Pongal Puli Curry Recipe(Pongal Kuzhambu)

Hope you all had a great pongal so did we. I was waiting to post this puli curry since long and this year got some time to click though in a hurry. It is the best combination with both sweet and milk pongal. Amma says its a custom to add 5 types of country veggies and it can be to our own liking but we add the veggies given below mostly.

Pongal Puli Curry Recipe - Ingredients

• Pumpkin(Parangikai) - 1/2 cup
• Potato - 1/2 cup
• Broad beans(Avarai) - 1/2 cup
• Field beans(Mochai) - 1/2 cup
• Sweet potato(Sakarai valli kilangu) - 1 cut into cubes
• Small onion - 8 to 10 halved
• Tomato - 2 chopped
• Garlic - 8 to 10 flakes
• Tamarind pulp - 1/4 cup
• Jaggery - 1/2 tbsp (optional)
• Toor Dhal - little less than 1/4 cup (Pressure cooked until mushy)
• Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Salt - for taste

To Temper

• Cumin(Jeera) - 1 tsp
• Vadagam (for tempering) - 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Pressure cook toor dhal until mushy, keep aside. Add tamarind in warm water and take pulp, set aside. Pressure cook field beans for 3 whistles and keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan - add jeera, vadagam and curry leaves let it temper then add onion, garlic and tomato and saute well. Then add broadbeans, potato and sweet potato saut for 2mins. Then add red chilli powder, coriander powder and required salt. Then add water till immersing level.

3. Once the veggies are cooked then add pumpkin(as it gets cooked faster add it after the other veggies get cooked). Then add little more water if required for pumpkin to get cooked. Once all the veggies turn soft, add mashed toor dhal, jaggery and mix well.

4. Then add tamarind pulp and mix well. Give it a boil then add cooked mochai and allow it to get thicker. Once the veggies are nicely blended with the gravy and is semi thick switch off.

This is called as puli curry as amma calls it and is popularly called as pongal kuzhambu.

My Notes:

• We usually add 5 veggies for this pongal kuzhambu as a custom and the choice of veggies can be anything we like. But make sure to add the veggies according to the fastness each veggie gets cooked.
• Adding jaggery is also optional but I recommend it as the tangy tastes compliments well with the mild sweetness