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Milagu kuzhambu: Soul food to beat fatigue and tiredness
Our destination was the divine and grand Annamalaiyar Temple in Thiruvannamalai and soul food was on our minds. The Annamalaiyar Temple was built during the 9th century by the Chola kings who ruled the region.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
A proof of this is also seen in an inscription in the structure. As the five of us approached the entrance to the temple, we were fascinated by the tall and colourful gopurams that stood majestic, amid the narrow and crowded lanes that led towards it. The streets are lined with shops selling pooja paraphernalia, among other things.
Sankar, the priest, was warm and gracious as he greeted us at the temple entrance. He lived right above a busy eatery and a bookshop, along with his three brothers, who were also priests. It had been a long and exhausting journey from Mumbai for us. Three of my guests, who were famous film stars and a director, wanted to experience the spiritual exuberance of walking around the Arunachala Hills.Â
It is said that whoever walks the 15km distance barefoot on a full moon night, pausing to offer prayers to each of the nine planets and Lord Shiva, will be absolved of all karmas. I had already done one such walk with Bollywood actor Aftab Shivdasani earlier, but multi-lingual actress Rati Agnihotri and director Glen Barretto were new to the experience. We also had Madhu, the princess of Haryana, with us. The hotel, where we had all stayed, was thrilled to host such distinguished guests, especially Rati, who had done many hit films in Tamil before becoming popular in Bollywood.
It was drizzling when we started the walk, after taking the blessings of Arunachalesvara. The road had not yet been fully laid and had several sharp stones and pebbles, that made the walk challenging. Also, one had to fast till the walk was completed. The hotel chef had promised my guests a dish that would take away all their tiredness once the daunting task was accomplished. It was pitch dark, despite being a full moon night as thick clouds had covered the whole sky. There were a few tea shops on the way, and we stopped for a chai, to motivate us since we were drenched and had to continue walking on pebbles. Thanks to superstar Rajinikanth, the path was well lit, allowing us to slowly reach the end of the 15km path. The journey, which started at 10 pm in the night came to an end at 4 am. We thanked the lord and returned to our hotel.
Back in the hotel, our feet were soaking in hot water, as we sipped on hot chai. What followed was by far, the best early morning meal ever. Milagu kuzhambu, with fluffy white rice and poppadoms, ideal to erase all traces of tiredness. Ground, dried and cooked peppercorns have been used since antiquity — for both flavour and as a traditional medicine. Black pepper is the world’s most traded spice and is one of the most common spices to cuisines from around the world. Kuzhambu, a tamarind extract-based broth with a blend of spices, is a common dish across south India and Sri Lanka. The variants of kuzhambu are almost countless, with each region preparing it with variations to suit the taste and environment.
Milagu kuzhambu
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 15 min
Serves: 3-4
Calories per serve:Â 290cal per small cup
Ingredients
Tamarind: Big gooseberry sized amount
Coriander seeds: 1 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Black peppercorns: 1 tbsp
Tumeric powder: 1 tsp
Groundnut oil: 1 tbsp
Curry leaves: 1 cup
Urad dal: 1 tsp
Channa dal: 1 tsp
Toor dal: 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds: 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Water: 2 cups
Rock salt: As per taste
Red chillies: 2 whole
Method
- Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes and extract the concentrate. Set aside.
- In a heavy bottom pan, dry roast all the ingredients mentioned except turmeric and salt. Add half of the curry leaves.Â
- In a grinder/mixer, blitz all the ingredients with tamarind pulp and jaggery.
- Place a black stone vessel on the stove. Pour some gingelly oil and when heated, add some curry leaves, a pinch of asafoetida and pour in the ground mixture.
- To this, add salt, turmeric and two cups of water.
- Let it cook and simmer on low to medium heat for 15 minutes.
- When the raw smell of tamarind goes away and a nice flavour seeps through, turn off the stove.Â
- Do not transfer into another vessel, as the stone vessel not only retains heat, but adds to the taste.
- Serve with white rice and roasted pappad.
Kitchen Tips
- When you have excess lemons, freeze lemon juice in ice cube trays and use whenever needed in your recipes. It stays good for 15-20 days
- Try and use stone vessels to make kuzhambu and sambar for enhanced taste
- Add a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice when cooking rice to get fluffy and whiter grains
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