Thiruvathirai kuzhambu | Thiruvadhirai kulambu recipe
Thiruvathirai kuzhambu is a special sambar/gravy, prepared for the auspicious thiruvathirai festival, made with lots of vegetables and lentils. This Thiruvadhirai kulambu is also called as Ezhu kari kootu in some places.
Festival for Lord Shiva & Goddess Parvathi:
Thiruvadhirai or Thiruvathira is an annual Hindu festival, which celebrates the special day when the universe is created by Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. This festival is particularly famous in the South parts Of India. And people worship the gods for the well-being of the family & relationships.
On this occasion of thiruvathirai, women do a full day of fasting for the long life of spouses & Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati idols are made. And later in the evening, once when the Thiruvathira Nakshatra appears on the sky, Pooja will be done and fasting will be over with a heavy feast.
The feast includes special Thiruvathirai Kali and Thiruvathirai kulambu. The next day is celebrated as Aarudhra darshan(Natarajar dharisanam), with which the festival/viratham full fills completely.
In some places, thiruvathirai elu Kari kootu and Thiruvathirai adai are prepared instead of kulambu and Kali.
You may want to check my Thiruvathirai Kali post.
The idea of this Thiruvadhirai kulambu is to have complete food after a long fast. Which includes cooked lentils, legumes, beans for instant carbs & protein.
Also, it includes a minimum of 7 to a maximum of 11 country vegetables for vitamins and minerals, tamarind for taste and cooking oil for fat.
Usually, in our homes, this special Thiruvathirai kuzhambu stays up to the next day 😉 as we make it in large quantity. But it actually tastes great the next day with hot rice. My MIL makes this kulambu without toor dal fully with tamarind, which is very tasty. But I add some cooked toor dal like my mom.
This is because hubby and kids don’t like much of tangy taste. This special kulambu looks and tastes more like a tangy sambar with loads of vegetables, lentils, and legumes.
Check these for prasadam rice recipes:
Watch the video here:
Thiruvathirai kuzhambu | Thiruvadhirai kulambu recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients:
Veggies used:
- ½ cup cowpeas thattapayaru
- ½ cup field beans green mochai
- ¼ cup flat beans avaraikkai
- ¼ cup cluster beans kothavarai
- ¼ cup broad beans thatta avarai
- 1 cup bottle gourd suraikkai
- 1 cup ridge gourd peerkangai
- 1 cup ash gourd vellai poosanikkai
- ½ cup raw banana vazhakkai
- 1 inch ginger
- Small piece lemon
Other ingredients:
- 2 tbsp gingelly oil
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
- ¼ tsp asafoetida
- 1 big onion
- Curry leaves
- 1 tomato
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 3 tsp sambar powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 big lemon size tamarind
- 6 cups water approx.
- 1 cup cooked toor dal
- Coriander leaves
Instructions
Preparation:
- Rinse and chop all the vegetables. It is better to separately keep beans varieties and water vegetable varieties as each have different cooking time.
- I used brown cowpeas(thattapayaru) and green field beans(mochai). You can use any kind of legumes based on availability.
- Soak cowpeas in water for 30mins.
- Soak a big size of tamarind in water.
- Cook a cup of toor dal until soft and keep aside.
Recipe to make special Thiruvadhirai kuzhambu:
- Heat oil in a large vessel, season mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds.
- Add onions and curry leaves with a lavish pinch of asafoetida.
- Saute onions until they become soft and add tomato.
- When tomato becomes soft, add turmeric powder and sambar powder.
- Mix the masala and add soaked cowpeas with mochai( field beans).
- Add other beans varieties also now with a big cup of water and cook for five minutes.
- Put a small piece of ginger, which helps for better digestion.
- In five to ten minutes, those veggies become soft and now add the watery vegetables.
- You can pour some more water if required to cook them.
- Cover with a lid and cook for ten minutes.
- Once when the veggies are completely soft and cooked, add two cups of thick tamarind water and mix well.
- Also, add a small scrap of lemon with the zest. Lemon is to give the flavor and it's unique tanginess.
- Add the cooked and mashed dal along with a full cup of water and salt.
- Let the gravy come to a full boiling stage.
- Finally, add chopped coriander leaves and switch off.
- Serve this auspicious thiruvathirai kulambu during Thiruvathirai viratham and Aarudhra dharisanam.
Notes
Nutrition
Preparation:
- Rinse and chop all the vegetables. It is better to keep beans varieties and water vegetables separately as each has different cooking times.
- I used brown cowpeas(thattapayaru) and green, field beans(mochai). You can use any kind of legumes based on availability.
- Soak cowpeas in water for 30mins.
- Soak a big size of tamarind in water. Reduce quantity if you prefer less sourness.
- Cook a cup of toor dal until soft and keep aside.
Recipe to make special Thiruvadhirai kuzhambu:
- Heat oil in a large vessel, season mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds.
- Add onions and curry leaves with a lavish pinch of asafoetida.
- Saute onions until they become soft and add tomato.
- When tomato becomes soft, add turmeric powder and sambar powder.
- Mix the masala and add soaked cowpeas & mochai( field beans).
- Add all other beans varieties also with a big cup of water and cook for five minutes.
- Put a small piece of ginger, which helps for better digestion.
- In five to ten minutes, those veggies become soft and now add the watery vegetables.
- You can pour some more water if required to cook them.
- Cover with a lid and cook for ten minutes.
- Once when the veggies are completely soft and cooked, add two cups of thick tamarind water and mix well.
- Also, add a small scrap of lemon with the zest. Lemon is to give the flavor and it’s unique tanginess.
- Add the cooked and mashed dal along with a full cup of water and salt.
- Let the gravy come to a full boiling stage.
- Finally, add chopped coriander leaves and switch off.
- Serve this auspicious thiruvathirai kulambu during Thiruvathirai viratham and Aarudhra dharisanam.
Tips:
1) Ideally, we prepare this special prasadam kulambu with 7 or 9 or 11 different vegetables and legumes. It’s purely your choice, based on the availability in your place.
2) Always make this gravy ahead of time, so that the veggies soak well and absorb the taste.
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