My grandmother is a fiesty 100. My childhood memories will be incomplete without her touch, her smell, her love and her food. While my parents worked outside - my home was run by my grandmother. She filled our home and our lives with her smiles and her patience and her nurturing. She was prone to bad temper as well - especially if she found us loitering and reading comic books instead of text books - while the folks were away. But by and large her gentle soul was much manipulated by my brother and me. I believe my relationship with my grandmother goes beyond the here and now. Today, 'muthy' (as we affectionately call her) is completely bed ridden - and she still haltingly remembers her family, present and past. But ask her a secret recipe and her toothless face lights up as she scans her memory to share with us a sunshiney meal.
She knew - like most girls - I've an unexplained love for tamarind. And she used to make me a very simple, traditional tamarind chutney called 'Puli Pottichhathu' - loosely translated as crushed tamarind - so you can imagine what the chief ingredient is! Its been a while since I had it - my grandmother stopped making it sometime back. Today after ages I am making it again - and I feel her beside me as I share it with you. It has all the smokiness, tanginess, sourness and sweetness that makes life itself so flavourful.
Ingredients
Tamarind - size of a ball of lemon (use less if the tamarind is too sour)
Hot water - 1/2 cup
Onion -1 medium
Dried red chilly - 4
Grated jaggery/brown sugar - roughly 1 Tbsp
Pappadom - 3,4
Salt to taste
Coconut Oil/Olive oil - 1 Tbsp
the line up
Method
1. Soak the tamarind in a hot water bath.
2. Roast the pappadam directly on gas and keep aside.
3. Dry roast the red chillies - till the acrid smell stings your throat.Keep aside.
4. Finely chop the onion.
5. Now in a bowl - using your hands - crush the onions, red chillies, pappadams, salt and jaggery.
6. Pour the tamarind water into the above, straining fibrous bits if any.
7. Mix well - stir in the coconut/olive oil.
You can have this chutney with your regular meal or even plain steamed rice.
I mixed a small batch with olive oil and it turned out fantastic. Its tastes sharper than the coconut oil chutney... and will be great with a bowl of plain nachos.
Tangy Tamarind Salsa or Muthy's good ol' Puli Pottichhathu is my entry for Sarah's Tastes to Remember
5 comments:
I'm not sure what tamarind tastes like, but since girls like it I think I'l have to find some. :)
indian girls for sure like it!!
Traditional recipes are the best!
Beautiful post.
came here via Siri's blog.
this is something i am definitely trying - not just because it is puli but because its a grandma's special :)
I made this and just posted it. Thank you so much for the recipe!
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