Showing posts with label Pearl onion. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Chinna Vengaya Sambar | Onion Sambar

Chinna Vengaya Sambar, a delicious sambar(lentil stew) made from toor dal and pearl onions. In tamil, "Pearl onion" is known as "சின்ன வெங்காயம்/chinna vengayam ". Other varieties of onions don't give the same flavor and taste to the sambar like pearl onions. So if you haven't tried this sambar before and wanna give it a try, i highly recommend to use pearl onions and it's usually available in all Indian stores across North America.

I make this sambar usually to pair with fish fry more than with veg curries. After nearly 3 months, last week we went to Indian store to buy some basic Indian groceries and picked a bunch of pearl onions also. The next day itself made this chinna vengaya sambar along with fish fry and relished to the core.

Back home in India, we use mostly pearl onions for all types of cooking and it's very rare to see the use of big onions(பல்லாரி) in daily cooking. Mostly the big onions are used for egg omelette and onion raita. After moving out of India, initially I pestered ST to go to Indian Store at least once a week mainly to buy chinna vengayam and curry leaves.

Later the frequency of visit to Indian Stores got reduced and now i can replace pearl onions with big onions in any recipes without a second thought and kind of adjusted to the taste also. Also here in Canada, most local stores have the basic Indian produce and groceries, so the need to visit Indian stores is very rare now a days and it's quite manageable also.

Ok,now coming back to the recipe, as i said earlier, this sambar tastes great with both veg and non-veg side dishes. Personally i like it better with fish fry or chicken fry and prefer my sambar to be a little watery/thin for non veg side dishes so usually i don't add coconut masala to this sambar.

But if you prefer sambar with coconut, do check out this sambar recipe for coconut masala and use the same in this recipe. Now let's check out how to make the flavorful chinna vengaya sambar.

Chinna Vengaya Sambar | Onion Sambar

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

Toor Dal- 1/2 cup

Pearl Onion/Shallots -15

Tomato -1(small)
Green chili - 2

Tamarind - small gooseberry size

Coriander leaves- few

Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste(about 1 &1/2 tsp)

Red chili powder -1/2 tsp
Sambar Powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp

Water - to need

Oil - 1 tsp

To Temper
Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard - 1/4 tsp

Urad dal- 1/4 tsp
Red Chili - 2

Curry leaves - few

Procedure

Wash the dal and add it in a pressure cooker along with asafoetida powder and enough water. Pressure cook it for 3 whistle or until it's mushy.

Once the pressure from the cooker released naturally, open the lid and mash the dal well with the ladle and keep it aside. Soak the tamarind in a cup of water . Peel the onions, cut the tomatoes into small pieces and slit the green chilies and keep it ready.

In a kadai, heat a tsp of oil and then add the onions with a pinch of salt and saute till they are slightly transparent and then add the tomatoes and green chili.

Saute till the tomatoes are soft and then extract the tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind and add into the kadai along with spices(turmeric, red chili ,sambar powder) and salt.

Let it comes to boil and cover the kadai with lid. Cook till the onions are soft and the raw smell of the spices are gone.

Then add the mashed dal and water to adjust the consistency, let it simmer for 5 more mins. In the mean time, temper the ingredients listed under "To Temper" and add into the sambar.

Flavorful and tasty onion sambar is ready.

For more curries and veggies, check out here

Notes:

Make sure to cook the dal well, it should be like smooth puree
Adjust the red chili powder as per your liking.
I have used home made sambar powder and it doesn't have much chili in it. If you're sambar powder has more spiciness, reduce the quantity as per your liking.
Tempering at the last gives more flavor to the sambar.
Instead of pearl onions, you can use shallots also.

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Garlic Onion Kara Kuzhambu | Poondu Kulambu

Garlic Kara Kuzhambu, a spicy and tangy tamarind based curry without any vegetables and coconut. It tastes great with steamed rice or even with idli and dosa.

In our home, for almost all curries, we add coconut paste , never once Amma made any curry without coconut. Back in India, Amma use atleast one whole coconut for our one day cooking. But now here , i'm trying to use one coconut for a week, because of limited availability of Indian coconut and our inexperience in choosing good one from the store.

Usually we bought two coconuts for a week and half the time, one would be spoiled and we realized that only when break the coconut and in order to avoid an another trip to Indian store, i manage to cook with the available coconut. You would have seen me using coconut & curry leaves in my kitchen, i have treat them as treasure 😜

Ok, now, back to the recipe, because of that coconut story , i have learned to make curries without coconut. To be honest, it was horrible at first, because of my inexperience to balance the spices.

With my repeated attempts, i have learned to make well balanced Kara Kuzhambu / Puli kulambu without any coconut. If you're trying for the first time, even with the exact measurement and procedure, you may end with terrible curry. Not because the recipe is wrong, you have to learn to balance the spices. Every brand of tamarind and chili powder differs in taste, so by practice, you will achieve it.

