PULI KEERAI (Spinach in tamarind sauce)

From the treasure chest, here pops out a recipe from the pure Tanjore Cuisine...
In my Salem cuisine, no dhal is added, it is just the spinach in tamarind sauce. I learnt this dish from my m-i-l, who was an expert in making this.
For this recipe, always Mulaikeerai (Amaranthus) is used, and being combined with tamarind, other home-made spices and tamarind, the taste goes somewhere........and amazingly, this is an ideal side dish for rice, millets, dosas and chapathies.
Today, I chose to make this side dish as a combo for Ragi kali (Finger millet balls)

Ingredients

Amaranthus, very finely chopped and washed - 2 cups

Water - 2 cups

Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp

Slit green chillies - 2

Asafoetida ball - 1

Sambar powder - 2 tsps

Tur dhal - 3/4 cup, soaked in hot water for 30 mts and pressure cooked

Salt to taste

For seasoning

Gingely oil - 2 tsps

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Broken urad dhal - 1 1/2 tsps

Recipe cuisine: South Indian; Category: Lunch/dinner

Prep time: 15 mts; Cooking time: 20 mts

Serves 4

Spinach chopped fine, and then washed

chopped spinach added to 2 cups water, slit green chillies, asafoetida, tamarind paste and sambar powder added, and let to boil on slow flames.

Dhal pressure cooked and mashed well.

All things put in together, boiling nicely, tamarind losing its raw flavour, spinach getting cooked and at this point, add salt to taste. Then in another photo, you can see the cooked and mashed tur dhal being added to the Pulikeerai, allowed to boil for 5 minutes and then switched off.

Seasoning of the above mentioned ingredients done, and poured on top of the Pulikeerai.

Yummy Pulikeerai served hot-hot with the soft Ragi balls.

This post first appeared in www.malpatskitchen.com

Categories: No Onion-no garlic, South Indian Kuzhambus, Spinach recipes