Uppuchar

This is a very famous preparation made out of butter milk and coconut among our families spread over the southern part of Tamilnadu up to Trivandrum. It is usually made on festive days ,on the occasions of small functions, and even on Fridays. As with everything in India, there is a mythological link to this special delicacy.

The story goes like this. Lord Shiva, promised to marry Parvathy, who was the daughter of the local king- whose name slips my mind. The bride’s family was disappointed when Lord Shiva came to the marriage accompanied by only a few of his Bhootha Ganas. They expressed their disappointment to the Lord, indicating that the elaborate arrangements for the feast would go waste since the bridegroom’s party only had a few members.

On hearing this somewhat arrogant statement, Lord Shiva decided to teach them a lesson. At the time of the feast, the Bhootha Ganas ate rapaciously, and soon finished eating all the food that was prepared and demanded more and more. The hosts could not satisfy their hunger any more. As a last resort, they cooked the entire quantity of the remaining rice and prepared Uppucchar with the left over coconuts, buttermilk, and some greens from the nearby lands as side dish. Before serving, the king begged pardon from the groom and the hunger pangs of the Bootha Ganas were satisfied. Thus there was a happy ending to the entire episode.It is also a must-cook item on the dinner menu on the occasion of any marriage in our families.

This legendary wedding is commemorated to this day with an annual celebration in Uttarakoshamangai Temple near Ramanathapuram (Ramnad) District in Tamilnadu during month of Chiththirai.

Ingredients:

1. Coconut gratings- grate about half of medium sized coconut.
2. Curds or thick buttermilk- half litre.
3. Red chillies- 4 or 5.
4. Cumin seeds -1 teaspoon.
5. Urad dhal- 1 spoon
6. Black pepper -1/2 to 1 teaspoon.
7. Salt – to taste.
8. Sundaikkai or Manaithakkali (dried Vathal)-1 to 2 teaspoon
9. Brinjals cut into 1inch sized cubes- 2or3.(optional)
10. Oil to fry and seasoning-3 teaspoons.

Preparation:

1. Heat a frying pan, add 1 spoon of oil and fry the urad dhal and chillies together till the dhal turns golden brown.
2. Remove from fire and add the cumin seeds to the hot pan itself.
3. When cold, grind these items and the coconut gratings together into a fine paste of chutney consistency.
4. Pour the ground masala into the curd and blend thoroughly till it forms a liquid. It should not be too dilute or thick.
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Heat the frying pan, pour the remaining oil and fry the dried vathals till dark brown.
7. Add the coconut to the butter milk mixture.
8. Reduce heat and cook till the liquid begins to boil (Care should be taken not to boil it) and remove from heat.
9. Fry the dried pepper, powder it and add to the mixture.

This is the simpler version, with available common ingredients.To add flavour to the dish, we use a rarely available ingredient called Appakkodi (dried and preserved variety of green). This dried herb is used in place of the Sundaikkai Vatthal. Another variety of Vatthal known as Adhalaikkai is also used with Appakkodi for seasoning. Further, brinjals cut into cubes and cooked in water with salt till they are soft, can be added for a better taste. This will go very well with rice and Masicha Keerai (mashed spinach) as a side dish, for which I will give you the recipe in a later post.