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.