Theeyal

The name means burnt dish, and the colour comes from roasting the coconut before grinding it.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 400 g shallots, peeled
• 150 g coconut, grated
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 6 dried red chillies
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 3 tablespoons tamarind paste
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 20 curry leaves
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 700 ml water

Method

1. THE NAME MEANS BURNT DISH, AND THE COLOUR COMES FROM ROASTING THE COCONUT BEFORE GRINDING IT. Its article translates it for you -- theeyal MEANS "BURNT DISH" -- and then says where the colour comes from: the TOASTING of grated coconut, and also the tamarind. The spices are roasted coconut, coriander seeds, dried red chilli and fenugreek, ALL GROUND TO A PASTE and cooked in TAMARIND WATER with the vegetables. So the coconut is roasted and then ground, which is the opposite way round from the erissery on these pages, where it is ground raw and the roasted coconut arrives separately at the end.
2. EVERYTHING IS DRY-ROASTED TOGETHER BEFORE GRINDING. Coconut, coriander seeds, chillies and fenugreek in a dry pan until the coconut is dark brown -- genuinely dark, almost the colour of coffee grounds. Ten minutes, stirred without stopping.
3. BURNT IS THE NAME AND NOT THE INSTRUCTION. Black coconut is bitter and nothing will rescue it. Dark brown and smelling strongly nutty is the target, and the line between the two is about thirty seconds.
4. THE FENUGREEK IS A SINGLE TEASPOON. It is the most bitter thing in the pan and it roasts faster than everything else, so it goes in for the last two minutes only.
5. IT IS GROUND TO A SMOOTH PASTE WITH WATER. Fine, so the gravy is even. This is the one coconut paste here with no raw coconut in it at all.
6. THE SHALLOTS ARE FRIED WHOLE FIRST. Its article names pearl onion or shallot first among the vegetables, and they are the usual version. Fried in the coconut oil until browned at the edges but still whole.
7. THE TAMARIND WATER IS THE COOKING LIQUID, NOT A SEASONING. Its article says the paste is cooked IN tamarind water. Seven hundred millilitres of it, boiled five minutes before the paste goes in.
8. IT IS SOUPY AND MID-BROWN WHEN IT IS RIGHT. Its article describes a soupy consistency and a rich medium brown gravy. Thicker than that and it is a different dish; paler, and the coconut was not roasted enough.
9. ITS ARTICLE NAMES THE OTHER VERSIONS. Prawns is the one it calls most popular; bitter melon, potato, aubergine, okra, cucumber and raw mango all appear. Served with rice.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes