Karuvepilai Kuzhambu / Curry Leaves Pepper Gravy / Karuveppillai Kuzhambu / Karuvepilai Milagu Kuzhambu

Curry Leaf is one of the important ingredients in South Indian Cuisine and its called as "Karuvepilai" in tamil and "Karivepaaku"  in Telugu. Its almost added as a seasoning agent in most of the South Indian delicacies and these leaves emanate an excellent aroma during tempering. Upon looking at its outstanding medicinal benefits, they are rich in Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron and good amount of vitamins. The alkaloids present in curry leaves are believed to have tons of antioxidant properties. Its used as a home remedy for indigestion, nausea and heartburn. They are good for maintaining a good eyesight as they prevent the growth of cataracts. Regular intake of its juice help people with kidney disease and helps people in preventing hereditary diabetes. One of its popular use is for hair growth and colour. Regular intake of curry leaves in any form helps in preventing premature greying of hair. So its an ideal thing to include curry leaves a regular part of your diet. 

Its difficult to get good amount of fresh curry leaves in the place i live. Fortunately, I was able to get these precious leaves in abundance last week. So I decided to make the Curry Leaves kuzhambu with those fresh ones. I made it in a thicker form in order to enjoy this Karuvepilai kuzhambu at least for a week. Today its snowing heavily and I decided to make our lunch time healthier and tastier with our home favourites. Our lunch includes this spicy and tangy Karuvepilai Kuzhambu with Aviyal, Spinach Pappu and Potato curry. Preparation is simpler and does not require more efforts.

Ingredients

Fresh Curry Leaves - 2 Big Bunches ( yields about 5 cups of curry leaves )

Thick Tamarind Juice - 1 cup

Thuvar Dal / Tuvaram Paruppu / Toor Dal - 3 tbsp.

Black Peppercorns /Milagu - 4 tsp

Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Vendhayam / Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp

Dry Red Chillies - 2 Medium

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Salt - As Required

Gingelly Oil / Sesame Oil - 3 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 3 tsp

Method

• Soak the tamarind in water and extract its juice and keep ready. Take out the leaves from the stem and wash the curry leaves thoroughly and dry them.
• In the cooking vessel / kadai, add 1/2 tbsp of gingelly oil. Roast the thuvar dal, black peppercorns, jeera, vendhayam, coriander seeds, dry red chillies to golden brown and transfer them to the mixer grinder.
• In the same vessel, fry the cleaned curry leaves with the remaining oil till the raw smell goes off.
• Grind them along with other ingredients in the blender and keep the paste ready.
• Add another tbsp of gingelly oil to the cooking vessel. When its heated, add hing/ asafoetida and mustard seeds for tempering. When its sputters, add the tamarind juice into the vessel.
• Cook them for 3-4 minutes till the raw smell goes off. Then, add the grounded curry leaves paste from the blender to the vessel carefully. Add some water to the blender and pour all the paste into the cooking vessel.
• Add required amount of salt into the cooking vessel and cook the contents for 10-15 minutes.
• Once you get a semi solid consistency add the remaining amount of gingelly oil into the vessel.
• Let the kuzhambu cook for another 2-3 minutes and then switch off the stove.Generally this kuzhambu tastes good on the second day. Enjoy this healthy south indian delicacy with a good accompaniment.