Pavakka-Kaippakka Theeyal

Cut the pavakka into thin, 1 inch pieces.

Peel and chop the small onions too into thin slices.

3)Heat oil in a pan.

4)Splutter mustard seeds and sautT broken red chillies and curry leaves.

5)Add the sliced small onions and green chillies and sautT, till the onions turn soft and pink.

6)Add the pavakka pieces and sautT again on a low flame.

7)Meanwhile, dry roast the coconut in a hot pan.

8)When it turns dark brown, switch off the flame and add the powders.

9)Stir well and see to it that it doesn¦t get burnt.

10)Allow it to cool and grind it to a smooth fine paste adding sufficient water.

11)Extract the tamarind pulp/juice.

12)When the pavakka is sautTed as well, add the tamarind juice followed by the coconut paste.

13)Add salt and mix well.

14)Simmer till you get the thick gravy consistency.

Pls do note that if you are using Chena and Small onions instead, then you need to cook the chopped chena and onions in water along with a pinch of turmeric and salt until soft instead of sautTing like pavakka. Then follow the rest of the procedure from Step 7 onwards. And finally, add the tempering of spluttered mustard seeds, dry chillies and curry leaves.

So, there you areajust got yourself a yummy theeyal in your handsa. though I too agree that the process is a bit time consuming and probably tediousa.but at the end of it, after all, is worth it, rite?? And I always make this only when I have lots of time to spare for cooking. So, for busy cooks, save this one for the weekends and make ur weekend lunch absolutely yummy and wonderful with a naadan curry like Theeyala. 🙂

So, on a holiday note, happy cooking!!!

You can reduce the amount of chilly powder according to your tastes though I like it to be hot… And as per the conventional way of making theeyal, you can use the coriander seeds and dry red chillies as whole too… in which case, you’d need only a tbsp of coriander seeds and 2 – 3 nos of dry red chillies. Dry roast them along with coconut and grind it to a very fine and smooth paste. And do use black tamarind to get that dark blackish color for your theeyal. Here, I have used fresh tamarind (the light brown ones) as I had ran out of the old ones, which of course explains the lack of the so called blackish colour quite evident in the image above… 🙂