Sundakkai Vathal (Dried Turkey Berry) Kozhambu

Sundakkai Vathal (Dried Turkey Berry) Kozhambu is an another passionate dish from Senthil’s Kitchen.

Sundakkai vathal is prepared by soaking (or curing) crushed green sundakkai in a thick yogurt and salt marinade for 2 to 3 days and then sun drying it. This dried vathal still packs the health benefits of the fresh sundakkai and can be enjoyed all seasons. Sundakkai vathal is mostly used to make vathal kozhambu (recipe below), but can also be used to make spice powder that you can mix with rice and ghee and eat, or even just be shallow fried and eaten as a side dish with any meal. Try to prepare this vathal at home if possible, the store bought ones mostly have high levels of salt, and maybe because they are sometimes prepared under unhygienic conditions, they also tend to have sand and other impurities that seem to have gotten inside the crushed berries and are very difficult to get rid of how many times you wash.

Sundakkai vathal kozhambu is an integral part of any wedding thali served in Tamil Nadu and I love it so much. From the very beginning, I was very keen on perfecting this great dish. After first talking to my parents who make this dish very well, I researched on the internet, watched many YouTube videos, and also spoke to few professional wedding caterers (chefs). And here is the Senthil’s Kitchen’s version of the famous vathal kozhambhu from all those learnings. As there is no “one way” of making this dish, I have included some tips and variations under the Notes section. I am still interested to improve my recipe, so please post your comments and suggestions if you have any.

Manathakkali vathal (dried Black Night Shade) is also commonly added along with the sundakkai vathal and this combination tastes terrific. Sometimes I also add other dried vegetable vathals (like eggplant, okra, yellow pumpkin, bottle gourd, cluster beans, val, mango, etc) depending on my mood. Very good quality (preferably cold pressed) sesame oil is the lifeline for an authentic vathal kozhambu, use very generous amounts of it when making this dish. A thin layer of sesame oil should be glistering and floating on top of the vathal kozhambu when it is fully cooked.

This dish is best enjoyed with Paruppu (roasted thuvar dal) Thuvaiyal, potato or raw banana podimas, or any kootu or porial, papad, and/ or a boiled egg. Also a great side dish for yogurt rice, idli or dosa. Vathal kozhambu is a favorite in our home, my son absolutely loves it too and can eat it nonstop for days until it is finally over, I try to freeze some for his later enjoyment. Some of my lucky friends also get to taste this kozhambu sometimes.

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Sundakkai Vathal (Dried Turkey Berry) Kozhambu

An awesome tasting Sundakkai Vathal (Dried Turkey Berry) Kozhambu from Senthil's Kitchen – a product born out of years of research and my passion for perfection…

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Sundakkai, Turkey Berry, Vathal Kozhambu

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Senthil Sadasivam

Ingredients

Tadka

• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Urad dal
• 2 tsp Methi seeds
• 2 Red chilies
• 1 tbsp Toor dal
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 2 Papad (Appalam) broken
• 1/4 cup Dried Sundakkai (Turkey Berry) vathal handful
• 3 tbsp Dried Manathakkali (Black Night Shade) vathal
• 3 sprigs Curry leaves
• 1 tsp Hing powder
• 1/2 cup Shallots chopped
• 1/2 cup Pearl onions
• 12 Garlic cloves whole, peeled
• 1 cup Tomatoes chopped
• 8 tbsp Sesame oil cold pressed preferred

Other ingredients

• 1 tbsp Chili powder
• 3 tbsp Coriander powder
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1/4 cup Tamarind juice to taste
• 1 tbsp Jaggery
• Salt to taste

Vathal kozhambu paste

• 1 tsp Black pepper roasted
• 2 tsp Jeera roasted
• 1/2 cup Coconut grated roasted

Instructions

1. Pour generous amount of sesame oil (preferably cold pressed) into a pan, and when it is hot, crackle mustard seeds, then add urad dal and methi seeds and slightly brown them.

2. Add red chilies, 2 papad (break them into small pieces and add), sundakkai vathal, manathakkali vathal, toor dal, cumin seeds and roast them till they turn brown slightly.

3. Add curry leaves, hing powder, and then chopped onion and pearl onion and saute till they turn brown.

4. Add chopped tomatoes and whole peeled garlic cloves and some salt and saute till the tomatoes are mashed well.

5. Add the chili powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder and fry for couple of mins.

6. Add 3 cups of water and tamarind juice, jaggery, mix well, cover and cook for 10 mins.

7. On a separate pan, dry roast black pepper, cumin seeds and grated fresh coconut until they brown a little bit. Cool the contents and grind into a fine paste and add to the kozhambu. Mix well and cook for another 10 mins or so until oil separates.

8. Check for salt, important tip, as the vathals are already salted, add less salt to begin with and adjust it at the end if needed.

9. Drizzle one tablespoon fresh sesame oil and switch off the stove.

10. Enjoy with hot rice, some kootu or porial, paruppu thuvaiyal, papad and/ or a boiled egg.

Recipe Notes

• For vathal kozhambu paste/ wet masala, I have only listed to dry roast black pepper, jeera and coconut as I use other spices directly.  Some roast all the spice ingredients (red chilies, coriander seeds, urad dal, chana dal, black pepper, jeera, coconut and even garlic and curry leaves) in sesame oil and make a wet masala.  If you are doing that, please reduce the quantities of those spices from the above list.
• You can also make a quick and easy vathal kozhambu just using the sambar powder as the sambar powder has all the spices listed here.