Puli Inji - Kerala Style

Puli means Tamarind, Inji for Ginger. Puli Inji is a thickish sauce with these two as the main ingredients.  It is served as part of Onam Sadya. Quick n easy to make, it's tangy, slightly sweet and is loved by all!

Puli Inji

 

What You Need -

Tamarind - a medium sized lemon (Soak in 2 cups water and extract pulp, discard seeds)
Jaggery (grated or coarsely powdered) - 2 tbsp
Ginger - 2 inch piece
Green chillies- 2 numbers
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp (adjust to taste)

To Temper -

Coconut Oil - 1 1/2 tsp
Mustard /kadugu - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 3/4 tsp
Curry leaves - a few

Grated coconut - 1/4 cup - to be fried till golden brown (add finally)

Method -

• This dish is done in a single pan. Do the tempering first after heating some coconut oil. Fry till urad dal turns slightly reddish and a nice aroma evolves. Finally add grated coconut and fry until it turns golden colored.
• Soak tamarind in 2 cups of warm water for about 10 minutes and extract the juice. Throw away the seeds and strands. 
• First, add finely minced ginger to the tempering in the pan and then follow with green chillies (Pardon me, I used red chilli padi as I ran out of green chillies that day). 
• Add the extracted pulp of tamarind and let boil together.
• Add salt, chilli powder and turmeric (haldi).
• Finally, add some jaggery to balance out the flavors. The traditional recipe calls for jaggery.

• Let everything boil together and thicken like sauce.

This will be tart yet sweet!
Makes a great side-dish for idlis, dosas and many more! Puli Inji can also be mixed with rice and enjoyed.

This recipe makes 1 and 1/2 cups of Puli Inji. Store in a dry container in the fridge and this stays good for several days. 
 
Check out the Kanjeevaram Idlis that I made recently. My family enjoyed the combo of these idlis with Puli Inji. 

Sending this to "Only South Indian" at Foodelicious

Pulisseri / Mor Kuzhambu - Kerala recipe

Mor means Buttermilk and Kuzhambu refers to the category of South-indian gravy that's usually eaten as the first course with rice. The second course is Rasam which is spiced soup (also eaten with rice).  I shall write more on South-Indian meals later :) 

Mor Kuzhambu is one of the easiest dishes to prepare within 15 minutes - end-to-end, this is. The ingredients are also fairly simple and usually available in any Indian kitchen. Therefore, this has become my go-to dish when I'm running out of time or very hungry back from work, with no energy to cook anything elaborate.

Pulisseri / Mor Kuzhambu

Shobana chithi (mom's sis) wrote a detailed email to me on how to make Pulisseri (a more common name in Kerala for Mor kuzhambu) the perfect way. I follow her recipe to the T with all success every single time.

What She Uses -

Oil - 1 tsp
Black mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 3/4 tsp
Dried red chillies - 4 nos.
Curry leaves - 1 or 2 strips

Vegetable like Okra(Lady's finger) or Old cucumber (Malabar velliri) or Brinjal/Eggplant or Colocasia/Cheppankizhangu - 2/3 cup

Plain Yogurt or Curd - 3/4 cup (Slightly sour is ok)

Coconut (grated) - 1/3 cup
Green chillies - 4 nos (Adjust to taste)
Salt - to taste

How My Chithi Makes Pulisseri -

• Take a thick-bottomed pot/sauce pan, heat oil and splatter mustard and fenugreek.
• Throw in curry leaves and then add red chillies(broken).
• As it splatters, add some water.
• Cook any vegetable (cucumber/okra/brinjal) with salt and a minute pinch of turmeric. Colocasia/ Cheppankizhangu has to be pressure-cooked and peeled before adding. Fry Okra/Brinjal first in oil for 3-4 mins and then add water.
• I have used cucumber here. 

• While it's cooking, grind coconut and green chillies to a very smooth consistency.

• Add some curd and beat in the mixer itself.
• When the veg is cooked, turn off the heat. Add the contents of the mixer, stir and turn on to medium. (This will prevent the curd from splitting for inexperienced people.)
• Once it is on, it needs your undivided attention. Keep stirring. Check for salt and add if not enough.
• In 3-4 minutes, you should see frothing along the edge when not stirring. Turn off.

• DO NOT close the pot. Stir and close ajar with the spoon/ladle inside after 5 minutes. If you think it might be overdone, transfer to a serving bowl immediately. That might help if it's not too late.

• Starting with the garnish helps in finishing the job in one pot and the essence of red chillies adds flavor.

Pulisseri/ Mor Kozhambu

 I served it with fried Okra/Lady's finger.

Fried Okra/Lady's finger