PONGAL KUZHAMBU

PONGAL KUZHAMBU:

Ingredients:

Lentils-1 cup

Tamarind- a small orange size

Boiled rice-1 handful

Raw rice-1 tbsp

Peppercorns-1 sp

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Fennel seeds-2 sp

Chopped tomatoes-1 cup

Avaraikkai- a handful [cut into halves]

Red pumpkin- a handfuls [cut into 1” pieces]

Sweet potato- 2 handfuls [cut into cubes]

Brinjal- 1 handful [cut into medium pieces]

Raw banana-2 [cut into cubes]

Green mochaikkai-2 cups

Turmeric powder-1sp

Chilli powder-2tbsp

Coriander powder-1 tbsp

Shredded coconut- 1 cup

Curry leaves- a handful

Chopped coriander leaves-a handful

Salt to tatse

Method:

Cook the lentils in a cooker. Soak the tamarind in warm water and then extract the juice after ½ hour. Dry roast the boiled rice, raw rice, cumin seeds, peppercorns and aniseeds to a nice brown colourand powder them finely. Add the chopped tomatoes, avaraikkai, red pumpkin pieces, sweet potatoes pieces, brinjal pieces, raw banana cubes and the mochaikkai in a cooking vessel and add enough water to cover it. Cook them with enough salt the turmeric powder. When the vegetables are half done, add the tamarind juice, the chilli powder and the coriander powder. After cooking them for some minutes add the dhal and again cook for a few minutes. Now add the powder, the greens and the shredded coconut. Cook under slow fire for 5 minutes.