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Tag: Tamil

  • Beans Poriyal

    Poriyal is the generic Tamil word for a dry vegetable stir-fry, and beans poriyal is one of the most common on a weekday lunch plate. It is light, not oily, and relies on the freshness of the beans and a handful of grated coconut rather than spice powders. The same method works for cabbage, carrot or cluster beans.

    The beans are chopped very fine so they cook quickly and stay bright green with a slight bite. The tempering of urad dal adds a nutty crunch, and coconut gives sweetness. It is a side dish rather than a main, served alongside sambar or rasam with rice, and it travels well in a lunchbox.

    At a glance

    RegionTamil Nadu
    CuisineTamil
    DietVegan
    CourseSide dish
    Prep time15 minutes
    Cook time12 minutes
    Total time27 minutes
    Serves3
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyEasy
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientsfrench beans / coconut / urad dal / curry leaves

    Ingredients

    • 250 g French beans, strings removed, chopped into 5 mm pieces
    • 1 tbsp coconut oil
    • 1 tsp mustard seeds
    • 1 tsp urad dal
    • 1 dry red chilli, broken
    • 1 sprig curry leaves
    • pinch of asafoetida
    • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
    • 3 tbsp water
    • 1/3 cup freshly grated coconut

    Method

    1. Wash the beans before chopping, not after, so they do not get waterlogged. Chop them finely and evenly.
    2. Heat coconut oil in a kadai on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter fully.
    3. Add urad dal and red chilli and fry until the dal turns golden, about 40 seconds. Add curry leaves and asafoetida.
    4. Add the beans, turmeric and salt and toss for 1 minute to coat in the oil.
    5. Sprinkle 3 tbsp water, cover and cook on low heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring once, until the beans are tender but still green with a slight crunch.
    6. Uncover and cook for another minute on medium heat to dry off any remaining water.
    7. Switch off the heat, add the grated coconut and toss well. Serve warm.

    Tips

    • Add coconut only after switching off the heat, otherwise it dries out and loses its sweetness.
    • Do not add too much water; the beans should steam, not boil.
    • A tablespoon of soaked moong dal cooked along with the beans makes a more filling version.

    Serve with

    Rice with sambar, rasam or mor kuzhambu.

  • Kara Kuzhambu

    Kara kuzhambu means spicy gravy, and it is the dish Tamil homes make when they want something bold without dal. It is built on tamarind, gingelly oil and a generous amount of chilli, and is cooked down until the oil floats on top. Because of the tamarind and oil it keeps for two or three days without refrigeration, so it was a practical dish in villages.

    Small onions and whole garlic cloves are the classic vegetables, often with brinjal, drumstick or ladies finger. The gravy is thick, glossy and sharply sour-hot, with sweetness from the shallots and a touch of jaggery. A small amount goes a long way, mixed into hot rice with a spoon of gingelly oil.

    At a glance

    RegionTamil Nadu
    CuisineTamil
    DietVegan
    CourseMain course
    Prep time15 minutes
    Cook time30 minutes
    Total time45 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelHot
    DifficultyEasy
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientstamarind / shallots / garlic / brinjal / gingelly oil

    Ingredients

    • lemon-sized ball of tamarind, soaked in 2 cups warm water
    • 4 tbsp gingelly oil
    • 1 tsp mustard seeds
    • 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
    • 1 tsp chana dal
    • 2 dry red chillies
    • 1 sprig curry leaves
    • 15 shallots, peeled
    • 12 garlic cloves, peeled
    • 3 small brinjals, quartered
    • 1 tomato, chopped
    • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
    • 2 tbsp sambar powder
    • 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
    • 1 tsp salt, or to taste
    • 1 tsp grated jaggery
    • 1 tsp rice flour mixed in 2 tbsp water (optional)

