Sundakkai Vatral Kozhambu

"Sundakkai"s botanical name is "Solanum torvum" and "Turkey Berry" in English,"Bhankatiya, katai in "Hindi","Usthikaya" in Telugu and "Sundakkai" in Tamil.
Sundakkai is soaked in buttertmilk,salt and dried in "sunlight".It tastes bitter ,salty.So these are called "Vatral" after dried in sunlight.
This kozhambu(Tamarind gravy) can be a fiery tasting but equally great & tasty preparation.This is prepared in two variations.One using no Garlic/Onions , another using Both Garlic and Onions .This is more on Sour side and also a little HOT.

Ingredients:
Sundakkai Vatral - 7 no(Usthikayalu in Telugu)
Onions-1,chopped
Tomato-1(small) chopped
Drumstick Pieces -6
Garlic-2pods crushed
Ginger-1/2 inch crushed
Curry leaves - a few
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1lemon size(or)1tbspn paste
Asafoetida(Inguva/Perumgayam/Hing)
Pepper -1/2 tspn
Oil - 3 tbsps
Salt to taste

Method:
In a pan,heat Oil,fry "Sundakkai" in goldenbrowncolorand keep it aside.Add Mustard seeds in the same pan let the mustard starts to crackle, immediately add Asafoetida and coarsely broken Pepperafter spluttering,add Onions,crushed ginger-garlic,turmeric pwd & saute for a while.Then,add chopped tomato,Drumstick pieces fry for a while.Add fried Sundakkai,Redchilli,Sambar pwd,Tamarind paste and Salt to that along with some water and bring to a boil and let it simmer for another three minutes until u will get the aroma of sambar pwd.Serve Hot KaraKozhambu with steamimg Rice.See this link for about Sundakkai in
in English

This is my entry to “The Spice is Right - Ancient Spices” food blog event,by Barbara's Barbara of Tigers and Strawberries.

RecipeSource:Aunty