Malayala Ullichamandi

I am transported to that one night almost a year back when my good friend R visited me and divulged a lot of her culinary secrets. I was assiduously taking notes almost all through the night! I had made a lot of recipes from the kitty, but, this one somehow was always untouched, probably because it looked so simple. Suddenly this recipe found its way onto my kitchen counter today. Now after making it, I sincerely regret for not having made it earlier.

This recipe results in a beautiful chutney from R’s land – Kerala. This malayala ullichamandi is traditionally made with pearl onions, but, I used big white onions that I had handy (probably thats why the colour of mine looks a little pale). This ullichamandi is a great friend to appam, dosa, idli, chapatti, etc. I have used it as an emergency bread spread here and absolutely loved the combined taste of roasted onions and coconut.

Ingredients:

Onions: 2 medium (or equivalent pearl onions)
Coconut pieces: ¼ cup
Red chillies (long): 2 - 3
Hing: to taste
Salt: to taste
Oil: 2 – 3 tsps

Method:

Fry onions in 2 – 3 tsps of oil.
Add the red chillis and the coconut pieces .
Fry till a great aroma arises and all the ingredients are decently done.
Add hing and salt.
Let it cool for a while.
Grind to a fine paste without adding water.
Ready!


This ullichamandi goes to Bookmarked Recipes every Tuesday, started by Priya Mitharwal and hosted by Aipi of US Masala. Also, it is my contribution to Jagruti’s lovely event ‘Complete my Thali – Chutney’. This chutney also finds its way to the second edition of 'Any one can cook' event hosted by Taste of Pearl City

Tomato thokku

Enter the pickle season an average Indian family would get very busy. Women would toss the men several times to the bazaar to get all the needed ingredients. Women would keep daily cooking to the minimum to focus all their energies on making pickles. Younger children or grandchildren would be entrusted with the task of shooing away unwanted visitors like crows, sparrows and pigeons.

While tomato pickling can start as early as February depending on the harvest, the typical vadu maanga, lemon and other stuff would have to wait till end March or early April. Neighbours, close family and friends would always get their share of the home creation. If living far away, their quota would be dutifully packed and despatched with the first visitor (a.k.a ‘bakra’) to/from that land. I am sure many of us would have lovely memories of their grandmothers or mothers meticulously making the pickles with all the care and diligence for their loved ones. I can vividly remember the tall porcelain offwhite-brown coloured jars my grandmother used to store these lovely stuff!

Pulling myself back to this recipe, this tomato thokku calls for pickling of tomatoes on the stove – basically cooking them for a long time so that they lose a lot of their moisture, thus obtaining the characteristic flavour of pickles. This close pickle cousin is fairly versatile – goes well with roti, rice, idli, dosa or even as a breadspread. It stays in the fridge for about two weeks. It is a nice thing to make on a lazy Sunday evening and run the entire week with. The only thing about this thokku is that, it takes in a frighteningly large quantity of tomatoes to yield a disproportionately small measure of the end product. However, for me, it is certainly worth all the effort since it is K’s all time favourite dish!

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes : 1 kg (local Indian tomatoes are better since they are tangier)
• Salt – to taste
• Chilli powder – 1 tsp or more or less to taste
• Dhaniya powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• LG / Hing: ½ tsp or more if you prefer it more LG-ier
• Sesame oil: 4 – 5 tbsp
• For the tempering:
• Mustard: 1 tsp
• Chana dhall – 1 tsp
• Urad dhall – 1 tsp
• Jeera – ½ tsp
• Red chillies (broken): 2 No
• Curry leaves: Few

Method:

• Chop tomatoes finely
• Take a kadai. Heat oil and finish off with the tempering.
• Add the tomatoes. Initially, it is fine to cook on a high flame since water would rapidly evaporate.

• At later stages of cooking, it is better to maintain a low temperature to prevent sticking and scraping. Also, an occasional stir is enough in the initial phase, while towards the end more vigorous tossing is needed.
• Add all the powders – salt, red chilli powder, dhaniya powder, LG and turmeric powder; and keep cooking.
• There would be a stage when the oil separates (like a pickle). This would be very visible. Do take care not to overcook. Finish!