Today's post is "Green Sundakkai pitlai". Pitlai is a South Indian recipe cooked with vegetables and lentils, in a coconut & tamarind based gravy. The most common pitlais are made using bitter gourd, brinjal & Sundakkai. Today I made it using green Sundakkai. This is a special post because this Sundakkai is home-grown.
Consuming Sundakkai can do lot of wonders to our body. To name a few, they (are):
👉 Anti-bacterial and anti-fungal
👉 Good for digestion
👉 Iron rich that is beneficial for treating anemia
👉 Good for controlling diabetes
👉 Good for heart as it contains essential amino acids
👉 Good for treating intestinal worms
👉 Prevents kidney disease
Ingredients:
Green Sundakkai 1 cup
Toor Dal 1/2 cup
Tamarind lemon sized
Salt to taste
Mustard Seeds
Hing a pinch
Turmeric powder a pinch
Coconut 1/2 cup
Oil
To dry roast:
Chana Dal 2 tsp
Coriander Seeds 2 tsp
Pepper 1 tsp
Red Chillies 2
Method:
1. Pressure Cook tur dal and green sundakkai for 4 whistles.
2. Soak tamarind in little amount of hot water for 15 minutes.
3. Dry roast the ingredients given under "To dry roast" until golden brown. Switch off and allow it to cool.
4. Once done, grind the above along with coconut, soaked tamarind (with water) and hing into a thick paste.
5. Add the ground paste to the cooked tur dal.
6. Add salt and turmeric powder to it and boil for 3 to 5 minutes in medium flame.
7. Switch off the flame.
8. Heat oil in a pan. Once hot, add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add it to the above mixture.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Tip:
In this recipe, I ground tamarind along with the other ingredients (to grind). This will make sure that the tanginess of the tamarind is spread across the recipe, as well as the dish will not be very watery.