Curry leaves are known as karivepillai in Tamil and it is indespensible ingredient here or we can say in whole of South India. It is loaded with so much nutrition and flavor, and just a few leaves can take the whole dish to a new level.Depending up on the recipe,it is added as tempering or used for garnishing at the end. Though we use it just for flavoring the main dish most of the time,there are few classics where curry leaves is the start ingredient. This karivepillai kuzhambu,an eternal favorite of tam-brams in one such recipe. It is so flavorful and quite soothing to eat when we crave something hot,spicy. It is quite concentrated and hot,so just a small serving along with steamed rice,and a dollop of sesame oil can go a long way. Here is the recipe we use in our home,try and let me know,I am sure you will like it :)
How to make karivepillai kuzhambu-Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup(packed) washed and dried curry leaves
2 tables spoons whole urad dal
1 teaspoon channa dal
2 teaspoons tamrind extract
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 dried red chillies
1 small piece jaggery
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
1 teaspoon mustard seed
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Salt
Method:
1 Heat one table spoon oil in a kadai,fry urad and chann dal till light brown(take care not burn) and remove to a plate.Next in the same kadai fry pepper corn,red chillies,asafoetida and curry leaves till raw smell goes off and mix with fried dals. Grind to a coarse paste with little water.
2.Bring 3 cups pf water to boil along with tamrind extract,once water is at rolling boil stage,add the curry leaves paste and continue boiling for 10 minutes.Next add the jaggery and boil for five more minutes
3.Temper with mustard seeds,add one more table spoon of oil and remove from heat.Serve hot with steamed white rice.
Notes.
1.Instead of using tamrind extract,you can fry a small piece of tamrind along with curry leave and grind.
2.In some homes the ratio of urad and channa dal is 1:1.
3.this has a very soothing effect for cold and sinus.