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November 17, 2008

Vendakkai Mor Kuzhambu


A little over a year ago, I had no idea what to do with lady's finger except for pachadi and sambar. This summer, I added to my repertoire and can confidently say that I know at least 6-8 ways of cooking this vegetable. And by know, I really mean know.


A couple of weeks ago, we had a bagful of lady's finger in the fridge. A friend, who works with a fresh produce company, brought us another bagful. I'd never seen fresher lady's fingers than the ones she brought us. We enjoyed the vegetable in more ways than one.


Here's what I made on Deepavali. Pandigai saapadu complete with mor kuzhambu. The method of preparation varies a wee bit from normal mor kuzhambu as the lady's finger needs to be cooked in tamarind water.


200g Lady's Finger, chopped into 2" pieces

1 tbsp Tamarind Paste


1-2 tbsp Toor Dal, soaked
1/4 cup Coconut, shredded
1 cup Curds, beaten
1 tsp Urad Dal
1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
2-3 Green Chillies
1 tsp Oil
1/4 tsp Turmeric
Salt to taste


For the Tempering:
1 tsp Cooking Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Asafoetida (Hing)

7-8 Curry Leaves


Cook the lady's finger pieces with the tamarind water and a little salt. Drain the water when the vegetable is cooked.


Fry the urad dal, fenugreek seeds, and green chillies in the oil. Grind this with the coconut, turmeric and soaked toor dal. Add this paste to the curds and bring the mixture to a boil over a low flame after adding the lady's finger and salt. In a frying ladle, heat the oil and add the mustard and asafoetida. Add the curry leaves after the mustard has spluttered. Add this to the boiling mixture and serve.


We had this with some rice, yelai paruppu, rasam, and potato curry. Find out what my co-runners have been eating: Siri, Srivalli, Ranji, PJ, Curry Leaf, Medha, Priya, Bhawna, Raaji, Ruchii, Anu, Kamala, Roopa, Divya Kudua, Rekha, Divya M, Lakshmi, Lakshmi Venkatesh , Sripriya, Viji, Kamalika, DK, and Pavani.

13 comments:

CurryLeaf said...

Lovely.I love this dish.though I do not make it often as only i relish it.will try your recipe this time.BTW,your saapadu pic has got me hugry.Is that potato kara curry near the bhindi kuzhambu?Do pass the recipe for that or link to the previously posted one.

Deepa said...

Hey, Good to have you back. Looks like you had disappeared for a while there...And then I did. Well, anyway, what else did you cook for Deepavali pandigai saapaadu besides this more kozhambu?

--Deepa

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

We call this Morkootan. Same thing and this is one of the few kootans that I like vendakkai in. Not even sambhar. :)
I remember this lunch spread from an earlier post.

kamala said...

Amma used to make this often..Long time back I had..Grt sapadu Raaga

Raaga said...

@Curry Leaf: the link to the potato curry is in the post. make it and let me know if you like it. :-)

@Deepa: I've been blogging everyday for quite a while now :-) you disappeared :-)

@Aparna: I think I mentioned this in my Deepavali post. :-) I like it in this too.

@Kamala: Time for you to make it now :-)

Anita said...

What a mouthwatering spread! When are you inviting me?! :-)

karuna said...

lady finger curry, tht is new to me.the table spread looks good too

lakshmi said...

table looks nice :)

anudivya said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
anudivya said...
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anudivya said...

That table of food look so appetizing at the moment. Everything looks awesome.

Deepa said...

Hey - You didnt tell me what else you made for Diwali. And you did disappear for a while there, leaing me wondering if things were alright. Luckily your website was still up! I use your search feature often...--Deepa

Divya Kudua said...

lovely presentation..I wouldn't mind being an uninvited guest just to devour that feast..;-)