Inji Puli/Ginger-Tamarind Chutney
No feast in Kerala can be termed as complete without inji puli. It is a must for every traditional feast termed as sadya. The ginger, asafoetida and other spices will help to digest the food eaten in a feast. It is a tangy sweet-sour and spicy chutney. It is also called as puli-inji in some places. (puli means tamarind and inji means ginger). There are various versions of making it. This is just one of the many versions. It is very easy to make and can be stored for atleast 2 weeks. Goes very well with simple dal-chawal or any bland non sour gravy.
Ingredients:
- Ginger 3-4 inch piece
- Tamarind a big lemon size
- Green chillies 3-4
- Salt to taste
- Jaggery powder 2 tbsp
- Red chilli powder 2-3 tsp
- Turmeric powder a pinch
- Curry leaves 2 sprigs
- Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
- Fenugreek seeds 8-10
- Asafoetida a pinch
- Sesame oil 1-2 tbsp
Method:
- Soak the tamarind in water for few minutes and extract the pulp. Strain it and keep it aside.
- Wash and peel the ginger and chop it finely. Cut the green chillies into small pieces.
- Heat oil in a kadhai and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the fenugreek seeds and curry leaves.
- Toss in the chopped ginger and green chillies and fry till it is crisp.
- Add the salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and asafoetida.
- Pour the tamarind pulp and add jaggery.
- Bring to a boil. Adjust salt and jaggery according to your taste.
- Cool and store in clean and dry airtight containers.
Notes:
- You can adjust the amount of jaggery as per your choice. If you do not have jaggery powder, melt the jaggery in little water, strain and add it.
- Normal sugar or cane sugar can be added instead of jaggery.
- Try adding finely chopped or pureed dates pieces.
- If you do not like to bite into the ginger pieces, you can deep fry thin slices of ginger and then powder it and add to the boiling tamarind pulp towards the end.
- Store them inside the refrigerator for a longer shelf life.
- Always use a dry and clean spoon for serving it.
- If the tamarind is new and very hard, soak it in warm water before extracting the pulp.
