Vallarai Thogayal (Chutney)

I was enjoying my vacation until last week and was happily posting recipes. Now back to square one...have put on my wings. In a day, I get hardly 12 hours to spend at home. Out of which 7-8 hours goes in sleep. In the remaining 4 hours (morning 2 hours and evening 2 hours) I get to do all other things.

I know, I could hear you saying - "So ? What are you trying to say ?"

Just a refinement in the frequency of my posts. I will be posting every Saturday. I will try my best to check my fellow bloggers posts alternate days.

Now coming to Vallarai Thogayal, I was clueless of its English Name.

Googled and found it as Gotu Kola. I am not sure how many of you would have heard the name.

The botanical name is Centella asiatica.Common names include Gotu Kola, Asiatic Pennywort, Antanan, Pegaga, Kula kud and Brahmi (although this last name is shared with Bacopa monnieri and other herbs). It is used as a medicinal herb in Ayurvedic medicine.

Source: Wikipedia

My mom prepares this often. She insists us ( I guess everyone would have been fussy when they were kids) to have it saying it is good for memory power. When I read the article in Wikipedia I learnt that there are more goodness associated with it.

Very simple thogayal. You can mix with rice or have it as side dish to dosa/idli.

Ingredients:

Vallarai Keerai - 1 Bunch

Tamarind - 1/2 of Lemon size.

Red Chilli - 4

Urad Dhal - 2 Tsp

Oil - 2 Tsp

Salt - As required

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and fry red chilli, urad dhal and tamarind.
2. Clean the Vallarai keerai, remove the steam and dry fry it until the water evaporates.
3. Grind everything together with salt, sprinkling water inbetween.Don't add too much of water, it should be a thick paste.
4. Store it in a container. It will last for a week if refrigerated.

Nutritional Facts:

• Vallarai - Active Ingredients are Bacoside A and B. Bacoside A allow blood to flow more freely through the body.Bacoside B is a protein attributed to nourishing the brain cells.
• Check out Wikipedia for more...

Award:
I have been given 'Blogging Community Involvement' Award

by TBC and Archana

The Power of Schmooze Award is for bloggers who "effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don't limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship."

Thanks girls for such a nice award. I would like to dedicate this to all my fellow bloggers. I would like to Thank Asha here. She is the one who first dropped in a comment in my blog which boosted me up and kept me going. Many Thanks to all other fellow bloggers and viewers.

Have a great weekend !

Pudhina Thogayal

Thogayal is a Tamil word for Chutney. Thogayal last longer unlike other curries. My mother used to prepare thogayal of different kinds. Pudhina Thogayal is of one kind.

Mint leaves are used as a medicinal herb to treat stomach ache and chest pains. It is used to whiten teeth and also to treat Acne (skin disease).
Though it has lot of medicinal values, not everyone likes the smell.

Pudhina Thogayal given here is prepared by frying mint leaves. You will not feel the raw smell and tastes good.

Ingredients:
Mint Leaves (Pudhina)- 1 Bunch
Coriander Leaves (Kothamalli)- 1 Bunch
Tomato -1 No
Onion - 1 No or Small Onion - 5 Nos
Tamarind Thick extract - 1/4 Cup
Urad Dhal (Ulunthamparuppu) - 2 Tsp
Dry Red Chillies - 3 - 4
Salt - As Required
Oil - 3 Tbsp

For Garnishing:
Urad Dhal (Ulunthamparuppu) - 1/2 Tsp
Gram Dhal (Kadalaiparuppu) - 1/4 Tsp
Check out Lentils
Dry Red Chilli - 1

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and fry 2 teaspoons of urad dal until golden brown.
2. Add Onion and red chillies and fry and keep it aside.
3. Add Mint leaves, Coriander Leaves and fry till the water evaporates and leaves shrink and then keep it aside.
4. Heat oil in a pan and fry the tomatoes.
5. Allow everything to cool.
6. Grind everything together along with tamarind extract and salt.
7. Adjust salt accordingly.
8. Heat oil in a pan.
9. Add Urad dal, Gram dal and red chilli and fry until golden brown.
10. Garnish with the above.

Note:

• Add water only if necessary. The water used for soaking tamarind would be enough.
• You can add a pinch of ginger too.