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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

ULLI THEEYAL





Theeyal is a typical Kerala dish. Ulli in Malayalam means small onions. Just like the Tamilians, Keralites also use a lot of small onions in their cuisine. This gravy dish is a great success in all the restaurants here.


Preparation Time: 20 mts Cooking Time: 20 mts Serves: 2-3




Ingredients:




Small onions (pearl onions) - 250 gms
Coconut scrapping - 3/4 cup
Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
Red chilies - 5 nos
Refined oil - 2 tsps
Curry leaves - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Tamarind - 1 small lemon size
Salt - to taste








Method:




Peel & clean the small onions. Squeeze the tamarind in 2 cups of water & keep it ready. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan. Fry the coriander seeds, red chilies, coconut scrapping & curry leaves. Take 3-4 small onions & fry it also along with the other ingredients. The coconut should brown nicely. Grind it all to a nice paste. Heat the balance oil in the pan & fry the mustard seeds. Then add cleaned small onions & fry well till they are transparent. Add the tamarind water & salt. Boil it well till the raw smell goes off. Then add the ground masala & boil it well. Add some curry leaves on top & switch off the heat. Theeyal is ready.



Variations:


Theeyal can be made with vegetables like bitter gourd, potato, yam, mushroom etc. For the non-vegetarians this can be made with prawns too.


Tips:



  1. The trick lies in the masala. The coconut has to be fried nicely in to a deep brown colour. That is what gives the taste to the theeyal.
  2. We can make the theeyal in coconut oil to give it a nice Kerala taste.




Taste it & enjoy.

4 comments:

  1. Hello Aunty, long time ... gr8 to see you back. I have two long weekends ahead of me and I will sure try out this. Idly/dosa will be good main dishes along with theeyal? Please recommend.

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  2. I agree with DS aunty!! long time!! Can one make this dish with big onions as well? If so, which ones? red or yellow? Please recommend. Many Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Bhargavi: u can use both onions instead of small onions. cut them in to small pieces & use it.

    ReplyDelete