Ulli Theeyal / Kerala Style Theeyal Recipe / shallots recipes

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Ulli Theeyal / Kerala Style Theeyal Recipe

Ulli theeyal is a Kerala dish which tastes awesome. Ulli meaning onions and theeyal means something that browns in the pan. As the name suggests we are going to brown the grated coconut and prepare a masala for this spicy dish.

In this dish we are using shallots ( small onions ) also known as sambar onions or pearl onions. They get a lovely taste after getting cooked in the tamarind juice along with the masalas. The masala that we prepare is a bit spicy, though. It has all the three tastes namely sweet, spicy and tangy - sweet from the jaggery that is added at the end of the preparation.

I would consider it a kind of rasam which is spicy and has the vegetables along with roasted coconut bringing out a unique flavour and aroma. You could add any kind of veggies like drumstick, potatoes, ladies finger, bitter gourd etc. , are a few to name. After preparing malai methi Gobi with shallots, I had some more of them in my pantry, so went ahead and prepared this dish for a weekend lunch.

It was very tasty, especially the tiny pearls in the spicy and tangy sauce. You can also check my shallots sambar recipe.

Preparation

Soak tamarind in water and extract the juice and keep aside. Dry roast the spices one after the other separately starting with coriander seeds. Fry them until crisp and a nice aroma comes from it.

Next, dry roast the black pepper corns and red chillies together until the red chillies turn dark in colour.

Lastly fry the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds together until the fenugreek seeds turn brown in colour and the mustard seeds start to crackle.

Transfer all these spices to another plate and allow to cool. Now dry roast the fresh grated coconut on a low flame until it browns completely.

Keep stirring continuously to avoid burning and uneven browning.

Allow to cool. Take another vessel and add coconut oil. Do the tempering with mustard, cumin and methi seeds.

When they crackle add curry leaves, ginger garlic paste and hing.

Now add turmeric powder, shallots and salt and give a nice toss.

Add enough water and cover with a lid and cook for a while.

Remove the lid, pour in the tamarind juice and jaggery and mix well. Cover again and cook until the shallots are cooked. Meanwhile, put all the roasted spices along with browned coconut in a mixie jar and make a fine powder or paste by adding little water to it.

Add this powder to the cooked shallots mixture and mix well.

Check for seasoning and cook until it comes to a boil. Switch off the flame and serve hot with steamed rice accompanied with papads or fryums.

Ingredients

Coconut oil  1 tbsp

Mustard seeds  1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds  1/2 tsp

Methi seeds  1/4 tsp

Curry leaves  few

Ginger garlic paste  1 tsp

Turmeric powder  1/2 tsp

Hing  pinch

Shallots  1 cup

Tamarind lemon size

Salt to taste

Jaggery  2 tbsp

Spices to roast

Coriander seeds  1 tbsp

Black pepper corns  1 tbsp

Red Chillies  6

Fenugreek seeds  1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds  1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds  1/2 tsp

Grated coconut  1/2 cup

Method

1. Extract tamarind juice and keep aside.
2. Dry roast all the spices mentioned under ' spices to roast' separately one after another on a low flame until crisp. Allow to cool.
3. Dry roast grated coconut on a low flame until it browns completely. Keep stirring. Allow to cool.
4. Make a fine powder or paste of the above roasted spices and keep aside.
5. Take another vessel and add coconut oil.
6. Once hot, add mustard, methi and cumin seeds.
7. When they splutter, add curry leaves, ginger garlic paste and hing. 
8. Add turmeric powder, shallots and salt and mix well. 
9. Add enough water and cook covered.
10. After a while, add tamarind juice and jaggery and again cook covered.
11. Once the shallots are cooked, add the ground masala and mix well.
12. Check for seasoning.
13. Cook until it starts boiling and switch off the flame.
14. Serve hot with rice.

Notes

• Theeyal can be prepared with any kind of veggies like drumstick, potatoes, ladies finger, bitter gourd etc.,.
• You can also add 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds to give a lovely flavour to the dish.
• If its too spicy for you, you could consider adding a dollop of ghee and relishing the theeyal. 

