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Araipuli Kuzhambu

Brinjal and chickpea cooked in a simple spicy tamarind sauce
Course Main Course, Main Dish
Cuisine Indian, Tamil Nadu
Prep Time 4 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Author Nisha

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons oil, divided
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds (kadugu)
  • 2 red chillies (vatha milagai) broken
  • 4-5 curry leaves ( karivepilai)
  • 1 tablespoon Bengal gram (channa dhal)
  • ½ teaspoon black gram (urad dahl)
  • 3-4 fenugreek seeds (venthayam)
  • ¼ cup brown chickpeas ( kala channa)
  • 1 tablespoon sambhar powder
  • 3-4 medium-sized Brinjal (kathirikai) 1
  • 2 tablespoons tamarind paste in 2 cups water  2
  • ½ tablespoon rice flour (arisi mavu)
  • Salt to tase
  • Few scrapes of Coconut

Instructions

Prep Work

  1. Soak channa overnight and pressure cook. Keep aside. It should be soft and slightly mushy.

  2. Keep the chopped brinjal in water so that it does not turn black.

    Mix the tamarind paste in about 2 cups of water.

Method

  1. Heat oil in a Kadai | Pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the red chillies, curry leaves, channa dahl, urad dahl, and fenugreek seeds. Fry for a second.

  2. Add the cooked chickpeas, brinjal and sambhar powder. Mix well.  (3)

  3. Then add the tamarind water and salt. Let it boil until the raw smell of the tamarind goes off and the brinjal gets cooked.

  4. Mix half a tablespoon of rice flour in half cup of water and pour it in the kuzhambu. Allow it to boil for another couple of minutes and switch it off.
  5. If the kuzhambu becomes very thick, add some more water. Serve it with hot rice.

Recipe Notes

  1. Keeping chopped brinjals in water until you use it helps in retaining its colour. If it is kept as such, the flesh turns black in colour. In the recipe, I have mentioned tamarind paste measurement as I use only that. You can use a gooseberry sized tamarind for the above amount. But always keep in mind the sourness of the tamarind
  2. In the recipe, I have mentioned tamarind paste measurement as I use only that. You can use a gooseberry sized tamarind for the above amount. But always keep in mind the sourness of the tamarind varies a lot. Trial and error is the best way to gauge the exact amount.
  3. For this recipe, the amount of tamarind is less than what we use for Vatha Kuzhambu. 
  4. Some veggies tend to take a long time to cook in tamarind water (because of acidic nature). If so, then after step 3 add plain water and par-cook the brinjal. After that add the tamarind water.