22. Parupu urundai kuzhambu

Paruppu urundai kuzhambu is a delecious and nurtitious gravy/kuzhambu. Keerai and any vegetable will be a good combination along with rice.

Ingredients:
Toor dal - 1 cup
Red chilli - 5 or 6
Tamarind - 1 lemon size
Turmeric powder - a pinch
salt - 1tbs or as required
Hinge - a pinch
Sambar powder - 2 1/2 tsp




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

Method:

1. Soak Toor dal in hot water for 15mins.
2. Extract tamarind paste.
3. Boil tamarind water with salt, turmeric powder and hinge.
4. Allow the tamarind water to boil for 5mins, meanwhile grind soaked dal, red chiili, salt and a pinch of hinge with few curry leaves into a coarse paste with minimum water. When it is rolled into balls it should retain the shape for some time. 
5. Now add sambar powder to boiling tamarind water after adding it in a small cup of water so that there won't be any lumps. Allow it to boil for 5 more minutes.
6. Use a flat vessel or kadai for boiling tamarind water. This helps the dal balls to have enough space to get cooked.
7. While the water is boiling, bring the flame to sim and drop the dal balls one by one gently with out they touching each other.
8. Do not disturb the setup and allow it boil in medium flame.
9. The balls which get immersed first will start to float once it is cooked. Now gently stir the gravy without disturbing the balls.
10. The ground paste of dal can be kept a little, and can be added to the gravy after mixing with some water. This gives a little thickness to the gravy.
11. Season the gravy and serve it hot or cold.

Note: Care should be taken that the gravy may get stick to the bottom of the vessel which may lead to char.
If the dal paste is too watery, the balls will loose its shape once dropped in the gravy.
If stirred before the dal balls are cooked also will collapse the balls and they will not stay in shape. It should not be too dry which will make the balls hard after cooking.