Kumblekayi huli – Udupi cuisine

Most of the Udupi cuisine I learnt was from my mother in law. Having lived there for ages, she had a treasure trove recipes that the family is very fond of. When she was teaching us, her eye for detail was immense, picking the right chilli to the cut of the vegetable she was particular. This is the essence of this cuisine. Over the years, I have come to understand, this does matter a lot, especially in the cuisine she was teaching us. This is how the cuisine is designed to be.

When Jayashree Taro proposed Udupi cuisine at Shhh cooking secretly group of bloggers, my mind raced through so many recipes she made in an effortless manner. With Kalyani sharing mustard and tamarind as the secret ingredients, there was no looking back from the huli. Kalyani’s blog  is a treasure trove of amazing traditional recipes and I am sure you will love her kayi sasive chitranna recipe as well. 

Udupi Temple cuisine

Udupi is a temple town along the Konkan coast. The unique style of cooking from this region makes them.one of the best cooks in the world. Centring around the Krishna temple, this cuisine has the love for hearty curried and ample sweet treats. Celebrating the child God and enticing him with innumerable delicacies has created such s complex evolution of this cuisine. In addition, feeding the temple supporting commoners and the devotees has brought this vegetarian cuisine to us.

Fortunately, we had the lovely opportunity of having this meal quite often during our college days at Manipal. Of course like any other hungry young person looking for a free meal, for us the temple meal was so filling. This kept us on our course of divinity as well. Made in huge temple vats, the huli was generously served with anna. The only difficulty of having the meal was the speed at which it was served.  So, my taste buds have had the pretest before learning this unique cuisine, now I am able to enjoy it without the speed. Yet, the flavour of cooking in huge batches to the exact, non-comprimising  food regime standards will bring about some small changes when you cook at home. 

Vegan udupi huli

Most South Indian cuisines rely on a bowl of rice (anna) with curry( huli)and sides of vegetable stir-fried for lunch (palya). Udupi cuisine is no exception. The most common one is the Huli. Though you can call a huli as similar to a sambhar, it is not equitable. They are a world apart in taste and mouthfeel.
Huli literally translating to sourness, these babies have a slightly sour touch balanced out with spices and the sweetness of that lump of jaggery that makes it all perfect. A characteristic feature that you will see in this is the no onion no garlic nature of the cuisine. These are avoided as they are not considered satwik.

How would I serve this?

The Huli I have made today is with pumpkin and winter melon ( ash gourd).
This recipe pairs well with steamed rice or millets. For making it a complete meal, try these recipes to go with the grain and curry

Salads

 Hesarubele kosambari salad

Kadalebele kosambari salad with purple carrot

Stir fries

Banana blossom in coconut masala

Keerai thandu poriyal

Fired crisps

Arisi Karuvadam – Rice sundries

Lotus Root Sun Dried

Hope you enjoy this traditional recipe that I learnt from my mother in law. Stay Safe and keep in touch. Don’t miss to subscribe and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. To pin this recipe for future use, use the link below. 

Udupi huli

Kumblekayi huli

Curry with lentils gourds and pumpkin for serving with rice

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Main Dish, Traditional

Cuisine Autumn, diabetic friendly, gluten free, Indian, Karnataka, Pressure cooker, Spring, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

To cook the lentils

• 1.5 cups drinking water
• 1/4 cup tur dal split pigeon pea, thogribele, thuvaram parippu

for the masala paste

• 1 tsp cooking oil
• 4 tsp coriander seeds daniya
• 1 tsp cumin seeds jeera
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 6-7 dry red chillies ( the colour is from the bydegai chillies, that have less heat but beautiful deep red colour
• 1/4 cup grated coconut
• 1 pinch Asafoetida hing

to cook the vegetables

• 200 grams pumpkin Skin removed and diced in 1 inch cubes
• 100 grams wintermelon Ash gourd, peeled and diced as 1 inch cubes
• 1 lime sized ball tamarind soaked in warm water about 1/2 cup
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• 5-6 curry leaves
• 2 cups drinking water ( to use only as necessary)

for tempering

• 1 tsp coconut oil ( use newutral oils if coconut oil is not preffered)
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 10-15 curry leaves
• 1 pinch Asafoetida

Instructions

 

To cook the dal

• Wash and clean the tur dal and soak it for 10 minutes in the 1.5 cups of water.
• Transfer this to a pressure cooker and cook for 4-5 whistles.
• Release the pressure naturally and mash the dal gently with a ladle and set aside

For the masala paste

• When the dal cooks, set a khadai or pan on low heat and dry roast the spices, except the coconut till they are aromatic and the red chillies snap easily
• Add in the coconut and roast till the coconut is wilted.
• Cool the spice mix and blend into a smooth paste using a bit of water ( from the 2 cups reserved)
  
• Set aside till needed.

To cook the huli

• Wash, clean, peel and dice the vegetable.
• Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup warm water and extract the tamarind pulp
• Strain the tamarind pulp and add to the cooking pot along with the vegetables, turmeric and salt.
  
• Add a cup of water cover and cook till the vegetables are fork tender ( about 10 minutes on medium heat)
• Now add the masala paste, the cooked dal and mix well.
  
• If too thick add the remaining water to make an easy pouring consistency.
• Stir and cook this for another 10 minutes, with occasional stirring
  

For tempering

• In a small pan, add the oil and mustard seeds and bring it to a medium heat.
• When the mustard starts spluttering, add the curry leaves and asafoetida powder and remove from heat.
  
• Add this simmering mix to the curry and stir. Cover the curry for one minute, remove from heat and allow the flavours to infuse.
  
• Serve the curry with steamed rice.
  

Notes

To freeze the curry

This curry is perfectly freezable for up to 3 months, however, I will avoid the final tempering step and add it fresh upon thawing as it brings a flavour enhancement to the frozen one. Personally I am not keen on frozen winter melon as I find it a bit chewy, but pumpkin holds up really well.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!