If you are a lover of spicy food, this is a dish for you,
Small Onion Thogaiyal. Thogaiyal is one
of the main item in Tamil Brahmin cuisine which is served with rice for
lunch. We mix this with rice with a tsp
of sesame oil and just thinking of that would make my salivary glands work extra. The accompaniment of this would be any
vegetable kootu. Many of us get confused
thogaiyal with chutney. Thogaiyal is
thick and coarse texture in nature and would be spicy; this is usually prepared
with fried urad dhal, red chillies, asafoetida and ground with tamarind
pulp.
Small onion thogaiyal is a perfect accompaniment for rice
and can be served as a side dish for idly/dosa.
If prepared in right way, this stays good even for a week or two if kept
in refrigerator.
INGREDIENTS:
Small Onion - 1 CUP
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind pulp - one gooseberry sized - soaked in little warm
water
Salt - To taste
Oil - 1 tsp
To Fry:
Urad dhal - 5 tsp
Red chillies - 10
Asafoetida - a small piece
PREPARATION:
1. Soak gooseberry sized tamarind pulp in little warm water
for 10 minutes.
2. Fry the items given in the section "To Fry" with
1/2 tsp of oil and keep aside.
3. In the same kadai, add another half tsp of oil, throw in mustard
seeds and when it sizzles, saute small onions until golden brown with little
salt.
4. In mixer, grind small onion, red chillies, tamarind pulp
first in whipper. Then add the fried urad
dhal to the ground mixture and give a pulse or two. The texture should be coarse, so keep in mind
and go with the whipping mode.
5. Serve this with hot steamed rice or as a side dish for idly/dosa.
