Ladies finger Kuzhambu | Vendakkai Puli Kuzhambu | Vendakkai Curry

Ladies finger is one of my favourite vegetable. I love it even if it is simply fried in oil with chilli powder. It will be a special one for me. I usually don't like puli kuzhambu but this is an exceptional in those categories. In my childhood, I've heard people saying if we eat ladies finger our brain will develop and we can become a math genius. This is how I started eating vendakka. 

Sources says ladies finger increases memory power. It is good for diabetics as it fight against it and helps to loss weight. It's a low calorie vegetable and keeps your stomach full. It is also good during pregnancy. It helps foetus growth and development of brain. It focuses on all category people. So why not add this vegetable in your weekly menu. Here is the recipe...

Vendakkai Puli Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

Ladies finger - 200gm

Tamarind - lemon sized

Coriander powder - 2 tsp

Tomato - 1(small)

Green chillies - 2

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

To grind:

Dry red chilli - 8

Small onion / Shallots - 8

Coconut - 3/4 cup, grated

Cumin / Jeerakam - 1/2 tsp

To Temper:

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Small onion - 1

Curry leaves - a sprig

Oil - 2 tblspn

Method:

Soak tamarind in warm water and extract its juice. Cut ladies finger into 1 cm pieces. 

Heat a few drops of oil in a pan and fry red chilli. Grind together the ingredients listed under "to grind" into a smooth paste by adding little water.

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan, add the chopped ladies finger and sauté until the stickiness is gone. Transfer it to a bowl.

Now, Heat oil in the same pan, add mustard seeds. When it starts to crackle, add in chopped small onion and curry leaves. Add chopped tomato and slit green chillies.

Then, add in the ground coconut, onion, chilli paste and coriander powder. Sauté until the raw smell goes off.

When the oil separates pour in the tamarind paste and add in 2.5 cups of water, turmeric and salt.

At this stage add the ladies finger, cover and cook for 15-20 mins in medium heat. When it is reduced and thickens remove from flame.

Serve hot with rice.

Note:

You can roast coconut before grinding, but I usually don't do this.

Pictorial:

Keep all your ingredients ready

Heat a few drops of oil in a pan and roast red chilli and transfer it to a bowl

Again heat oil and saute ladies finger until the stickiness is gone

Grind roasted chilli, coconut and cumin seeds into a smooth paste, adding little water

In the same pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When mustard begin to crackle, add onion and curry leaves

Add in slit green chillies

and tomatoes. Saute for a minute

Now add the ground coconut paste

and coriander powder. Saute until raw smell is gone

Pour the tamarind water

Turmeric, salt

and add enough water

Finally, add the sauteed ladies finger

Cover and cook for 15 - 20 minutes