Puli Inji / Inji Puli

Inji puli or puli inji as it is called, is part and parcel of onam sadya. A thick sauce that is sweet, spicy and tangy in taste.

Ingredients

Cut very finely

8 - Green chili

2'' to 3'' piece - Ginger

1 cup - Shallot or 2 - Onions

To roast & powder

1 tsp - Raw rice

1 tsp - Jeera /cumin

1/2 tsp - Pepper corns

Masala powders to be roasted

3 tsp - Coriander powder

1.5 tsp - Chili powder

1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder

Other ingredients

1 fist full - Tamarind

1 small cube size - Jaggery

Salt to taste

Seasoning

1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds

2 - Dry red chili, split into two

Few curry leaves

Method

1 ) Extract thick tamarind juice, from tamarind, adding about 1.5 to 2 cups of water to the tamarind. Roast the ingredients listed above.

2 ) Heat a kadai /wok with little coconut oil, Add mustard seeds and let it pop. Then add dry red chili, curry leaves and fry for a few seconds. Then add finely chopped, green chili, ginger and onion. Fry on medium heat very well till the raw smell goes and the ingredients get fried to a medium brown color. Add more coconut oil as required.

3 ) Now add the roasted masala powders, mix and stir. Now pour in the tamarind juice, salt to taste, stir and cook till the sauce thicken up. Then add jaggery and let it blend in with the sauce. Now sprinkle the powdered, rice,jeera and pepper. Stir and mix and cook for a minute. Take off the stove and let it cool.

Serve inji puli for a grand onam sadya meal.