Pitlai (பிட்லை)

Pitlai is a traditional recipe and is a popular one too! It is a typical Brahmin preparation and goes very well with curd rice. 

Ingredients: (Serves four)

Tamarind – the size of a large gooseberry (காட்டு நெல்லிக்காய்)

Toor dhal – ¾ of a tumbler or 150 ml measure

Cut vegetables –1½ tumblers or 300ml measure *

Jaggery – half teaspoon

Salt – to taste

Cooking oil – 1 tablespoon

Mustard seeds, split urad dhal – ½ teaspoon each

Curry leaves – a few

To be ground into a fine paste:

Red chillies – 2 to 3 (adjust to taste)

Bengal gram – 1 teaspoon

Dhania seeds – 2 teaspoons

Coconut – grated, 1 tablespoon

Asafoetida – a pinch

*Traditionally brinjal or small bitter gourd (மெது பாவக்காய்) is used for making pitlai. Cut brinjal into medium sized pieces. Small bitter gourd may be cut into quarters. 

Pavakkai/ Bitter gourd Pitlai (பாவக்காய் பிட்லை)

Method: Wash toor dhal well, add 400 ml of water, and pressure cook for 6-7 minutes (6-7 whistles). Soak tamarind in warm water. Heat little oil in a kadai and fry red chillies, Bengal gram and dhania seeds till the gram turns golden brown. Add asafoetida to the kadai and switch off the stove. Once cool, grind fried ingredients with coconut into a smooth paste and keep aside. 

Squeeze tamarind and extract the juice. Cook the vegetables in tamarind juice with required salt. Allow the tamarind juice to boil well. Mix the dhal using an ordinary hand blender or a ladle till it is soft and uniform in consistency. Add the dhal and salt to the boiling kuzhambu and mix well. Bring it to boil and then reduce the flame. Dilute the ground paste in little water and slowly add to the boiling kuzhambu, while stirring continuously. Let it boil for 1-2 minutes and then switch off the fire. 

Heat remaining oil in a tadka pan (spice pan/ தாளிக்கிற கரண்டி), add mustard seeds, when they start to sputter add split urad dhal and fry till the dhal turns golder brown. Add the seasoning to pitali and garnish with curry leaves. Serve hot with rice, curry/kootu/ appalam.

Note: Amount of tamarind required to make pitali is lesser when compared to sambar recipe.  

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Erivulli More kuzhambu (எரிவுள்ளி மோர்க்குழம்பு)

Most amazing part of Indian cuisine is the effect of one regional cuisine over the other. Such influences bring about newer recipes, and 'Erivulli' more kuzhambu is one such recipe. It is a different type of more kuzhambu that has the underlying taste of  pepper. 'Erivulli' more kuzhambu is preferred over other types of more kuzhambu in my house. 

Ingredients: (Serves four) 

Curds – 2 tumblers or 400ml measure

Vegetables cut into large pieces – ¾ of a tumbler or 150ml measure*

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Tamarind – a small bit

Oil – 2 teaspoons

Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon

Salt – to taste

Curry leaves – a few

To be ground into a paste:

Urad dhal – 2 teaspoons

Coconut – grated, 2 tablespoons

Methi seeds – ¼ teaspoon

Peppercorns – ¼ teaspoon

Jeera – ¼ teaspoon (optional)

Red chilli – 2-3 no (adjust to taste)

Asafoetida – a pinch

* Ash gourd (white pumpkin), chow-chow, brinjal, ladies finger and Taro/Arbi may be used. Pressure cook Taro/Arbi, peel the skin and add to more kuzhambu.

Erivulli More kuzhambu (எரிவுள்ளி மோர்க்குழம்பு)

Method: Soak tamarind in a tablespoon of water and keep aside. Heat little 1 teaspoon of oil in a kadai, add red chillies and fry till they turn darker. Now add urad dhal, methi seeds, jeera and peppercorns, and fry till the dhal turns golden brown in color. Add asafoetida and switch off the fire. Once cool, grind the fried ingredients with coconut into a fine paste. Beat curds well with one tumbler (200 ml) of water using a hand blender (தயிர் மத்து). Add the ground paste to the curds and mix well.