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Karivepaku Podi / Karivepaku Karam podi / Idli Podi / Curry leaf Powder Recipe

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Karivepaku Podi / Karivepaku Karam podi / Idli Podi / Curry leaf Powder Recipe

Today recipe is curry leaf powder which can be served as a side dish for idli, dosa and rice. Mix it with hot steamed rice with a dollop of ghee and it tastes just amazing. I wanted to do this karampodi for a long time but I could not lay my hands on some fresh leaves hence it had been on the to-do list for quite sometime now.

 

I generally prepare this podi often in my house for 2 main reasons. Firstly, it is healthy and secondly, these kind of chutney powders come in handy on busy mornings when you do not have time to prepare chutneys.
The preparation of this curry leaf chutney powder is very easy with few basic ingredients. There are many variations to prepare this karivepaku karam podi or idli podi. I will update about the other versions as and when I come across them or prepare them.

You can view my other chutney powder recipe - munagaku chutney podi ( drumstick leaf chutney powder )    . 

Preparation

Separate the leaves from the stalk. You can retain the stalks if they are tender. Wash them well and spread then on a cotton cloth to dry them until there is no moisture left on them. In the meantime, put a pan on flame. Add oil and channa dal and roast until light brown in colour.

Transfer to another plate to cool. In the same pan dry roast mustard seeds, cumin seeds, pepper corns, garlic pods, green chillies and tamarind and curry leaves separately one after another until crisp.

           

The curry leaves should be real crisp such that they should be able to break easily when taken in between your fingers. Allow all these ingredients to cool completely. Put them in a mixie except curry leaves along with salt and blend to a coarse powder. Now add the curry leaves and grind together to coarse or fine powder. 

I have grounded to a texture which is neither coarse or fine. Enjoy with idli or rice.

 

Ingredients

Curry leaves  1 bunch OR 5 cups of leaves
Channa dal  1 cup
Cumin seeds  2 tsp
Mustard seeds  1 tsp
Black pepper corns  1 tbsp
Garlic pods  7-9 
Green chillies  4
Tamarind  small ball ( a little more than that of as shown in the picture )
Salt  to taste
Oil  1 tsp

Method

1. Separate the leaves from their stalks and wash well.
2. Dry them on a cotton cloth in shade such that there is no moisture left on them.
3. Heat a pan and add a teaspoon of oil in it.
4. Add channa dal and fry until it changes to light brown colour. Remove to another plate to cool.
5. In the same pan, roast the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, black pepper corns, garlic pods, curry leaves and tamarind separately one after another.
6. Allow all these ingredients to cool completely.
7. Put them in a blender along with salt and grind to a fine or coarse powder.
8. Enjoy with hot steamed rice or dosa or with idli.

Notes

• Dry roast curry leaves until real crisp. If you take them between your fingers, they should be able to break easily.
• There are other variations of curry leaf powder which I will sharing soon.
• You can also add few methi seeds if you wish. 
• Increase the amount of tamarind by little if you want it sour. You can also add aamchur powder ( dry mango powder ) instead of tamarind.
  
  
  
  

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Bobbatlu / Puran Poli / Puran Puri / Holige / Ugadi Recipes /

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Bobbatlu Recipe / Puran Puri ( Puran Poli ) / Holige Recipe / Puran Indian / Ugadi Recipes /

March 18, 2018 is Telugu new year - Ugadi. So here I am with the most traditional and delicious recipe of Andhra - bobbatlu. This sweet dish is famous all over India though with different names. It is known as puran poli in Gujarathi and Marathi, boli in Malayalam and Tamil, holige  or obbattu  or Orugatalle in Kannada or poli  in Konkani. It is also known as Bakshalu in Telugu. 

This is one of my favourite dish right from childhood days. I never knew how to make it at that time but I remember making them for the first time for my man 👨 during Sankranthi. They came out perfect. Since then I have been preparing them quite often and each time they tasted amazing.

They are very simple to make except the fact that they are time consuming. But if there are two people, then it would be just a cakewalk. One would flatten them and the other would fry them - as simple as said. But again, the process of rolling these bobbatlu comes by practice. So don't get disheartened if you don't get then right the first time. Do try them and you would just master the making of puran poli.
The stuffing is the same as that of boorelu with channa dal. I have used sugar here but you can replace it with jaggery or a combo of both sugar and jaggery. Adding loads of ghee will make them all the more tasty 😋 and delicious.

