Wednesday, August 16, 2006

PuliyumMulakumChalichathu &IdichakkaThoran

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Happiness is ....these kind of simple dishes.I think it was
  • Ammani
  • who had this meme...had thought of posting it long back...forgot it for a while...This was my father's favourite and something that he made whenever he wanted to have something tangy hot and something simple...when my mom ws bed ridden for a while, kitchen ws controlled by my dad...Achan had real difficult times, cooking for us,taking care of us,taking care of amma, and going to office. ...sometimes his dal would be messy and his cabbage fry would go morose and dark.... but he did it all with love...so we dint complain...Ruminating on those memories a painful sob choke my heart still...
    I dont know from where he learnt this puliyum mulakum chalikkal in this style, for he was a widely travelled man...in Kerala I have seen people doing it, but it was just tamarind,salt,green chilli and coconut oil all mixed in water.My father did it a little different but ws tastier definitely...and I just remember that we ate a lot of rice with this tangy curry and a fish fry, or an omelette or a papad. I just recreated the memory with some idichakka thoran,prawn deep fry, and sago fritters(sontagi/vaddiyalu).My husband says that it tasted like'Thembli',a Kannada preparation which he has promised to make for me with some mutton fry!!It has been long that he hasnt cooked anything..btw he is a good cook and that was my greatest fear when I got married!!

    So here goes my happy meal....

    Ingredients:
    Tamarind paste-1 1/2 tsp(Natco)(Those who are using tamarind may use a berry size tamarind soaked in water and juice extracted)
    Onion-1 large-chopped
    Green chilli-4(pounded)
    Dry Red chilli-3
    Mustard seed-1/2 tsp
    Cumin seed-1/2 tsp
    Curry leaves-2 sprigs
    Grated coconut-1tbsp
    Fresh Coconut oil-as rqd(or any oil of u'r choice)
    Salt-as rqd
    Water-as rqd

    Method:
    Mix tamarind paste,onion,green chilli,grated coconut,and salt with water.Roast the dry red chillies in a tsp of coconut oil.Pound it into small flakes.(You can use a mincer as well).Add this to the tamarind mix.Now heat oil in a small wok.Prepare the seasoning with mustard seed,cumin seeds and curry leaves.Add this seasoning also to the prepared tamarind curry.Mix well and serve it with hot rice.


    Idichakka thoran

    This is a common item in our daily menu back home in Kerala once the jackfruit season begins...the very tender ones are made into upperi, a less tender,but raw ones are made into idichakka and the ripe ones into payasam,appam,chakka varatti etc etc...I had some raw chakka pieces left over in the fridge from my birmingham purchase last time...It is time to refil my fridge with fresh kerala stock...so I need to finish these off...and moreover idichakka is my all time favourite.I wish I had some fresh idichakka.

    Ingredients:

    Raw jack fruit pieces-200g
    Grated coconut-2 tbsp(optional)
    Garlic-5 pods(chopped)
    Onion-1 large(chopped)
    Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
    Green chilli-5(Slitted)
    Dry red chilli-3(cut into pieces)
    Mustard seed-1/2tsp
    Curry leaves-2 sprigs
    Blackgramdal-1/2 tsp
    Cumin seed-1/4 tsp
    Salt-as rqd
    Oil-as rqd

    Method

    Pound the jack fruit pieces well to shred it completely.Now mix it with salt and turmeric powder well.Now Heat oil in a wok.Add garlic, onions,green chillies.Saute them till it becomes transluscent and leaves a fine aroma.Now add the jackfruit pieces.Sprinkle a little water.Close the lid and cook until it is done.Now add the grated coconut and mix well.Heat oil in a small wok.Prepare the seasonig with mustard,cumin, black gram dal,&curry leaves.Once the seeds have spluttered add the seasoning to the jackfruit.Mix everything well.Your Idichakka thoran is ready!

    Prawn deep fry

    Prawns -200g(cleaned,deveined,only the head removed-the remaining shell intact)
    Red chilli powder-1 tsp
    Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
    Black Pepper Powder-3/4 tsp
    Curry leaves-2 sprigs
    Salt-as rqd
    Oil-as rqd

    Method:

    Marinate the prawns with chilli powder,turmeric powder,pepper powder,salt and a little oil and leave it for 5 minutes. Heat oil in a wok,add curry leaves and then in tht flavoured oil deep fry the prawns till they become golden brown and crisp.It is a wonderful side dish with anything...I love to eat rice in that left over oil ;)[Meen Choru/Chemmeen Choru]!!

    13 comments:

    Shah cooks said...

    nice chammandi recipe, shynee. i really go for the simple chammandi, omelet and hot rice after a long day.
    where did u get idichakka? where in uk are u?

    indianadoc said...

    shaheen,it isnt chammandi...tis a curry as thin as rasam...We have a Kerala shop in Birmingham where we get most of the things available back home including chakka,chakkakuru,kappa,and what not!!We are in shropshire and it is jus 40minutes drive for us to Birmingham which we dont mind once in a while to get hold of all those precious kerala ingredients...

    Jayashree said...

    Idichakka thoran is one of my favourites....I don't get it here, though....awww your post just reminded me of one more thing I miss.

    KA said...

    Nice combo Shynee. Your PuliyumMulakumChalichathu almost sounds like the pachi pulusu that we make. I have never tried cooking with jackfruit, how does it taste?

    Annita said...

    u get chakka kuru tooo ..thats my hubby's favorite..And i love ur puliyum mulakum...

    Anonymous said...

    Hey Shynee its so good to see u blog abt all my favourites. Never did I expect to see mention of Chemmeen Choru in any of the blogs. Thats what we call back home the rice cooked in oil after frying Prawns. You are bringing lotsa good old memories my dear :-)

    mathew said...

    mm..great..mom is goin to have a tough time when i go home next time..Will be showing ur blog and provide some relief for my appetite.. ;)

    indianadoc said...

    >thanx jayashree for dropping in...yeah, tis my favourite too and i dint think twice to pick it up from the kerala shop here...
    >Yes I know KA,I think perhaps the only difference is tht we dont add jaggery and in the pachipulusu you dont add coconut....hmmm...cultures do overlap...
    >Yes annita,we get chakkakuru too...but since I dont like it much except in some combo and my husband has never eaten it,we dont generally buy it...oh puliyum mulakum is something one can go for when v are 2 lazy!!
    >Keralagirl,I did take a snap of chemmeen choru,but felt it will be too silly to mention...Oh,I love any meen choru!!At home my brother and I fight for the frying pan rather than the fried fish!!
    >Mathew,I wish u'r mom had a blog...she would definitely have loads of experience to share....our mothers are masters mathew...so she is going to surprise u this time!!

    Menu Today said...

    Hi,
    I liked your recipe. Only my MIL makes "Idichakka" I never tried, with your recipe I will try. Thanks for sharing.

    archana said...

    I loved everything in this post, but you completely took me away with the last sentence ( eating rice with oil ).I used to do that, only with oil from prawn fry preparations. God, that was tasty!!! Thank you Shynee...

    Anonymous said...

    i hate you...
    i hate you...
    i hate you....

    :-(

    hope they block blogspot there in UK!!...just kidding! :)

    indianadoc said...

    >Menu Today,thanx for dropping in...pl do try...i wd love to hear from u...
    >Yes Archana,sometimes I feel that is the tastiest part of frying fish!!I love it a lot...now my competitor for the frying pan is my husband!!
    >Inji, I love u, I love u, I love u...Hahaha! if they ban blogging in UK, I'll fly to US and log on to u'r system!!

    Anonymous said...

    lol nice writing :]]]