Pudina Thogayal

Ingredients:

1.       Fresh Pudina leaves: 1 cup full

2.       Dry Red Chillies: 6 (Medium sized) – I use Gundu vathal milagai

3.       Urad dal / orid dal: 2 tbsps

4.       Asafoedita: A pinch

5.       Tamarind: very small sized – say of the size of a Cadbury gems

6.       Salt

7.       Water: little

8.       Oil: 2 tsps

Preparation Procedure:

1.       In a small kadai, add 1 tsp oil and roast the orid dal, red chillies till the dal turns light golden colour. Keep this aside out of the kadai.

2.       In the same kadai, add 1 tsp oil again, heat it on sim and add the mint leaves and fry till it shrinks and reduces size. Immediately switch off the stove and transfer the contents to a mixie and allow it to cool for few minutes.

3.       Now grind the mint leaves alone first till it becomes tiny pieces for one or two whips.

4.       Now add the roasted dal, red chillies along with salt, asafoedita and tamarind bit and grind again adding water very little by little

5.       Note that the mixer ingredients should be like a thick ball. You should grind it like a firm mass by adding water very little by little. If the water goes little more also, it will become like a paste.

6.       Remove the contents out of the mixie and using your hand, make it like a shape of a dough / ball like and store it in a vessel and serve.

This can even be refrigerated and consumed for the next few days if you make it thick.

Serving Tip:

1.       Make rice in cooker allowing 3 or 4 whistles.

2.       Once the rice sets, take the required quantity of rice in a big mouth bowl.

3.       Add 2 tsps of Gingely oil and ½ tsp of ghee to the hot rice in the bowl.

4.       Allow the rice to cool for 2 to 3 mins.

5.       Now with a flat ladle, spread the rice and add the pudina thogayal and mix it..note that the rice and thogayal needs to be mixed and not mashed..