Ulli Theeyal - Kerala style Shallots in Roasted Coconut Sauce + The Winner

We had an amazing vacation in the land of mountains, lakes and springs the long weekend and how I wish as always , I could freeze the time and live those days over and over again ; else I would have to take these kin of vacations more often. We always stay in down towns where ever we go  to capture all the happenings at night ..days we admired the picturesque place , taking scenic drives , boat cruises , and even Six flags :) (scared the hell out of me ) Evenings we roamed around the village , bar-hopped , ate at authentic Italian restaurants , resembling Sicilian villas and enjoyed till midnights the live music on beach. A totally splendid vacation.

Many Thanks to all those who have participated in the giveaway - autographed copy of Monica Bhide's Modern Spices . N assigned numbers to all those who left comments here in vazhayila and in FB page and randomly picked a number and The Winner is Lubna Karim. Lubna , please send me your address to ship your win.

Ulli Theeyal( theeyal means "fried curry" ) is the first thing I made after the break , as sort of  welcoming myself back to my normal routine. Honestly I really have to do something good to get my blogging mojo back. Look at my picture , something is not right..sigh!!!

This is the first dish my Mom learnt to make after her wedding , since my paternal grandparents liked it so much. She always says , she had a tough time( 33 years back) grinding the roasted coconut to perfection, in the traditional "Arakallu" and took almost an year to get it right. Lucky us , we don't have to slog that much to get it right :). A simple curry full of flavors , this Ulli Theeyal can make your meal a special one :)

Recipe for Kunjulli / Chuvanna Ulli Theeyal

Serves - 2-3 

Cooking time -30 minutes

Ingredients:-

Shallots/ Kunjulli - 10-15 nos

Oil - 2 table spoons

Tamarind pulp - 1 tea spoon

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt to taste

Curry leaves - 2-3

Water - 1 to 1.5  cup

To roast and grind

Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup

Coriander seeds - 1 table spoon or Ground Coriander - 1/2 to 1 tea spoon

Dried red chiles - 2-3 or Red chili powder - 1/2 tea spoon

Tempering

Oil - 2-3 table spoon

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea spoon

Dried red chiles broken - 2

Curry leaves -  4-5 

Directions:-

Dissolve tamarind pulp in a cup of water and set aside for 5-10 minutes. Peel , clean and cut Shallots into 2 or 3 big pieces. Heat oil and saute shallots for 4-5 minutes.Cook the shallots with the dissolved tamarind and remaining water ,turmeric , salt to taste and curry leaves for 6-8 minutes or until shallots are tender.

Meanwhile,heat a spoon of oil in a pan(optional, you can do this without oil too) , add grated coconut and fry in a medium flame , stirring continuously , till it starts to turn dark brown. Add coriander and chili and continue frying , till the coconut and the spices are dark brown.Switch off the flame.

Grind this to a fine paste , by adding little water in the small jar of mixie or coffee grinder.

Add this paste to the cooked shallots , combine well and simmer for 2-3 minutes.( add more hot water , if you want it to be watery).Let heat through but do not let it boil. Remove from heat and set aside.

Tempering :- Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds.When they pop up add dried red chiles, curry leaves , fry for a minute and remove. Pour over the theeyal and serve warm

Good day All,

Sarah