Pongal Kuzhambu – Pongal Festival Sambar With Mixed Vegetables

People in Tamil nadu prepare Pongal kuzhambu on Pongal festival day adding 5 or 7 vegetables. We call it as 7 kai kuzhambu or kootu in Tamil. There are many versions for Pongal kuzhambu. It differs based on their custom. In Chettinad region, people make it without adding any dal or coconut. But this version is a no onion, no garlic Arachu vitta sambar kind of Pongal kuzhambu I learnt from my friend Shalini. But the quantity of dal and coconut used is very less for this kuzhambu. It is prepared with freshly roasted & ground spices. So its too flavorful just like Brahmin’s style arachuvitta sambar.

Shalini told me to use 5 vegetables. So I blindly followed her recipe and came up with this version. If you are making on a normal day, you can skip all these vegetables and use yellow pumpkin alone. This pongal festival sambar tastes good with white pongal / Paal pongal, rice, ven pongal and idli,dosa.

Friends If you are planning to make Pongal kuzhambu with mixed vegetables in sambar taste, you can follow this recipe. You will like it for sure. Next year before Pongal festival, I will try to share Chettinad Pongal Kuzhambu Recipe. Now lets see how to make no onion, no garlic pongal festival kuzhambu with step by step pictures.

Check out my Brahmin style Thalagam kuzhambu recipe too !

Pongal Kuzhambu – Mixed vegetable sambar for Pongal Festival

Pongal Kuzhambu - Mixed vegetable sambar for Pongal Festival

No onion, no garlic mixed vegetable kuzhambu for Pongal festival day !

Cuisine: South Indian

Category: Side dish

Serves: 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup – 250ml

Mixed vegetables – 1.5 cups ( 5 cluster beans, 1/2 raw banana, 1/2 sweet potato, 4 pumpkin pieces, 1/2 cup of mochai)
Toor dal – 2 tbsp
Tamarind – Medium gooseberry size
Green chilli – 2 nos
Asafetida / Hing – A pinch
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt & water – as needed

To roast & grind

Cooking oil – 1 tsp
Coriander seeds – 1.5 tsp
Chana dal – 1 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Pepper corns – 2 nos
Cumin seeds / Jeera – 1/2 tsp
Methi seeds – 1/4 tsp
Raw rice – 1/4 tsp
Red chillies – 3 to 5 nos
Grated coconut – 1 tbsp

To Temper

Ghee – 2 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – Few
Coriander leaves – to garnish

HOW TO MAKE PONGAL KUZHAMBU

Wash and soak toor dal. Chop all the vegetables and keep aside.
In a pressure cooker base, take toor dal and add vegetables, green chillies.
Cook for 2 whistles in low flame. Open and mash the dal.
To the cooked dal, add tamarind extract, roasted & ground masala.
Boil for few minutes. Temper mustard seeds, curry leaves and add to sambar.
Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with white pongal / Paal pongal.

METHOD – STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and soak toor dal in a cooker base. Wash and chop all the vegetables into cubes and set aside. Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup of water. Take the extract and keep aside.
Add chopped vegetables to toor dal. Add slit green chilli. Add required water, turmeric powder and cook for 2 whistles in low flame. Remove the lid after steam is released. Mash the dal well. Set aside.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai. Roast all the ingredients given under “to roast and grind” and grind to a smooth paste.
Add this paste and tamarind extract to the cooked dal. Mix well and boil for few minutes till its raw smell goes off.
Temper mustard seeds, curry leaves in ghee and add to sambar. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with white pongal / Paal pongal. This sambar tastes good with idli , dosa too.
Enjoy !

Note

Adjust the quantity of red chilli as per your taste.
Do not add more tamarind.
You can skip toor dal if you want to make this kuzhambu without dal. But adjust the quantity of coconut and roasting spices to give thickness to kuzhambu.

Try this yummy Pongal kuzhambu with 5 vegetables and enjoy !

Technorati Tags: Pongal kuzhambu,pongal kulambu,pongal festival kuzhambu,pongal festival sambar,pongal recipes,thai pongal recipes,mixed vegetable sambar for pongal festival

Pongal Kuzhambu – Pongal Festival Sambar With Mixed Vegetables

Pongal Kuzhambu – Mixed vegetable sambar for Pongal Festival