Squeeze tamarind and extract juice. Cook vegetables in tamarind water with turmeric powder and required salt in a covered vessel on low flame till the vegetables are done. Now add the curd mixture into the vessel and cook on low heat, stirring every now and then, till the kuzhambu froths. Switch off the fire.

Heat oil in a tadka pan (spice pan/தாளிக்கிற கரண்டி), add mustard seeds and when they start to sputter switch of the stove. Add the seasoning and curry leaves to the kuzhambu. Serve hot with rice and porial/ appalam/vadam.

Note: Keep the flame low throughout the preparation, as the curds will split if cooked on high heat. Very little tamarind is used for the preparation and the extracted juice will be light (நீர் புளி). 

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Masala Bhindi (மசாலா வெண்டைக்காய் கறி)

Yummy, spicy ladies finger curry that goes well with both rice and chappati. 

Ingredients: (Serves four)

Ladies finger (Bhindi) – ½ kg, cut into 1” long pieces

Tomato – 2 no, cut into small pieces

Onion – medium sized, 2 no, sliced

Salt – to taste

Mustard – 1 teaspoon

Jeera – 1 teaspoon

Red chilli powder – 2 teaspoons

Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon

Garam masala – 1 teaspoon

Oil – 2 tablespoons

Sugar – ½ teaspoon (optional)

Curry leaves – a few

Coriander leaves – chopped, 2 tablespoons

Masala Bhindi (மசாலா வெண்டைக்காய் கறி)

Method: Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds and when they start to sputter, add jeera. Saute for a few seconds. Add cut onions and fry till they become transparent. Now add tomato pieces and required salt. Mix well, cover and cook on a low flame till tomatoes become pulpy and oil separates. Add bhindi pieces, required salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder and mix well. Cover and cook on a low flame. Once the vegetable is cooked, add garam masala and mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes with the lid open on low flame, and then switch off the fire. Garnish with curry leaves and coriander leaves. Serve hot with chappati and dhal. 

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Mango pickle (மாங்காய் ஊறுகாய்)

Of the various pickles that can be made, mango pickle remains the most popular one. It is easy to make and goes very well with curd rice.

Ingredients:

Raw mango – 1 no, cut into small pieces*

Red chilli powder – 1 tablespoon (add 1 teaspoon more if you desire the pickle to be ‘hot’)

Sesame oil – 2 tablespoons

Salt – to taste

Methi powder – ¼ teaspoon

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Asafoetida – a pinch

Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon

Curry leaves – a few (optional)

*Though any variety of raw mango may be used, I get best results with ‘kili mooku mango’ (கிளி மூக்கு மாங்காய்).

Mango pickle (மாங்காய் ஊறுகாய்)

Traditional Method: Wash and cut the mango flesh into tiny pieces. Place the mango pieces in a dry jar. Add salt and mix well. Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds and when they start to sputter switch off the stove. Add the seasoning to mango pieces. Now, add red chilli powder, asafoetida, turmeric powder and methi powder, and mix well. Allow the pickle to stand for a day before using.

Mango pickle stored in an airtight container

Another Method: This slight variation works well for me. Wash and cut the mango flesh into tiny pieces. Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds and when they start to sputter switch off the stove. Add the cut mango pieces and salt. Mix well. Add red chilli powder, asafoetida, turmeric powder, methi powder and curry leaves, and mix well. Heat on low flame for a minute and switch off the fire.  Allow the pickle to cool and then store. 

How to prepare methi powder: Roast required quantity of methi seeds in a kadai on medium flame till the seeds turn reddish in color. Remove from fire. Cool to room temperature and powder the seeds in a mixer-grinder. You may use the mortar and pestle to powder small quantity of methi seeds. 

How to care for the pickle: Store the pickle in an air tight jar or bottle. Always use a dry spoon for handling the pickle. Mix the pickle well with a spoon once everyday. 

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