    Method

    1. Extract thick tamarind water from the soaked tamarind, about 2 cups, and strain.
    2. Heat gingelly oil in a clay pot or heavy kadai on medium heat. Add mustard seeds, and when they splutter add fenugreek, chana dal and red chillies. Fry until the fenugreek turns reddish brown, about 30 seconds, but not black.
    3. Add curry leaves, shallots and garlic and fry for 5-6 minutes until the shallots are soft and golden.
    4. Add the brinjal and fry for 3 minutes, then add tomato and cook until mushy.
    5. Lower the heat, add turmeric, sambar powder and chilli powder and stir for 1 minute so the spices roast in the oil without burning.
    6. Pour in the tamarind water, add salt and bring to a boil. Simmer on low-medium heat uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until the brinjal is soft, the gravy thickens and oil separates and floats on top.
    7. Stir in jaggery. If the gravy is still thin, add the rice flour slurry and simmer 2 minutes more.
    8. Rest for at least 30 minutes before serving; kara kuzhambu tastes better a few hours later.

    Tips

    • Gingelly oil is essential for the authentic taste; groundnut oil is the only reasonable substitute.
    • Do not rush the simmering; the raw tamarind taste must cook out completely.
    • Sun-dried sundakkai or manathakkali vathal fried in the oil at the start turns this into vatha kuzhambu.

    Serve with

    Hot rice with a spoon of gingelly oil, appalam and keerai poriyal or a mild kootu.

  • Tomato Rasam

    Rasam sits at the centre of a Tamil meal, served after sambar and before curd rice. Tomato rasam is the everyday version made in most Tamil homes several times a week, and every family has its own balance of tamarind, tomato and pepper. It needs no rasam powder; freshly crushed pepper, cumin and garlic do the work.

    The texture should be thin and clear, almost like a broth, with the solids settled at the bottom. It tastes sour, peppery and warm, with the fragrance of coriander and curry leaves. Many people drink it from a tumbler when they have a cold, and it is often the first food given to someone recovering from fever.

    At a glance

    RegionTamil Nadu
    CuisineTamil
    DietVegetarian
    CourseSoup
    Prep time10 minutes
    Cook time20 minutes
    Total time30 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelMedium
    DifficultyEasy
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientstomato / tamarind / black pepper / cumin / garlic

    Ingredients

    For the rasam

    • 3 ripe tomatoes
    • small lemon-sized ball of tamarind, soaked in 1 cup warm water
    • 1 tsp black peppercorns
    • 1 tsp cumin seeds
    • 5 garlic cloves, unpeeled
    • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1/4 tsp asafoetida
    • 1 tsp salt, or to taste
    • 2.5 cups water
    • 1 sprig curry leaves
    • 3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves with stems

    For the tadka

    • 1 tbsp ghee
    • 1 tsp mustard seeds
    • 1 dry red chilli, broken
    • 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
    • a few curry leaves

    Method

    1. Squeeze the soaked tamarind well and strain to get about 1 cup of thin tamarind water. Discard the pulp.
    2. Coarsely crush the peppercorns and cumin in a mortar, then add the garlic and pound a few times until bruised but not pasty.
    3. Chop one tomato finely. Crush the other two by hand straight into a pot, skins and all.
    4. Add the tamarind water, chopped tomato, turmeric, salt, asafoetida and curry leaves to the pot. Boil on medium heat for 8-10 minutes until the raw tamarind smell is gone and the tomatoes are soft.
    5. Add the crushed pepper-cumin-garlic and 2.5 cups water. Bring it up slowly on medium-low heat.
    6. Watch closely: when a layer of froth rises to the top and the rasam is just about to boil, switch off the heat. Do not let it boil hard, or it turns flat and bitter.
    7. Heat ghee in a small pan, splutter mustard seeds, then add red chilli, cumin and curry leaves for a few seconds. Pour over the rasam.
    8. Add the coriander, cover with a lid and leave for 5 minutes for the aroma to infuse before serving.

    Tips

    • The froth stage is the most important cue in rasam making; boiling past it dulls the flavour.
    • If your tomatoes are very sour, reduce the tamarind by half.
    • A teaspoon of cooked toor dal water added with the plain water gives a slightly fuller body without making it a dal.

    Serve with

    Hot rice with ghee and a potato or raw banana fry, or simply in a tumbler as a soup.