder. Leave it aside.
2. Pressure cook the dal.
3. Extract 3 cups tamarind juice and cook the chopped vegetable in it adding turmeric powder, hinge, curry leaves and salt.
4. Smash the cooked dal and mix the ground powder.
5. Season the items and add the mixture and tamarind juice with cooked vegetables. Allow it boil.

19. Vendhaya kuzhambu

Vendhaya kuzhambu is a simple gravy and a good combination with keerai masiyal and brinjal or other fried vegetables,

Ingredients: 
Chopped brinjal and okra/lady's finger - 1/2cup
Tamarind - a lemon size
Salt - 1tbs
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Fresh curry leaves - few
Hinge - a pinch
Rice flour - 1 tbs

For seasoning:
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Toor dal - 1tsp
Channa dal -1tsp
Methi/ vendhayam - 1tbs
Hinge - a pinch
Gingely oil - 1tbs
Red chilli - 8

Method:

1. Extract 3cups of tamarind syrup and leave aside.
2. Heat the oil in a kadai add mustard. After it splutters add broken pieces of red chilli, toor dal, channa dal, methi and hinge.
3. Fry till the dal turns dark brown and add half of the curry leaves and the chopped vegetables.
4. Saute fora while and add turmeric powder followed by tamarind paste , salt, hinge and rest of the curry leaves.
5. Allow it to boil till the vegetables get cooked.
6. Add rice flour paste to get a thick consistency.

18. Avial kuzhambu

Avial kuzhambu is the simplest and delicious gravy.

Ingredients:
Curd / Butter milk (sour) - 1 cup
Salt - 1 tbs
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Hinge - a pinch
Rice flour - 1tbs

Ash gourd - 1 cup(Chopped)
Potato - 1/2 cup (Chopped)
Carrot - 4 pieces
Broad beans (avaraikai) - 1/2 cup
Brinjal - 2 chopped
colocasia -4 (pressure cooked)

For grinding:
Grated coconut - 1cup
Green chilli - 7
Jeera - 1 tsp

Seasoning:
Coconut oil - 1tbs
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Vendhayam - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves

Method:

1. Boil all the vegetables adding salt, turmeric powder and hinge 3 cups of water.
2. Grind all the items mentioned into a thin paste and add to the boiling vegetables.
3. Stir well and allow it to boil.
4. Churn the curd well and add. Then add rice flour paste. 
5. Heat till the gravy just rise up. Add boiling water if the consistency is very thick.
6. Season and serve hot along with rice and fried applam/vathal/vadam.

17. Morchar

Morchar is a very simple gravy.

Ingredients: 
Curd - 11/2 cups
Salt - 1tbs

Seasoning:
Coconut oil / cooking oil - 1tbs
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Methi /vendhyam - 1/2tsp
Red chilli(broken into pieces) - 2
Hinge - a pinch
Curry leaves

Method:

• Churn the curd and add salt.
• Season and mix well. 

16. Pachai morkuzhambu/simple morkuzhambu

Pachai Morkuzhambu
Ingredients :
Same as the morkuzhambu but preferably with curd.
Chopped vegetable - 1 cup
Curd (sour) - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Hinge - a pinch
Salt - 1 tbs

For grinding:
Grated coconut - 4 tbs
cumin seed/ jeeragam - 1/2 tsp
Green chili - 7
coriander leaves- little
Rice flour - 1 1/2 tbs

For seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chili - 1
Methi seeds- few
Hinge - a pinch
curry leaves - few
coconut oil/cooking oil - 1 tsp

Method :

1. Grind all the items along with rice flour. into a fine paste.
2. Cook the chopped vegetables with salt, turmeric powder and hinge in 1 cup of water.
3. Mix the ground paste, Add enough water so that the consistency is not very thick. 
4. Boil the mixture.
5. Churn the curd. Add to the boiling mixture.Do not boil too much. Just when the mixture rises up switch of the stove.
6. Season and serve.

15. Morkuzhambu

Morkuzhambu is the best gravy that goes with the side dish parupu usili. Other fried vegetables like potato, brinjal, bitter gourd(midhi pavakai) okra, coccinia/ ivy gourd/ kovaikai and kothavangai/ cluster beans.
This is the important south Indian gravy in weddings and other functions. Iyangars and tamil brahmins main dish.

Ash gourd is the best vegetable used for this gravy. Okra, brinjal, and capsicum.

Sundaikai vathal, ash gourd/ poosani kai vathal, vendaikai vathal can also be fried and added lastly instead of the  vegetable.

We can also use parupu urundai instead of the vegetable.

Ingredients:
Chopped vegetable - 1 cup
Curd/ butter milk (sour) - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Hinge - a pinch
Salt - 1 tbs

For grinding:
Grated coconut - 2 tbs
Toor dal - 1 1/2 tbs
Channa dal - 1/2 tsp
cumin seed/ jeeragam - 1/2 tsp
Green chili - 7
coriander leaves- little
optional
corriandar seed ( roasted with little oil) - 1 tsp
Urid dal (roasted with little oil) - 1/2 tsp

For seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chili - 1
Methi seeds- few
Hinge - a pinch
curry leaves - few
coconut oil/cooking oil - 1 tsp

Method :

1. Soak the items given under grinding for half an hour except coconut, coriander and green chili. Boiling water if used may reduce the soaking time for 15 minutes.
2. Grind the soaked items along with coriander, coconut and green chili into a fine paste.
3. Cook the chopped vegetables with salt, turmeric powder and hinge in 1 cup of water.
4. Mix the ground paste, Add enough water so that the consistency is not very thick. 
5. Boil the mixture.
6. Churn the curd. Add to the boiling mixture.Do not boil too much. Just when the mixture rises up switch of the stove.
7. Season and serve.

Note: For parupu urundai, Soak 1 cup of toor dal separately with 6 red chilli for half an hour. Grind into coarse paste along with salt. curry leaves and hinge. Make the paste into small balls and steam cook for 15 minutes, Add the ball to the boiling mixture. Then add curd and stir well.

 Constant stirring is very important for this gravy.

You can also add roasted coriander seeds and roasted urid dal each half tsp for grinding.

14. Morum puliyum kuzhambu

Morum puliyum kuzhambu is an aweome gravy. Any vegetable vathakal will be good combo along with keerai masiyal. Any vegetable like brinjal, ladies finger. ash guard can be used in the gravy.  Fried sundaikai can also be used,

Ingredients:
Tamarind - half lemon size
Vegetable chopped- 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Hinge - a pinch
Salt - 1 tbs
curd / butter milk - 1 cup

For Grinding:
Urid dal - 2 tbs
Methi seeds - 1 tbs
Raw rice - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli - 8
Hinge - a pinch
Grated coconut -2 tbs
Oil - 1 tsp

For seasoning:
Oil- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Method:
1. Extract tamarind juice and cook the vegetables in it adding salt, turmeric powder and hinge.
2. Fry the ingredients given under grinding except coconut.
3. Grind the fried items with coconut into a fine paste,
4. Mix the paste well with boiled  tamarind extract with the cooked vegetable. Stir well so that no lumps are left.
5. Add buttermilk. If you are using curd, churn well and add to the mixture,
6, Allow it to boil for a second.
7, Season and serve hot.