When I first saw this recipe in Solai Achi's blog, I was interested. After my hubby became a vegetarian, he usually asks me to prepare some substitutes for the original non-vegetarian gravy. His favorite was meen kulambu. I usually substitute fish with yam ordinary, adamant creeper or elephant yam but the masala remains the same. They taste just like his favourite gravy but visually they don't resemble it. But this gravy looks just like the fish gravy and tastes like fish too. Solai Achi says that this is the secret recipe of chettiars. We enjoyed this delicious kulambu for our lunch today. Today is the final day of Blogging Marathon#9.
Recipe Source: Solai's True Chettinad Kitchen
Ingredients:
For The Vegetarian Fish:
Thattai Payaru / Cow Peas-1/2cup
Garlic-3pods
Salt-to taste
Red Chilly Powder-1/2tsp
Fennel Seeds-1/2tsp
Banana Leaf-1
Oil-For Deep Fry
For The Gravy:
Pearl Onions-20
Garlic-10pods
Sambar Powder-2tsp
Coriander Powder-2tsp
Salt-to taste
Sesame Oil-3tbs
Tomato-1
Green Chilly-2
Tamarind-Gooseberry sized ball
Turmeric Powder-1/4tsp
Mustard-1/2tsp
Fennel Seeds-1tsp
Curry Leaves-a sprig
Methi Seeds-1/4tsp
Procedure:
1. Wash the cow peas and grind it in a mixer grinder to just break it apart. Do not add water.
2. Soak this broken cow peas in water for 1 hour.
3. Add garlic, salt and red chilly powder and grind it to a fine paste with out adding water.
4. Cut banana leaf into rectangles.
5. Apply the paste on the leaf and fold it into half.
6. Steam cook these folded leaves for 10minutes.
7. Carefully remove the leaf and cut them into pieces to resemble fish pieces.
8. Heat oil and deep fry the pieces till golden brown.
9. Chop onions, tomato and garlic.
10. Heat oil and add mustard, fennel and methi seeds. When splutters add curry leaves.
11. Add garlic, green chillies and onions and saute till golden.
12. Add tomato and saute till done.
13. Extract juice from tamarind. Mix sambar powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder.
14. Add this mixture to the onions.
15. Add salt to taste. When it starts boiling, simmer until the gravy thickens slightly.
16. Add the fried vegetarian fish pieces to the gravy, bring to boil and switch off flame.
17. Enjoy with rice.
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| Thattai Payaru / Cow Peas |
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| Break them in a mixer |
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| Soak and grind along with other ingredients |
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| Apply on a banana leaf |
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| Fold it into half |
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| Steam cook |
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| Remove leaf |
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| Cut into two |
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| Deep fry and use in gravy |
Achi suggested using latcha ketta keerai for steam cooking. As I couldn't get those, I used banana leaf.
I am sending this as an entry to MLLA-40 hosted by Suma and started by Susan.Labels: Blogging Marathon, CHETTINAD, COW PEAS, GRAVY
