ARACHA KUZHAMBU / COCONUT GRAVY WITH CABBAGE AND PEAS/MOCHAI - EASY & QUICK TANJORE DISTRICT SPECIAL

Serving size - 2

Preparation time - 10 minutes

Cooking time - 20 minutes

Aracha Kuzhambu is one of the best gravy in our region especially Tanjore district. I love to have this from my childhood to now and forever. I learned this recipe from my mom. 

I do remember that my mom got fresh Mochai in the particular season, cooked and feed that until before marriage. Even when I was pregnant, she did the same though she had a heart surgery during that time. She never use spoon for feeding, always use her hand. I love the taste of her hands too. MOM is always special with LOVE,CARE and EVERYTHING right ?

It is a very easy and tasty recipe. You can give a try friends. If you will taste it, then you will be mad of this gravy. It will goes well with rice as well as idli, dosa or any Indian flat bread. Let us go to the recipe.

Ingredients

Cabbage - 1/3 cup
Peas - 2 tbsp (I used frozen )
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp (optional) - I din't use
Water - 3/4 or 1 cup
Salt - as needed
Oil - 1 tbsp

To Grind

 Coconut - 1/3 cup
 Shallot - 1
 Garlic - 1

Toast in the direct fire

  Shallot - 1
  Garlic - 1

To fry slightly

   Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
   Channa dal - 1 tsp
   Green chilly - 1
   Red chillies - 3
   Oil - 1 tsp

Seasoning

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 4 or 5

Method

• You must toast shallot and garlic in the direct fire.  IF you have only coil on the stove top, you could use the tava for toasting. Sometimes, I toast on the coil too. IT works wells and keep it aside.
• Add all the ingredients under the heading To fry slightly into the pan and fry slightly. Don't fry much, then the taste will get spoil.
• Grind all the ingredients coconut, toasted shallot & garlic and fried ingredients together and keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a pan for seasoning, add mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and then finally ground paste. Fry for a minute or 2 in a low flame.
• Add water to the pan and allow it to boil until the raw smell goes.
• In the mean while, boil cabbage and peas in the microwave for 2 or 3 minutes. Else you can also boil these veggies on the stove top too.
• Finally add the veggies to the gravy and allow it to boil for 5 to 10 minutes or the gravy and veggies get well together.
• Aracha Kuzhambu is ready now. It will go very good with white rice and even to idli, dosa and chappathis. 

Tips

• You must be very careful while frying. That will change the whole gravy's taste.
• Instead of dry coriander seeds, you can use fresh coriander leaves too. It is more tastier than coriander seeds.
• The most speciality in this gravy is toast and un toast shallot and garlic. In tamil, we use to say sutta pondhu sudhatha pondu, sutta vengayam, sudhath vengayam gives special taste to this gravy.
• you can also use either red chillies or green chillies too. Its totally upto your preference.