Manathakkali vatral or dried blacknightshade is my favorite. It is a little bitter but I love bitter veggies. Bittergourd is my favorite vegetable and I can even have it everyday.So when mom prepared Simple South Indian Lunch Thali,she was sure to include manathakkali vatral.
Today's post is a simple tangy stew to go with steamed rice. Drizzle a little sesame oilover piping hot steamed rice and mix a little tangy stew with it.Ah!!!What a delight!!And if there is a side dish of fried pappad, the meal is heavenly......
Mom used:
Manathakkali vatral - 1/4 cup
Tamarind - lemon sized ball
Curry leaves - a few
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Uraddal-1 teaspoon
Gram dal- 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Jaggery powder- 1 teaspoon
Sesame oil-11/2 tablespoon
Salt to taste
Roast with a little oil and powder
Gram dal- 1 teaspoon
Urad dal- 1 1/2 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Peppercorns - 1/4 teaspoon
Asafetida powder- a pinch
Red chillies- 2
- Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract thick juice and keep aside.You must have approximately 1 cup extract.Keep adding water and squeeze out the extract.Keep aside.
- Heat oil in a pan and fry the manathakkali vatral till it puffs up and turns golden.Remove and keep aside.
- In the same pan, add mustard, gram dal,urad dal,curry leaves,red chillies.
- When it splutters ,add the tamarind extract, turmeric power and salt.Bring to boil. Let it simmer till the raw tamarind smell goes off and the tamarind extract reduces a little.
- Put in the fried manathakkali vatral.
- Dissolve the powder in a little water and pour into the pan.
- Simmer and add jaggery.Let it cook for a couple of minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve as a side dish with steamed rice.Be sure to drizzle a little sesame oil over the piping hot rice :)
Bon Appetit...
Labels: Blogging Marathon, Kuzhambu Varieties, Vegan varieties, Whoz on my side