Like i always say, if i can make it, you can also :-) Now, let's check out the recipe

Garlic Kara Kuzhambu | Poondu Kulambu

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Tamarind - a gooseberry size
Pearl onion - 6
Garlic - 10 pods
Tomato(small) - 1
Curry leaves -few
Fenugreek Seed - 1/2 tsp
Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1& 1/2 tbsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Jaggery - a small piece

Procedure

Soak the tamarind in a 1/2 cup of water for 20 mins, peel the onion & garlic and chop them roughly into pieces, tomato into small pieces. Heat the oil in a kadai, add fenugreek seed, mustard & urad dal, let the mustard splutter, then add the onion,garlic and curry leaves.

Saute till the onions become translucent, keep the flame in low and then add the spices(turmeric, red chili & sambar powder),saute them in the oil for few mins.

Then add the tomatoes, give a quick mix and add salt.

Extract the tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind and add into kadai and add more water to your preferred consistency.

Let it boil until the raw smell goes off and finally add the jaggery pieces. Cook it for few more mins and switch off the flame.

Delicious Kara Kuzhambu is ready.

Notes:

Keep the flame in low when adding the spices,otherwise it will be burnt easily.
Adding the spices in the oil gives enhanced flavor to the kuzhambu.
Sambar powder that i have used here is home made and haven't had any chilies in it. If your sambar powder has chili in it, reduce the chili powder and adjust to your taste.
Boil the curry till the consistency you prefer.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Ulli Theeyal | Shallots in Tamarind Gravy

Ulli Theeyal, a tangy & spicy curry made with pearl onions and it's one of the regional famous dishes in South Tamilnadu and also in kerala. In our family, we often make this curry for our lunch meal along with steamed rice and some veggies.

Appa is very fond of this curry and he always says that aachi(grandma) makes the best Theeyal and still he fondly remembers that it tastes best with palaya satham(leftover rice soaked in water to use it on the next day). That's the best way to preserve the leftover cooked rice in those non-refrigerator days :-)

What's Theeyal ?

"Theeyal" means "burnt" . Since all the ingredients in this curry are roasted till it's dark brown, it got its name "Theeyal".

Moreover, this curry is made with a lot of pearl onions which is commonly known as "Ulli" in South Tamil nadu and Kerala, hence the name "Ulli Theeyal"

What are the other vegetables added in this curry?

As i said earlier, mainly pearl onions are used in this curry. But for a change, you can use country vegetables like drumstick, brinja & so on.

How long can I store this curry?

As we roast all the ingredients for making this curry, it stays well for 2-3 days at room temperature and upto 10 days in the refrigerator.

Now let's see how to make this delicious Ulli Theeyal

Ulli Theeyal

Preparation Time : 1/2 hr for soaking | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Shallots / Pearl onion - 7
Tomato - 1
Tamarind - a gooseberry size
Garlic - 2
Salt - to taste
Sesame Oil - 11/2 tbsp
Curry leave - few
Mustard & urad dal - 1/2 tsp

To roast & grind
Red chili - 3
Coriander seed - 1 tbsp
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seed - 1/4 tsp
Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup tightly packed
Shallots/Pearl onion - 2
Garlic - 2 pods
Oil - few drops

Procedure

Heat the pan with few drops of oil, add red chili, coriander seed, cumin seed & fenugreek seed and roast it till nice aroma comes and also all the ingredients becomes brown.

Keep it aside, in the same pan, add the grated coconut, garlic & shallots and roast till coconut becomes red in color.

Let it cool down completely and put it in mixie jar along with the previously roasted ingredients and grind into smooth paste with water.

Soak the tamarind for 1/2 hr and peal the shallots and cut into half/quart or keep as it is depends on the size of shallots,cut tomato into small pieces and roughly chop the garlic. Heat the kadai with oil.

Add mustard & urad dal, let the mustard splutter, add the shallots, garlic and curry leaves, once the shallots becomes translucent, add the tomatoes. Fry it in oil for 1 min.

Extract the tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind and add into the shallots, then add the grounded masala and salt.

If need add more water to your preferred consistency and mix it well, let it comes to boil and keep the flame in medium until oil floats on the top.

Tasty & finger licking Ulli Theeyal is ready.

Related : More Curries and veggies

Notes:

Roast the coconut well till all the moisture leaves and it becomes red in color.
Curry is mildly spicy, if you want more spicy add more chilies.
Sesame oil gives great flavor to the curry, but you can use other vegetable oil too.
While grinding, first grind into coarse powder,then add water and make into smooth paste.
Keep the flame in medium while roasting the ingredients and also make sure it's not burnt.

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Wednesday, July 15, 2020