Thengai Paal Kuzhambu | Mochai Kuzhambu | South Indian Style Coconut Milk Gravy
A mild and delicious recipe of Thengai Paal kuzhambu or South Indian style coconut milk gravy with the goodness of coconut milk, field beans, and fenugreek seeds.
Servings: 6
Calories: 102kcal
Equipment
- Pressure cooker | Stove-top or Electric to cook the beans
- Sauce pan or kadai
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml;1tbsp=15ml;1tsp=5ml;
- ⅓ cup dried field beans
- 3 cups water + water for soaking beans
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 cup tomato chopped
- 1.5 tbsp sambar powder
- ½ cup coconut milk
- ½ tsp jaggery optional
- 10 curry leaves
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 1.5 tsps salt heaped or to taste
- 1.5 tsp tamarind paste
To Temper-
- 1 tbsp oil coconut oil or gingelly oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp fenugreek seed powder
- ¼ tsp asafoetida
Instructions
Soak & cook the beans-
- Wash the beans and soak it overnight or atleast for 6 to 8 hours and pressure cook by adding ⅔ to ¾ cup of water for three whistles.
- Do not drain the water. Set it aside.
Prepare the Thengai Paal Kuzhambu-
- Heat a pan or kadai and add oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. As they start to splutter, add the fenugreek powder, half of the curry leaves, and asafoetida.
- Let it cook for 30 seconds and add the chopped onions.
- Cook until the onions turn soft. Then add the tomatoes, salt, and turmeric powder. Cook until the tomato becomes soft and mushy.
- Now mix 1.5 tsp of tamarind paste in 1 cup of water and add it to the tomato-base. Add the jaggery as well.
- After about 3 minutes, add the sambar powder and mix it well. You can even mix it with ¼ cup of water and add it to the kuzhambu. Bring it to a boil.
- Now add the cooked beans with the water and mix thoroughly. Simmer it for two to three minutes.
- Finally, add the coconut milk and mix it all. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer it. As it becomes frothy on top, add the remaining curry leaves and turn off the heat.
- Serve hot with rice.
Notes
- Prepare Fenugreek powder (Skip if you are using store-bought)
- Roast about a tbsp of fenugreek seeds without adding any oil until it turns light brown. Let it cool and grind it coarsely. We need 1 tsp of this powder for this recipe. You can use the rest for tamarind rice or pickle or for other kuzhambu recipes.
- Homemade Coconut Milk- (Skip if you are using store-bought)
- For this recipe, I went with store-bought coconut milk (chaokoh brand). You can prepare the same at home too. For one-half of freshly grated coconut (break the coconut into two halves and grate the one-half), add 1 cup of lukewarm water and grind it. Squeeze out the milk, and this is the first and thick coconut milk. Grind again by adding 1 cup of water and extracting the liquid, which is the second and thin coconut milk. Use the first milk for this recipe.
- As I mentioned before, you can use any dried beans of your choice.
- Adjust the sambar powder, salt according to your preference.
- The coconut milk balances the spiciness and tanginess. So add the tamarind and sambar powder accordingly.
- Jaggery is optional.
- I did not include garlic. Five to ten garlic cloves can be added for this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 102kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 627mg | Potassium: 242mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 886IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2mg