VARUTHARACHA PULINCURRY

Another curry from God’s own country and  land of coconut trees.

Pulinkari is a coconut and tamarind based curry and is an authentic Kerala dish. Different kinds of vegetables are added into this tangy coconut sauce  like lady’s finger pumpkin, ash gourd, elephant yam,(chenai), colocaesia(chembu). Here I have used pumpkin, lady’s finger and drumstick. Adding onion is purely optional,  I used to add small onions to enhance the taste. Even you can add 2 or 3 flakes of garlic if you like the flavour of garlic. This curry goes well with rice and is simple and tasty.

INGREDIENTS

Red pumpkin                                  - 200 grams

Drumstick                                        - 2 nos

Lady’s finger                                   -100 grams

Tamarind                                         -lemon size

Turmeric powder                         - ¼ tsp

Jiggery                                               - 1 tbsp

Salt                                                       - to taste

FOR WET GRINDING

Raw rice                                             - 3 tbsps

Methi seeds                                      - ½ tsp

Red chilly                                          - 4 nos

Small onions                                   - 8 nos(optional)

Grated coconut                              - 1 ½ cups

Fry the above ingredients in a tbsp of coconut oil and grind together to a fine paste.

FOR SEASONING

Coconut oil                                       - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds                               - 1 tsp

Methi seeds                                      - ¼ tsp

Red chilli                                          - 2 nos

Curry leaves                                    - 1 sprig

METHOD

Wash and cut the pumpkin into medium sized cubes and lady’s finger drumstick into one inch pieces.

Soak tamarind in hot water and extract the pulp and keep aside.

Boil the vegetables in the extracted tamarind pulp adding turmeric powder and salt till the vegetables are cooked tender in a medium flame.

Add the ground paste and jaggery to the boiled vegetables and add required amount of water to get the required consistency.

Boil it for five minutes in a medium flame and remove from fire.

Season mustard seeds, methi seeds red chillies and curry leaves in coconut oil and it to the gravy.

Yummy tangy pulingarry is ready to serve with hot rice.

NOTE

Whenever methi seeds are used in a recipe, it should not be over fried, or cooked for a long time which the taste becomes bitter.

VARIATION

TO ROAST AND POWDER

Channa dal                                      - 1 tbsp

Urad dal                                            - 1 tbsp

Methi seeds                                      - ½ tsp

White til                                            - 2 tsps

Red chillies                                      - 8 nos

Grated coconut                              - 2 cups

Fry the above ingredients in coconut oil, powder it and add this  after the vegetables are cooked.

 NOTE

 Pulinkari is thinner than the Sambar. Also it thicken a little on cooling, due to the addition of rice, if you feel it is too thick you can add a little warm water and mix.