Puli kachal recipe

INGREDIENTS:

Tamarind Pulp- Qty equal to a golf ball, soaked in hot water and juice extracted

Temper:
Sesame Oil-1/8 cup
Asafoetida- 1 puff
Curry leaves- A handful
Mustard Seeds-1 tsp
Urad dal-1tsp
Peanuts-2 tbsp
Red chillies-4 or more according to spice level

Grind to Powder:
Coriander seeds- 2 tbsp appr( A palm full)
Pepper corns-1/2 tsp
Red chillies-2
Fenugreek seeds-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves-Few(optional)



PROCEDURE:

1. Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the juice.
2.In a pan with no or little oil, add ingredients under Grind to powder and saute till the raw smell goes.Make sure you dont burn them. Cool and grind to fine powder.
3.Now in a deep pot,add the sesame oil, add the ingredients under Temper section and after they splatter add the tamarind extract.
4.Allow the mixture to come to a boil and become thick.
5.At this stage add the ground powder and allow to boil till thick and done.
6.Allow to cool.
7.Mix with rice and eat or serve with hot idlies/dosas.

Puli Milagai Pachadi (Sweet Sour and Spicy Chilli Pickle)

This is a good recipe when you have more chillies than you would ever want to taste in your food. 

Makes about 2 cups.

(Serrano) Green Chillies - 200 gms

Tamarind pulp - 1/4 cup (If using tamarind - size of 2 Indian lemons)

Jaggery - 2 tbsp

Roasted fenugreek powder - 1/2 tsp

Gingelly (sesame) oil - 1 tbsp

Asafoetida - a 

pinch

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Water - 3 cups

salt - to taste (about 1.5 tsp)

Handle green chillies with latex gloves to avoid burning. Make a slit on the narrow end of the chillies. If using big American chillies, you may need to cut them into two halves with slits. 

Add sesame oil (1 tbsp) to a non reactive vessel (due to acidic nature chillies and tamarind) and let the mustard seeds sputter. 

Add the slit green chillies. Saute them until white and brown spots appear. 

Add the water, salt, tamarind and set to boil.

While boiling, add jaggery and roasted fenugreek powder.

Taste for required blend of pepper heat, sweetness and sourness and remove from fire.

Enjoy with curds and parathas.

Note:

The spice level of the dish can be adjusted by type of chillies used, by using with seeds/deseeding (traditionally cooked with seeds) and adjusting the other ingredients in proportion (tamarind. jaggery and salt)

Sour Sour Cranberry Pickle

I ended up with one of those boxes of disgustingly sour cranberries. If I threw it away, I will have to squirm as DH pokes me on one more failed experiment in 'exotic' grocery shopping. So I decided to take advantage of the sourness, blend it with spice, oil and some flavor - the ideal recipe for a pickle.

Fresh cranberries - washed (but dry - with no moisture) 2 Cups

Curry leaves - 1/2 a cup or to taste

Dried Red Chillies - 10-12 or to taste

Urad Dal - 1-2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp

Gingelly (Sesame) oil - 1/4 cup

Ginger - 2tsp grated

Salt to taste

Dry roast the Urad Dal, Red Chillies and fenugreek seeds and grind into a powder in a spice grinder

In a tablespoon of oil, lightly saute the curry leaves and transfer to mixer/blender.

In a tablespoon of oil, saute the cranberries until they burst open and mash up into a glob.

Grind with curry leaves, ginger and dry roasted spice blend.

Add oil, salt and ground blend to wok and stir with ladle until raw smell disappears and everything comes together (time spent in this stage depends on the quality of cranberries - the worse the quality the more time it spends on the flame to get rid of the edge (துவர்ப்பு))

The pickle goes well with parathas and curd rice.

Tomato Pickle

Ingredients:

Tomatoes-6 big cubed
Red chillies-3 or 4(as needed)
Danya seeds-A handful
Methi seeds-1/2 tsp
Tamarind paste-1 gooseberry size ball
Mustard seeds-2 tsp
Curry leaves- A bunch
Asafoetida- A few puffs
Garlic-5,6 pods cut into slices
Sesame oil

Procedure:

1. In a heavy,deep pan with little sesame oil, add the cubed tomatoes. Let it boil and become mushy.Usually takes about 20-30 minutes. Do not add water.Switch off stove and let cool.
2.In another small pan, dry roast the red chillies,methi seeds, danya seeds and grind to a fine powder.
3.Now add very little water,tamarind paste and grind the tomatoes to a fine paste.Put it back in the stove and keep boiling till oil separates and water evaporates.
4.Now fry the mustard seeds, curry leaves,asafoetida.Switch off the stove, add the garlic and mix with tomato pickle.
5.Serve with idlies,dosas,rice,as you wish.Enjoy!

korivi karam (ripe red chilly pickle)

I have always loved this Andhra pickle ever since I tasted it in my Aunt's place. So I had to try it when I saw red ripe chillies interspersed with the green ones in the Indian grocery store. So I spent quite some time picking out a pound of just the red ones. After reading a few recipes here and here, this is what worked for me. It was quite easy to make and the most painstaking task was wiping the washed chillies to ensure that they are dry.

ripe red chillies (the slightly long ones would be less spicy) - 1 pound
tamarind (wet Indian variety) - .5 pounds
salt - .25 pounds or to taste
fenugreek powder - 2 tsp
asafoetida - 1/ a tsp
gingelly (sesame) oil - 1/2 a cup (approximately)

Wash and dry the chillies (by drying out in the sun or wiping each one of them). Remove the stems and add to a blender/mixer. Grind with tamarind and salt without adding water. (Add oil if needed). Marinate for 3 days before adding fenugreek powder and heated sesame oil with asafoetida. Mix well and let it stand for a week or 2 before the spice level tones down and it is ready for consumption. Stir with a ladle occasionally.Will store well for a really long time.

Goes well with curd rice (of course) and idlis (add sesame oil to it to combat the heat). Enjoy if you are sucker for spice and heat!

Note: Only RIPE chillies work well for this recipe.