Karuveppilai Kuzhambhu(Curry Leaves gravy for rice)-I

Everytime I buy veggies from the nearby grocer ,I get a lot of curry leaves for free and inspite of using them daily for rasam and sambar ,still there was a lot and sometimes they get dried up and ends up in the bin.With all the nutrients in it ,I felt I should not waste it and make it taste delicious to the taste buds as well.So this time I made a lovely and authentic karuveppilai kuzhambhu and had it with plain rice.It was so yummy and one major advantage of this kuzhambhu is that it stays well for 2 days at room temperature and up to 4 days in fridge when used with a dry spoon.I added less oil ,if you wish you can add a little more oil which will definitely increase the taste and shelf life.

Preparation time:30 mins

Serves:3

Ingredients:

Curry leaves -2 cups or 1 big bunch

Tamarind-1 lemon size

Peppercorns-2 tbsp

Red chillies-2 nos

Fenugreek-1/2 tsp

Toor dhal-1 tbsp

Hing-1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Turmeric powder-1 tsp

Oil-2 tbsp

To temper :

Mustard-1 tsp

Fenugreek-1/2tsp

Procedure:

1.Wash the curry leaves well and strain them.

2.Dry roast peppercorns,red chillies,toor dal and 1/2 tsp fenugreek and keep it separately .

3.In the same wok,roast curry leaves well followed by tamarind.

4.Grind all the above roasted ingredients to a fine paste(curry leaves,tamarind,peppercorns,fenugreek,toor dhal and redchillies).

5.Heat 2 tbsp of sesame oil and add the tempering ingredients and turmeric powder.After the mustard splutter add the  ground paste ,1 cup of water ,salt and hing .allow the mixture to boil and after it starts boiling simmer the flame and close the wok with a lid .let it boil till the oil oozes out and the kuzhambhu thickens.

6.If you don't want it too thick ,then switch off the flame after your required consistency is reached when you slow cook it with a lid.serve with hot plain rice and appalam.