Vendhaya Keerai (Fenugreek Leaves) Kuzhambu

Fenugreek Leaves (Vendhaya Keerai in Tamil, Methi Saag in Hindi) are healthy though they have slight bitter taste.
Here I have prepared Vendhaya Keerai Kuzhambu using toor dal.
Serves: 4 to 6
Cooking time: 30 minutes if you have cleaned and kept Keerai ready

Ingredients

• Cleaned and chopped vendhaya keerai – 2 cups
• Toor dal (split yellow dal) – 1 cup
• Onion – 1 no
• Tomato – 1 no
• Green chilli – 2 no
• Tamarind – small lemon size (adjust as per taste)
• Coriander powder – 2 tea spoon
• Red chilli powder – 1 tea spoon
• Asafetida powder – ⅛ of a tea spoon
• Turmeric – ½ tea spoon
• Curry leaves – few
• Salt – as per taste
• For seasoning
  • Cumin seeds – ½ tea spoon
  • Fenugreek seeds – ½ tea spoon
  • Mustard – ½ tea spoon
  • Curry leaves – few
  • Cooking oil – 1 tea spoon

Method

• Boil toor dal soft in a pressure cooker, mash it and keep ready; soak tamarind in water for 5 minutes and extract ¼ cup of thick juice; chop onion, tomato and green chilli.
• Take 4 cups of water in a pan, add vendhaya keerai, chopped items, turmeric, chili, coriander powder, salt, asafetida, few curry leaves and boil; when all these things are half cooked, add tamarind juice and cook till soft; add mashed toor dal, 1 more cup of water and mix well; adjust consistency, boil for 3 more minutes and remove.
• Do the seasoning separately and add in the cooked vendhaya keerai kuzhambu.
• Serve hot with rice or chappati.

Tips

• To boil toor dal well, add few drops of oil and pinch of turmeric powder.