You can also check out my other festive recipes like 

Pesala Boorelu

Palakova Recipe

Custard Apple Rabdi

Sesame Seed Balls

Oats Poha Chivda

Jonna Murukku Recipe

Sago Vada

Poha Kesari

Soya Bean Sundal

Preparation

Take water in a vessel and add channa dal to it. Put it on flame and cook until it is soft.

When you press a grain between your thumb and index fingers, it should get mashed easily.

At this stage switch off the flame and drain the water immediately. Allow the drained channa to cool.

Meanwhile, lets get the dough ready. Take Maida in a bowl and add water.

Make a soft dough. The dough will be sticky initially, but apply little oil and make a soft dough.

A very soft dough is essential because we need to stuff and then roll it out. If the dough is hard then the rolling becomes difficult and the stuffing also comes out. Keep the covered dough aside to rest. 

Now put the channa in a blender and make a powder out of it.

Transfer to a big plate. In the same blender, mixie sugar to a fine powder along with cardamom powder. Add this powdered sugar to the channa powder ......

....and mix well with your hands to make a lump. 

Make small balls out of them and keep aside. Take the rested dough and make balls similar to the size of the stuffing balls or a little smaller but definitely not larger than the stuffing balls. If the stuffing balls are smaller then we will get to taste more of the Maida roll rather than the sweet. Hence keep the sizes same or the stuffing balls a little larger.

Now the time comes for rolling of the bobbatlu. Check this video for rolling the bobbatlu or holige. 

Apply ghee on the rolling platform and flatten the Maida ball gently with your fingers thinning the edges  and keeping the centre part thick.

Place the channa ball in the centre of the flattened Maida roll and seal the edges by bringing them together.

If you have excess dough then pinch it off as shown in the video. Now gently press the ball using your fingers and roll out gently into a paratha. Keep aside.

Repeat the process with the remaining stuffing and dough.

Heat a griddle and place one puran poli at a time.

Cook for a few seconds and flip to other side. Cook for another few seconds and flip again.

Apply ghee and do to the other side. Apply ghee to the other side as well and cook for few more seconds until you find lovely brown spots on these yummy obbatlu.

Serve hot or at room temperature. Enjoy with family 👪 and friends. My Ugadi Special Meal is Pulihora with Bobbatlu. 

Ingredients

Channa dal  1 cup
Maida  1 cup
Sugar  1 cup + 2 tbsp.
Cardamom powder  1 tsp
Ghee  few tbsp. 
Oil  2 tsp

Method

1. Cook channa dal until soft but not mushy.
2. Drain the water and allow to cool.
3. Prepare a soft dough with maids flour. Initially add oil and crumble well and then prepare a soft dough adding water little by little. Cover and keep aside.
4. Blend the cooked channa to a coarse powder and transfer to a big plate.
5. Make powder out of sugar and cardamom powder.
6. Mix sugar powder and channa powder well.
7. Make small balls out of it and keep aside.
8. Make same sized balls out of the Maida dough.
9. Take one maids ball and flatten it out keeping the edges thin and centre thick.
10. Place a channa ball and seal the edges by bringing them together.
11. Apply oil on the platform and press gently with your fingers to spread out evenly. 
12. Repeat with the remaining dough.
13. Heat a griddle until real hot and place the rolled out bobbatlu one at a time.
14. Fry on both sides applying ghee on both sides and cook until golden in colour.
15. Serve hot or at room temperature.
    

Notes

• For me, the Maida dough was not sufficient. So I prepared boorelu with the remaining stuffing.
  
• Add grated coconut also enhances the taste with tiny bits under your teeth giving a crunchy texture.
• Traditionally, they used to roll the bobbatlu on a banana leaf, but now a days we do not get them so easily. Then, people used the plastic covers to roll. But I find my chapathi rolling platform comfortable. But if you find them difficult, then you can use the plastic covers, as they are easy to remove from them.
  
  
  

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