We brought brinjals and ladies finger from the market. Immediately I remembered about the pulikutthy poricha kozhambu that my mother used to prepare . It is a long time since I prepared this delicacy in recent days. This is a vegetable preparation of semi liquid consistency, to accompany rice in place of the usual sambar prepared in many South Indian house holds. This is how my mother used to prepare it.
Ingredients:
- Brinjals cut into cubes – 1cup
- Ladies finger cut into half inch thick pieces – 1cup
- Grated coconuts - 1cup
- Red chillies 5to 6 or according to taste
- Tamarind -1 lemon sized ball.
- Thuvar dhal- 1cup
- Hing 1 piece (soaked) or powdered 1/2 tsp
- Curry leaves
- Oil to season
- mustard seeds
- Urad dhal
- turmeric powder 1teaspoon
- salt to taste.
Preparation:
- Wash and pressure cook the thuvar dhal with half teaspoon of the turmeric powder.
- Clean the brinjals and ladies finger and cut into pieces as above. Cook in 1 cup of water after adding the remaining turmeric powder, in a different vessel.
- Set aside1 spoon of grated coconut and grind the remaining part and the chillies into a fine paste while the vegetables are cooking.
- Extract the juice of the tamarind into a reasonably thick consistency and pour into the vegetables which are being cooked. Add few curry leaves into it along with salt to taste. Allow to cook for three to five minutes.
- Now remove the cooked dhal from the cooker, mash it nicely into a paste, dilute and pour into the boiling tamarind and vegetable mixture. Add hing, reduce the fire and continue to cook.
- Heat two spoons of cooking oil in a kadai , add mustard seeds. When the mustards starts spluttering add the urad dhal and curry leaves. when the urad dhal begins to turn into golden yellow colour, put the grated coconuts into it and fry a little.
- Pour into the boiling kozhambu and remove from fire.
This can be used with rice, and with chappathies instead of sambar and dhal. Hope you enjoy this.
Posted by Muthu 
