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Puli Inji (Tamarind-Ginger Chutney)

A "Sadya" is a Banquet or a feast prepared for a special event such as Birthdays, Weddings, or festivities like Vishu and Onam. It is an authentic vegetarian meal comprising of atleast 12 to 24 dishes served on a plantain/banana leaf (see the below picture) and people eat together sitting cross - legged on the floor. There is a specific place for each dish to be served on the plantain leaf.I will try to share the recipes of some of the main dishes made for a Sadya without which any Sadya is incomplete.


Coming Friday is VISHU, the Kerala New Year Festival. Now I can explain about Vishu in detail about its significance, stories behind the celebration etc but this is a food blog and am restricting myself to write only about FOOD!! So you can very well google and get all your answers. For now, let me stick to what am good at...EATING!! :) Vishu is also a day of feasting and I continue to share one recipe of Sadya at a time.
Inji Puli or Puli Inji literally means Tamarind-Ginger. It is a sweet, sour and spicy chutney which is served in a sadya and is placed on the extreme left of a plantain leaf. Usually pickles and chutneys are placed on the top left of a plantain leaf. Its a very simple recipe and is usually prepared 2-3 days before the Sadya. This will definitely tickle your taste buds for sure! :)

Ingredients:
  • 25 gm tamarind
  • 1/4 cup of finely chopped ginger
  • 4-5 green chillies (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/4 cup jaggery (whole cane sugar)
  • 2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 10 fenugreek seeds
  • a pinch of asafoetida (heeng)
  • 8-10 curry leaves
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • salt to taste
Method:
  1. Soak the tamarind in 2 cups of warm water for 15 - 20 minutes. Then remove the pulp by a sieve and keep aside the tamarind extract.
  2. Heat oil in a small kadai and put the mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Then add the fenugreek seeds, heeng and curry leaves. Add the red chilli powder and saute for a minute. Then add the finely chopped ginger and the green chillies and saute them for 3 minutes.
  3. Now pour in the tamarind extract and let it come to a nice boil. If you think (after 10-12 minutes of boil)that the the raw smell of the tamarind has gone, put in the jaggery. Let it melt into the tamarind extract. Add 1/4 tsp of salt to it and let it cook for 15 minutes in medium heat.
  4. The syrup will slowly start to reduce in quantity or start to thicken. Switch off the heat.
  5. Inji Puli is ready to be served immediately as a side with rice and gravy or it can be cooled and stored in the refrigerator as it won't get spoilt for at least 2 weeks.
PS: The chutney will continue to thicken once its cooled, so you can switch off the heat once the syrup starts reducing.
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