For Padma Lakshmi, food is often a bridge to memory. The fashion model often talks about her childhood favourite delicacies on Instagram. Most recently, she revisited her roots by preparing the traditional Vatha Kulambu. The tangy and spicy South Indian gravy is made by simmering tamarind extract, spices and dried berries. It is often served with hot steamed rice with a drizzle of ghee.
In the video shared on Instagram, Padma Lakshmi first called up her mother to get the recipe for Vatha Kulambu, as she was not aware of it. Once done, she started making the dish by first dry-roasting approximately one tablespoon each of urad daal and chana dal with a handful of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and red chilli powder. "It smells like South India already, the model added. Lastly, she added a few fresh curry leaves and let them roast with the rest of the ingredients until fragrant. She then ground the mixture in a grinder.
Padma Lakshmi then proceeded with the gravy base. She soaked the tamarind in hot water, and once the water had cooled, she extracted the pulp by hand. Next, she poured some oil into a pan, then added some mustard seeds and waited until they began to splutter before tossing in some turnip, cut into cubes. While stir-frying the turnip, she added some salt and turmeric. Once done, she transferred it into the tamarind extract she had prepared beforehand and also added the dry-roasted spice mix.
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The last step of the recipe was to boil the entire mixture until it thickened and the turnips were cooked through. As she was about to finish the dish, she remembered that her mother had instructed her to add hing, or asafoetida. After adding it, she adjusted the salt to her taste and added a few curry leaves.
“This dish is usually eaten mixed with rice and ghee or sesame oil, and with some sautéed veggies on the side. As I mentioned in my post yesterday, it's also lovely as an accompaniment to curd rice – the contrast between cool, salty yoghurt and this spicy, tangy and sour stew is sublime. Whenever I went back to my granny's house, Vatha Kulambu and sautéed tindoora were always waiting for me upon my arrival from the airport,” a part of Padma Lakshmi‘s caption for the post read.
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