Curry prepared using Onions or Shallots. This is best eaten with plain Rice, Idlis/Rice Cakes and Pancakes/Dosas
Time Required: 30 Minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
2 medium sized Onions, Chopped into big pieces or 20 Shallots, Peeled
1 Tomato, Chopped
1 small lemon sized Tamarind soaked in water
3/4 Cup Tur Dal/Red Gram Split
3tbsp Sambar Powder
1/2 Cup Fresh Coconut
1 small piece Jaggery/Molasses (Optional)
Salt to taste
Curry prepared using assorted vegetables. It is prepared during auspicious ceremonies like Upanayana / Sacred thread, Weddings etc.,
Time Required: 30 Minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 Cup Beans, Cut into ½ “ pieces
½ Cup Peas
½ Cup Carrots, Cut into 1 Cm pieces
1 Cup Ash Pumpkin, Cut into 1” and 2 cm width pieces
½ Cup Suvarna Gadde, Cut into 1” long and 1cm width pieces
1 Cup Tur Dal/Red Gram Split
2tbsp Groundnuts
3tbsp Kootina Pudi
¾ Cup fresh Coconut
1 Lemon sized Tamarind soaked in water
1tbsp Jaggery/Molasses
A pinch of Asafoetida
Salt to taste
I remember running around Curry leaf trees at my Mama’s(Uncle) farm in North Karnataka. He had grown these trees in half an acre of land. Walking beside the trees, we could smell the distinctive scent of the trees. There was always a continuous demand for the leaves throughout the year. It is ubiquitous in most of the South Indian and Sri Lankan dishes.
The curry leaf tree is a fast-growing deciduous shrub with deep root and aromatic leaves. It can be grown either in pots or outside. It is successful to grow in hot and dry conditions. You can try to grow from cuttings, which are neither too tender nor very hard and woody and remove the lower leaves. Cut the stems cleanly at a node, and push the cutting a few centimeters into a prepared pot or ground. Keep the pot away from direct sunlight. Rooting will take about 3 weeks. Alternatively, you can get a sapling from the nursery and plant it directly in the desired place or pot.
Curries without curry leaves is tantamount to pickles without salt. People living away from India always complain that the curries they prepare lack the authentic taste because fresh curry leaves are inaccessible in their adopted countries.
Murraya koenigii is the botanical name given to the Curry-leaf tree commemorating the botanist Johann Gerhard Koenig. This tree is native to India, Srilanka and Bangladesh. The trees spread to Malaysia, South Africa and Reunion Island with South Asian immigrants. It is popularly known as ‘karibevu’ in Kannada, ‘kariveppilai’ in Tamil and Malayalam, ‘karivepaku’ in Telugu, ‘kari patta’ in Hindi, ‘limda’ in Gujarati and ‘karapincha’ in Sinhalese, ‘daun kari’ in Malaysia. The most common sounding word in the names is kari means black. Since it belongs to the Neem family, its name ‘karibevu’ in Kannada means ‘black neem’. The word ‘curry’ originates from the Tamil word ‘kari’ meaning spiced sauces.
