Omam Kuzhambu

Kuzhambu recipes, Medicinal recipes, South Indian Lunch recipes

Omam kuzhambu is a traditional kuzhambu prepared using aromatic spices with medicinal properties. Omam is beneficial to treat indigestion or flatulence. Hence I like to prepare omam kuzhambu when we return home from a vacation, or after attending a wedding ceremony for few days. I usually serve it with hot steaming rice & roasted papad (sutta appalam), when we crave for a home-cooked food that soothes our stomach. Now I have prepared a meal with omam Kuzhambu, dal (paruppu), stir-fried ladies finger (vendakai poriyal), spicy veg gravy (chettinad masala kootu) & sutta appalam and served for lunch.

img_7383 Omam Kuzhambu
Lunch with Omam Kuzhambu

Health Benefits of omam seeds:

Omam seeds are tiny seeds resembling cumin seeds but these have a distinctive aroma & bitter flavor. According to Ayurveda omam seeds are useful to treat stomach ache, indigestion, gastritis & flatulence. The decoction treats nausea & headache, but its vapour acts as a broncho-dilator and relieves chest & nasal congestion. Omam seeds contain thymol, and hence they have the following medicinal properties:

  • Anti-cancerous,
  • anti-inflammatory,
  • anti-fungal,
  • anti-microbial &
  • anti-spasmodic
img_7335 Omam Kuzhambu
Omam (ajwain / carom seeds / Bishop’s weed)

How to include omam into our diet:

While using these seeds we need to mask its bitter flavor by adding ingredients that are sweet or sour. So we can use omam in some of the recipes as below :

  • Roti, paratha, bread, or cookies – sprinkle few seeds into the dough.
  • Oma podi, bajji (gram flour fritters) – add the powdered seeds into the dough.
  • Any curry, gravy, or kuzhambu – add into the tempering or spice powder.
IMG_7401-1-scaled Omam Kuzhambu
Paruppu sadam & Omam Kuzhambu

Omam kuzhambu recipe:

Here I have added omam while preparing the spice mix for this kuzhambu and used native vegetables like brinjal & drumsticks, and the recipe is as below:

img_73701 Omam Kuzhambu
Omam Kuzhambu

Time taken  : 30 min
Yields : Approx. 400 ml

Ingredients:

  1. Drumstick (murungai) – 2 Nos.
  2. Brinjal (katharikai) – 1 No.
  3. Tamarind – gooseberry sized
  4. Sesame oil (nallennai) – 1 tbsp
  5. Fenugreek seeds (vendhayam) – 1 tsp
  6. Turmeric powder (manjal thool) – 1 tsp
  7. Powdered jaggery (vellam) – 1 tsp
  8. Salt – Â¾ tsp

For kuzhambu masala:

  1. Sesame oil – 2 tsp
  2. Red chillies – 6 Nos.
  3. Pepper corns – Â½ tsp
  4. Carom seeds (omam) – 1 tsp
  5. Coriander seeds (dhania) – 1 tbsp
  6. Shallots (chinna vengayam) – 8 Nos.
  7. Ginger – 1″ piece
  • img_7333-scaled Omam Kuzhambu
  • img_7343-scaled Omam Kuzhambu

Cooking Method :

  • Preparing masala: First, we need to roast pepper (medium flame), chillies, coriander seeds & omam (low flame) in 1 tsp oil and sauté shallots & ginger in 1 tsp oil. Finally we can grind them into a fine paste as shown below.
masala-grinding Omam Kuzhambu
Omam Kuzhambu masala
  • Eztract tamarind juice (about 500 ml) & keep aside. (We can soak tamarind in hot water or microwave it for 1 min before extracting its juice.)
  • Heat the pan with oil & add fenugreek seeds followed by chopped drumstick & brinjal.
  • Add turmeric powder & sauté the veggies until they are nicely stir fried.
  • Add tamarind juice & ground masala and bring it to a boil.
  • Cover the pan and simmer until veggies cooked soft.
  • Add salt & jaggery and cook for 2 min in low flame and remove from heat.
  • Serve omam kuzhambu after adding the tempering.
  • img_5478-scaled Omam Kuzhambu
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  • img_7351-scaled Omam Kuzhambu
  • img_7352-scaled Omam Kuzhambu
  • img_7356-scaled Omam Kuzhambu
  • img_7357-scaled Omam Kuzhambu
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Recipe notes:

  • We can refrigerate this kuzhambu for 3-4 days for later use. It tastes even more delicious in the next day.
  • You may prepare this kuzhambu by using the same masala and adding other vegetables, tubers (kizhangu) or legumes (payaru vagaihal) shown below:
pulikulambu-veg Omam Kuzhambu

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  9. nice recipe!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
    This does remind me of mollagu kuzhambu.. the pepper kuzhambu .. probably you can even write a post about it if you like it!! 🙂

  11. I made this kulambu today and it was very tasty with all the healthful goodness and flavours of omam and vendiyam. Thanks so much for an easy to make recipe!.
    Sheela

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