- Submitted by Beryl
(Varutharacha Inji Curry, Kerala Inji Curry)
Ginger root as we all know, is very good for digestion. It can be used in many forms like Ginger tea, Ginger theeyal, Ginger Chutney, Ginger Pickle etc. It is advisable to include ginger in some form in our daily diet to maintain good health. It is used in almost all Indian curry recipes along with Garlic in paste form and usually referred as Ginger Garlic paste.
As part of the Sadhya, Keralites prefer to serve some ginger dish which aids in digestion after the heavy meal. It is either the Inji Thayir Pachadi (ginger with yogurt and coconut paste), puli inji (sweet and sour ginger pickle) or the Inji Theeyal (Ginger with roasted coconut paste).
Now let's see how to make this Ginger Theeyal or Inji Curry. It is also a sour and spicy curry made with roasted ginger and roasted coconut. The curry is very aromatic which comes from the roasting. It is slightly different from the Puli Inji which does not have coconut but has more sweetness added in the form of jaggery.
My grandmother loves to prepare this inji theeyal often in clay pots and store it for the nect 2-3 weeks. A spoonful is served with every meal. It is mixed with white rice and eaten. Another common way of eating is to scoop a small portion of the theeyal in between the meal using your index finger and lick it. The sudden punch of flavour is an awesome experience.
Recipe for Ginger Curry
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 6 - 8
Ingredients
For Roasting and Grinding
- Ginger- (without skin and cut into small pieces) - 1 cup
- Coconut grated - 1 cup
- Cumin - 1 tsp
- Shallots - 3
- Red Chili powder - 1 tsp
- Fenugreek powder or seeds - 1/2 tsp
For Seasoning
- Coconut oil - 1-2 tbsp
- Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Curry leaves-10 numbers
- Shallots - 10 numbers
- Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
- Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
- Red Chili powder - 1 tsp
- Salt- as necessary
- Jaggery - 1/2 tsp
- Green chili or Dry red chili - 2
- Tamarind juice - from one lemon sized tamarind
Preparation Steps
- Keep all the ingredients ready for cooking - ginger, coconut, tamarind, shallots and spices.
- Peel the skin of ginger using a knife or spoon. Wash and chop into roughly small pieces. The smaller you cut, the easier it will get roasted. Some people crush the ginger using a mortar and pestle.
- Grate the coconut. Cut the shallots into small pieces.
- Soak the tamarind in a bowl of water to extract its juice.
Method
- Heat the pan and dry roast the ginger first. Do this on a medium low flame to prevent the ginger from burning.
- After few minutes of stirring, the ginger becomes dry. At this stage add the grated coconut and remaining ingredients (cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chili powder) given for roasting. Take care not to turn them into black by stirring them continuously.
- When everything turns into a uniform brown colour, turn off the stove and keep it for cooling.
- When it becomes cool, grind them in a blender to a smooth paste by adding less water.
- Now switch on the stove again. In a heavy pan or clay pot, add coconut oil. When it becomes hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves.
- Wait till the mustard seeds splutter. Now add shallots and dry red chilies (or green chilies). Fry well.
- Add the turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder and stir well.
- Now add the ingredients (ground paste) from the blender. Also add the tamarind juice, jaggery and salt.
- Mix well and check the taste. Adjust the taste by adding more tamarind or salt if necessary. Allow it to boil.
- Simmer on medium flame by stirring in between.When the oil floats on top, switch off the stove and its ready to serve with rice.
Serving Ginger Curry
- This curry has a strong taste and hence is served as a condiment along with rice, some curry and side dish. It is also served with the Sadhya meal.
- It is also served with kanji (rice porridge).
More Ginger Recipes