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Tirunelveli Sodhi kulambu recipe is a very special dish with a very special tradition followed especially in the Tirunelveli region. It is made with vegetables, moong dal, and coconut milk. Not a usual vegetable stew, but very much different and unique recipe.

It has got another interesting name, Mappilai Sodhi. Mappilai meaning “groom/son-in-law” in Tamil. this curry is specially made for the groom/ new son-in-law for his first visit to in-laws place. which is why it is called as mappilai Sodhi.

I happened to read a book about district wise special foods of Tamilnadu when I visited a book exhibition. where I read about this tradition of serving it for the groom. Whether or not you are serving it for the groom, this is one amazing dish to explore.

Some recipes call for cooking the vegetables with dal, but I prefer cooking it separately as the drumsticks tend to break into pieces if cooked for long. some of the vegetables may get mashed.

Tirunelveli Sodhi kulambu recipe

Mappilai Sodhi recipe

Print Recipe

sodhi kulambu recipe

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

1 no carrots diced
4-5 no beans chopped to 1/2 " pieces
3 tbsp chow chow diced
1 long drumstick chopped
1 medium potato peel and diced
1 no brinjal diced
1 no onion sliced
5-6 no green chilli slit
1 inch ginger chopped finely
10-12 cloves garlic
salt to taste
1 cup second extract coconut milk
1 cup third extract coconut milk
1 cup cooked and mashed moong dal
1/2-1 cup water
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
3/4 cup first coconut milk
1/2 slice lemon juice
1 tsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp urad dal split

Instructions

In a deep pot or pan, take all the chopped vegetables, ginger, garlic, onions, green chillies, and salt.
to this, add second and third extract coconut milk and mix well.
let the mixture boil and the vegetables cook until soft.
once cooked, add mashed moong dal, water, pinch turmeric powder. adjust salt if needed.
let it boil for a few minutes.
put the flame low and add first extract coconut milk, let it get heated up. do not let it boil.
put off the flame and add lemon juice and mix once.
for tempering: heat oil and crackle mustard seeds, urad dal and add the tempering to the curry.
mix well and serve hot.

Video

How to make Sodhi kulambu

To make this Sodhi kulambu, firstly, wash and prepare all the vegetables. the ones used here are carrots, beans, chow chow, drumstick, brinjal, and potatoes. take all the chopped vegetables in a pot.

Add sliced onions, slit green chillies. Add an extra dose of green chillies as the curry will taste bland with just coconut milk and not many spices.

Furthermore, add chopped ginger, whole garlic cloves and salt to taste.

Add third and second extract coconut milk/ thin coconut milk. Mix well and let the vegetables cook in coconut milk in medium heat. Don’t worry if the coconut milk looks curdled while cooking. By the time all the vegetables are cooked, it would absorb almost all the coconut milk.

Cook until the vegetables are cooked and soft. Don’t close and cook. Once vegetables are cooked, add cooked and mashed moong dal. mix well.

At this stage, add water to make it thin and also add a tiny pinch of turmeric powder. Mix well.

Let the curry boil for a couple of minutes. put the flame low and add thick coconut milk/the first extract. mix and heat it up but don’t let it boil. put off the flame.