Onam sadya special - Inji Puli

Inji puli aka inji curry aka kerala style ginger curry is a dark brown color pickle like side dish which is an inevitable part of an onam sadya and its mainly prepared using ginger, tamarind and gaggery.

Recipe for Puli inji/ Inji curry - Onam sadya special.

Ingredients

Ginger ~ 400 grams
Green chillies ~ 3 nos - Chopped 
Garlic ~ 4-5 cloves - Sliced
Kashmiri chilli powder ~ 2 tsp
Turmeric powder ~ 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek powder / uluva podi ~1/4 tsp
Asafoetida powder / kayam podi ~ 1/2 tsp
Gaggery / Sharkkara ~ a large gooseberry sized piece.
Tamarind ~ size of a small key lime.
Curry leaves
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds / kaduku ~ 1/4 tsp

Oil ~ 1 cup or as needed.
 
Method

• First wash the ginger under cold running water and peel its skin using a knife. Then slice it to very thin round pieces. 

• Next heat oil in a kadai/pan and deep fry the sliced ginger in medium-low flame till it turns crispy and brown in color. You can reserve the leftover oil for later use. Transfer fried ginger pieces to a plate lined with a paper towel and allow it to cool. Then grind it to coarse powder using a mixer grinder.

• Next heat half of the leftover oil and add mustard seeds, and when it start to splutter, add curry leaves followed by chopped green chillies and garlic. Saute for a minute and then lower the flame and add red chilly powder,turmeric powder, fenugreek powder and asafoetida powder,fry for couple of seconds and then add powdered ginger, tamarind extract, salt  and about 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil. Allow it to boil for another 10 minutes.

• Finally add a small gooseberry sized gaggery and keep the curry in a low flame till the gaggery dissolves and finally remove the inji curry from the flame when it reaches a semi-thick consistency or of a kurukku consistency.  

Notes : 

To make tamarind water - soak the key lime sized tamarind in 1/2 cup of warm water for about 15 minutes and then extract the pulp using your hands.

Once the inji curry is cooled, you can transfer the curry to an air tight container and store it in a refrigerator for about 2-3 weeks. 

Enjoy with Rice / Kanji.

 

Cheers!!

Jisha