Recipe: Podipodicha Pulinkari

This pulinkari was a favourite of my grandmother's, especially so if it was made with jackfruit (ripened) and my grandfather detested the curry. The usual conversation at meal time whenever the pulinkari was made went something like the following:

Grnadpa: What is for Lunch?

Grandma: Podipodicha Pulinkari

Grandpa: Unkamma Pulinkari (Your mother pulinkari!)

Even to this day, whenever I make this pulinkari, I am reminded of the scene in our ancestral home on pulinkari days, when we children used to burst out laughing. We made it a point to be at the dining hall, when my grandfather came to eat his lunch, when pulinkari was made. My little cousin had named this pulinkari as grandma's ammapulinkari.

Once my youngest brother who was then 3 years old, told a neighbour, my mother has made "mooku podicha pulinkari" today. The lady came to my mother curious to know, what this new dish was and we all had a hearty laugh.

All said and done, it is wonderful pulinkari (sambar) to go with rice or dosa or idli.

This pulinkari can be made with any lightly sweet vegetable, like, red pumpkin (squash), ripe mango, ripe jackfruit or a combination of red pumpkin and raw plantain, etc.

I give the recipe for basic pulinkari, in which any of the above mentioned vegetable can be added.


To serve 4

Ingredients

Red pumpkin 250 gms

Or

Ripe Mango 1 big

Or

Ripe Jackfruit 10 - 15 pods ( seeds removed )

Or

Red pumpkin 200 gms
Raw plantain 1small

Tamarind paste - 2 tsp

Or

Tamarind - the size of a lemon( Indian lemon. I have seen giant sized lemons at US)
Turmeric powder 1tsp.
Jaggery 25 gms.
Salt to taste

For garnish:
Oil 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds 1tsp.
Redchilly 1 no.
Curry leaves one sprig

To roast and powder:

Raw rice 1 tbsp,
Red chillies 3 nos.
Methi seeds ½ tsp
Lentil or toor dal 1 tsp.
Hing or asafoetida peasize

Wash the rice and dry roast to golden brown color along with all the other ingredients for powder. Cool and grind to a fine powder .When powdered this gives a nice aroma. Keep aside.
Cut the vegetables to 1" cubes , the jackfruit pods 1" pieces
Soak the tamarind, in 1 cup of warm water, if you are using tamarind. Squeeze the pulp and boil adding one more cup of water. Add the vegetables and cook, adding turmeric powder and salt. When vegetables are almost cooked, add the jaggery and boil for 5 more minutes. Mix the ground powder with one cup of water without lumps and add to the cooked vegetables.( If using, tamarind paste, the tamarind paste need to be added at this stage only ). Allow the mixture to come to boil. If the curry is very thick, add more water and boil.It should be thinner that sambar.(The pulinkari will thicken when it cools.) Remove from stove and add few curry leaves.
Heat another pan and add the oil for garnish. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and red chilli (broken into small pieces). When the mustard seeds stops spluttering and red chilli pieces have turned darker in color, remove from stove, add the curry leaves and pour into the prepared pulinkari. ENJOY.