14 Transporting my Aunt Home- Poondu Kuzhambu

When one thinks of Indian foodways, one thinks about the immense diversity of it as the nation is enormous. If non-Indians think this, then when I get an assignment about finding a Indian recipe, this is indeed a daunting task. Eventually, I decided to focus on a recipe from my family—my aunt’s version of poondu kozhambu, a Tamil dish meaning “garlic gravy’.

Poondu kozhambu is not necessarily a dish that holds particular significance for my immediate family, but it has strong ties to my maternal side. It was one of the recipes my grandmother taught my aunt before she moved to the United States in the 1990s. My aunt wasn’t a particularly skilled cook growing up, but when she moved to America, she had to learn how to prepare traditional dishes to maintain her vegetarian lifestyle in a meat-eating country. One of the things she referred to in the interview was how vegetarian food was very minimal in America in the 90s when she came and this reminded me of the Asian salad reading as that is what she would have eating if she went out (Santanachote,2022). This dish became one of her go-to recipes, one she would proudly serve to friends and family when they visited. While I have probably tasted it before, I didn’t fully appreciate it until my aunt shared her story with me. It was then I realized how much it connected to both my immigrant experience and hers. Like me, my aunt had moved to America, and she had over 30 years of experience navigating life as an immigrant. When my family moved to the U.S. seven years ago, my aunt’s family was instrumental in helping us adjust, despite living in Texas while we settled in Indiana. This is the dish’s connection to my experience in Indiana foodways and it bears resemblance to my mother introducing dishes to my neighbors who are Indian and adds to Indiana’s gastronomy as they show it during guest dinners and potlucks.

For my aunt, being a vegetarian is not just a dietary choice but a significant part of her identity, one that she continues to uphold in the U.S. She observes daily prayers and takes special care to separate utensils and plates if any of her family members, who eat meat, are cooking or eating meat-based dishes. Though my mom is also a vegetarian, we don’t follow such strict practices in our household. This level of devotion to vegetarianism highlights the importance of food in keeping with their morals even as other strict vegetarians are strict because of more sad reasons like the caste system in India (Chandra,2023).

Poondu kozhambu itself is a typical Tamil gravy, common in South India. It’s usually poured over rice and eaten by hand, with vegetable-based sides complementing the dish. It’s an experience similar to Ethiopian cuisine, where vegetarianism is also deeply embedded in the culture. Just like the green bean casserole, a classic American Thanksgiving dish that arose from the availability of canned beans (Long, 2015), poondu kozhambu reflects how food traditions evolve in response to personal and cultural circumstances. For me, my aunt’s recounting of this dish allows me to feel a deeper connection to my grandmother, who passed away when I was just eight years old. While I have few memories of her, the ones I do have are all positive, and this dish is a way to keep her memory alive.

In terms of ingredients, poondu kozhambu relies on staples found in many Indian households. One of the more unique ingredients is asafetida, a resin derived from a plant that adds an umami flavor but has a pungent smell before cooking. Though some may find its scent off-putting, it’s an essential part of the dish, adding a distinctive flavor that becomes more appealing once it’s cooked. Asafetida is a prime example of how Indian cooking combines both flavor and aroma in ways that might seem unusual to outsiders but are deeply ingrained in the culture.

Overall, while I could think of a dish particularly that captures my family as a whole, the poondu kuzhambu shows resilience in my aunt whose experiences in the US has also imparted on us in a positive context that I will keep in my mind.

Poondu Kuzhambu

Ingredients

Spice Blend

• 1.5 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 2 teaspoons of cilantro seeds
• 1.5 teaspoon black gram
• 1.5 teaspoon pigeon pea
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 4 dried red chilles
• ½ teaspoon fenugreek leaves
• ¼ cup curry leaves
• ¼ cup fresh/dried coconut
• ¼ teaspoon asafoetida
• 1 teaspoon oil
• Salt as needed
• Water as needed

Gravy

• 10-15 Garlic Pods
• 2 tablespoon Sesame Oil
• ½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
• ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida
• 1.5 tablespoon Tamarind Paste
• 2 teaspoon Jaggery Powder (unrefined cane sugar)
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• Salt as needed
• Water as needed
• Few Fresh Curry Leaves

How to Prepare

1. In a pan, heat 1 teaspoon oil. Add urad dal, toor dal, black peppercorns, fenugreek seeds, dried Red Chillies, coriander seeds and fry on low flame until golden.
2. Once the spices are roasted and are golden brown, add cumin seeds and asafoetida. Fry for another couple of minutes.
3. Add fresh curry leaves and fry for 3-4 mins.
4. Add salt, mix well and let the mixture cool down completely.
5. Blend into a smooth paste by adding water as needed.
6. In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoon Sesame Oil. Add mustard seeds, asafoetida and garlic pods. Fry for a couple of minutes and then add curry leaves.
7. Now add the prepared spice paste. Wash down the blender jar with some water and add it to the pan too.
8. Add turmeric powder, tamarind paste and jaggery powder.
9. Add salt as needed. Mix well.
10. Let it cook on low flame for 12-15 mins until it is bubbling and oil oozes out from the sides. Adjust the consistency of the curry by adding more water or cooking further to reduce it.
11. Serve hot with rice with a drizzle of sesame oil or ghee.

References

Long, L. M. (2015). Green bean casserole and Midwestern identity: A regional foodways aesthetic and ethos. The food and folklore reader. London: Bloomsbury, 191-204.

Chandra, A, (2023). The problematic undertones of vegetarianism in India. Spice Club. https://anishachandra.substack.com/p/the-problematic-undertones-of-vegetarianism

Santanachote, P. (2022). Stop calling it Asian salad. Consumer Reports. https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food/stop-calling-it-asian-salad-a3082309856/

Subramaniyan, A (2024). Interview by Arunan Kamalakannan. Zoom. November 6, 2024