Red pearl onions in grated burnt coconut (Ulli Theeyal)

Ulli Theeyal (Ulli : Onion commonly associated to red pearl onions or small onions or shallots and Theeyal (pronounced:Thiiyyal) : refers to burnt coconut or dark brown coconut caused  due to roasting).

G'Gina's Kitchenette will still feature more vegetarian recipes to help you in the kitchen throughout the Lenten season. Also my vegetarian friends/readers are happy to see more vegetarian recipes being shared from my Kitchenette.

Easter is less than a month away! Hope your Lent sacrifices are going well.

Ulli Theeyal has always been one of my favourite dishes that mum cooks! As you may have guessed, yes this is another one of my Mum's recipes <3

My kid loves this dish so I am almost certain that your kid would too. I had to reduce the quantity of chili powder to cater to her taste buds.

What you need:

• 200 gms of Red pearl onions / small onions / shallots (Kunjulli), sliced finely
• Flesh of 1/2 a medium sized coconut, grated
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2" ginger, chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (optional - mom doesn't use for this recipe)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 4 long dried red chilis or 1/2 tbsp of red chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp of coriander powder (I use the powdered version as it was made out of roasted coriander seeds - you could use about 2 tbsp of coriander seeds instead)
• 1 gooseberry-sized : Tamarind pulp (soaked in lukewarm water and strained)
• A sprig of curry leaves
• * Oil - A drizzle
• Drinking water
• Salt to taste

The Make:

Serves : 3-4 adults | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

1. You have two options, either dry roast only the coconut gratings on medium-low heat in a wok or wide pot taking care to even brown the coconut until dark brown (not black). The second option is to dry roast the coconut gratings with the fenugreek seeds, dried red chilis and coriander seeds in case you are opting for these two ingredients instead of the powdered version.

2. Cool the dry roasted ingredients and grind well in an electric grinder with a tad bit of water to a smooth paste. You could also use a mortar and pestle in case have one.
3. Using the same wok, heat the oil on medium high and splutter the mustard seeds.
4. Lower the heat and add in the curry leaves.
5. Next add in the sliced onions, ginger and garlic and fry until the onions are golden brown.
6. Add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder (if you opted for the powdered version instead of the dried red chilies and coriander seeds) and saute well for a minute on medium heat.
7.  Next add the tamarind water, mix well and allow it to boil.
8. Once the water comes to a boil, toss in the ground coconut mixture, salt and stir well. Lower the heat and allow it to simmer for about 2-3 minutes until medium consistency is reached (it should neither be to watery nor too thick).

Serve hot with piping hot rice.

Note:
*Oil : You can choose any cooking oil. For this dish, it would taste extra special if you used Coconut Oil

Muringaella Thoran (Drumstick tree (Moringa Oleifera)'s leaves with coconut gratings)

Somehow it is becoming increasingly difficult since Lent started to write my recipe creations. There is a lot of challenges I experience during Lent and quite unexpected too. I guess that is what happens in the spiritual world with a battle between Good and Evil! So it is probably but natural that a lot of these challenges and unwanted concerns arise during the season of Lent. How you deal with it is probably a test of your faith.  Also, I seem to have a lot going on at once and hence the delay in sharing this way too simple recipe.

You can prep this dish when you are free or even whilst doing another activity that does not involve using your hands. You can even get your toddler/little ones to assist. They will definitely enjoy doing so and you can have some fun time with them as well while prepping for the dish.

These  leaves came from my parents' garden. I have always loved the drumsticks' tree leaves. And as mentioned in an earlier blog post we grew up in a villa which had this huge Moringa Oleifera tree growing in our front yard garden! These leaves are rich in Vitamin B, C, Provitamin A, Vitamin K, Manganese, Calcium and yes Protein!! Remember overcooking these leaves as with some other leaves as well would kill some of its nutrients. So it is normally cooked on medium-low heat of up to a maximum of 60°C.

Prepping the leaves requires either some old newspapers or a 'Muram' which is either a bamboo or plastic tray. It looks like this. I have the plastic version and will share the photo soon. So you basically you take the drumstick branches and gently tap it on the newspaper or the Muram and the leaves fall off the branches and stems.

You need to make sure to discard the thinner stems as well as it can get in the way once you cook it and tends to taste more bitter than it should. Also its quite stringy so you really cannot chew your way through it. I have photos of version#1 for you where I experimented cooking the thinner stems. It was a pain to get them out of the cooked dish. So make sure you painstakingly discard the stems prior to cooking.

This is mum's recipe <3

You need:

• 5 cups Drumstick leaves, washed clean and separated from branches and stems*
• Half a small coconut, grated *
• 1/2 tsp of Turmeric powder 
• 1/3 cup Split Pigeon Pea (Toor dal/Tuvara dal), semi-boiled (optional but adds more texture and flavour and not to forget added protein!)
• 1/2 cup Red pearl onions/shallots/small onions
• 1 medium sized onion, finely diced
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• Salt to taste
• Water to sprinkle
• 2 Green chilies, chopped finely
• 2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/jeerakam)
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• Cooking oil

The Make:

Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes | Cooking time: 15-20 minutes  | Serves 2 adults

1. Set the washed and separated leaves aside on a colander to drain.

2. Next using a mortar and pestle or a grinder, crush the coconut gratings, garlic, cumin seeds and pearl onions with only a sprinkle of water not more.

3. Transfer the drained Moringa Oleifera leaves and crushed ingredients to a large bowl and add the salt, green chilies and turmeric powder.

4. Add the drained semi-cooked split pigeon peas to the bowl.

5.Splutter mustard seeds in oil a large deep bottomed pot or wok and add the curry leaves.

6. Next add the sliced onion and fry for about a minute or until translucent.

7. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the drumstick leaves with the ground mixture blend and saute slightly. Cover and cook for not more than 15 minutes or until the leaves are cooked and no residual water present. The leaves turn to a nice dark green colour as well.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

*Note:
Since we eat very less coconut in our diet, I restricted it to half of a small coconut you could add more as you require and in proportion to the quantity of drumstick leaves. So for 3 cups of drumstick leaves, I added 1/4 cup of coconut.

Bon Appetit!