14 September 2013

Puli inji

puli_inji_curry

I think if there is one dish that would be perfect for a pregnant lady that ought to be ,"Puli inji".Puli means tamarind and inji means ginger in Malayalam.The tanginess of tamarind and the anti-nauseatic properties of ginger would be one perfect combo to deal with one of her craving (most likely as believed in India)  and vomiting sensations simultaneously. What say ladies ?? 

Excited Girl<--- well,she looks definitely excited to me :) and by God's grace I'll be too one day (Amen);).It's already my favorite combo.I am soooooo crazy about tamarinds....love love love it .
During my childhood days me and my friends used to play ,"chorum curry"/rice and curry making and our curries were made exclusively with tangy tamarinds.Not only curries , even our teas used to be tangy too ,a combination of tamarind,water & sugar and we loved slurping it .Ohh yeahhh...mmm..Later we can see our moms scolding us for stealing tamarinds from the jar ...ohhhh we even enjoyed watching mommy finding it out and we enjoying tamarind whatsoever :D ..Those were the days.. I owe you Tamarind.

Now also whenever I come across Tamarind related food items , I can finish it up within no time.Even at restaurants I clean up even the sauce..slurrrrppp !!! ...A tamarind maniac I am :P.


puli_inji_curry


Coming to the recipe, Puli inji is a Kerala special condiment made up of tamarind, ginger and jaggery.It is tangy, spicy ,sweet and sour kinda dish.It is also a must item for the Kerala sadya/feast.Just a spoon is enough to make any meal extra flavorful. But for me a spoon is like teasing, a bowl would make my day ;P. It can be used as a tangy ginger pickle or as a sauce/an appetizer . Moreover, it has got a good shelf life and can be used for a month .

Here is how I make ,"Puli inji "


Ingredients

Chopped/Grated ginger - 1/2 cup
Tamarind - 1 lemon size
Jaggery - 1/4 cup
Turmeric - 1/4 teaspoon
Red chili powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Green chili - 2 nos.
Water- 1 1/2 cup
Salt-to taste (optional)
For tempering
Coconut oil - 1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Chopped shallots - 2-3 pieces (optional)
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Dry red chili - 1 no.
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - 1 sprig


Preparation method:

  • Chop or grate (I prefer grated) ginger and green chilies (chopped).
  • Fry them until ginger looks golden brown.
  • Boil water and put tamarinds and jaggery into it and once jaggery melts. Leave it aside to cool down.
  • Once the tamarind, jaggery solution cools down, squeeze the tamarind and extract the pulp and strain everything into another container.
  • Heat a pan, add oil, crackle mustard seeds, add fenugreek seeds, dry chili, shallots and once they look transparent add asafoetida and curry leaves .
  • Now add the fried ginger to it and add the strained tamarind-jaggery solution into it.
  • Let it boil and low the flame and allow it to simmer for a while until everything thickens up.It may take up to an hour or more.
  • After an hour or so, Puli inji is ready.
  • Serve it then or for best flavor next day or so.
Notes:
  1. If you don't like to bite ginger , you can grind the fried ginger as well.
  2. Before the preparation you can soak ahead tamarinds , jaggery into warm water and squeeze and strain it while cooking instead of boiling and waiting for them to cool down to save time and make fast.
  3. Just like a pickle use dry spoon only.
  4. I don't add salt but you can if you wish.
  5. By the way,In India, it's a common belief that a pregnant woman usually craves for Tamarind the most.That unusual craving only a pregnant woman can have.

Wanna taste?

puli_inji

God bless,