Sodhi

SODHI

This is a mildly spiced gravy(Kozhambu) made from coconut milk & lentils with vegetables in it. It is a must-have when a newly married couple is invited over for feast. This is a traditional dish from a place called Tirunelvelli in down south Tamil Nadu.

My Mom hails from there. The recipe is passed on through generations & I get this from my Mom.This is my Amma's best & as I say so, my mouth is watery!!I must say 'Sodhi' was the dish I was craving to have from my mom's hands when I was expecting :-))My Parents could visit me only at the end of pregnancy term. And, the day they arrived my mom prepared it for me, in spite of her tiredness & jet lag.I devoured it to my heart's content & the very next day I got admitted & my daughter was born!Once, a cousin of mine asked jovially to my mom, 'Can I have Sodhi in a cup instead of tea, for this evening?'. She loved it soo much, she wanted to drink it!!

To subtle the heavy feeling after eating, Sodhi is often complimented by 'Inji Pachadi' which is a hot n sweet sauce made with ginger & jaggery. It is best eaten with plain white rice & a simple potato curry alongside. Also goes amazingly well with 'Idiyappam' or 'Plain boiled Sevai' which is nothing but rice noodles.

Here goes this recipe:

Ingredients:

Fresh Coconut - 1 medium size

Moong Dal- 1/3 cup

Onion(thinly sliced)- 1/2 medium size

Green Chillies- 4 nos or more

Ginger- 1 inch piece(peeled)

Carrots, Green Beans, Cauliflower, Drumstick- 1 cup(mixed)

Turmeric powder- 1/8 tspn

Lemon(optional)- juice from 1/2 a lemon

Salt to taste

For Seasoning:

Cinnamon Stick- 1 inch piece

Green Cardamom- 2 nos

Ghee- 1/2 tspn

Garlic- 2 nos(peeled & finely chopped)
Fresh Coriander- 2 stems(chopped fine) to garnish

Method:

-Grind the chillies & ginger to a paste.

-Cut assorted veggies lengthwise or to bite-size pieces.

-Break the coconut, Scrap the pulp & grind it with water. Strain it & save this 1st milk seperately(approx.1 cup)

-Do not discard the ground coconut. Mix it with water & grind again & extract the milk save the 2nd milk seperately(approx. 1 cup)

-Repeat this procedure to the 3rd milk, which should be like 'tamarind water for rasam'.

-Heat ghee in a pan, add cinnamon, cardamom & garlic pieces & fry for 1 min.

-Add 3rd milk(shud make up to 1 1/2 cups approx.) to it add the cut veggies & moong dal(u cud add cauliflower a little later as it cooks faster), & let it till dal is completely cooked & veggies are tender.

-Add Ginger-Chilli paste, salt, turmeric powder & let it boil for abt 3 mins.-Add 2nd milk & let it for 2 mins or till it froths slightly.-Add 1st milk & bring it down exactly in 1 min.-Garnish with coriander & squeeze lemon if u wish to.

-Serve hot.

This recipe calls for some patience. But, the end result is just worth it.

Tips: Here is an easy way:

1. Alternatively, you could use 1 can of coconut milk. When doing so, pour the entire coconut milk into a separate bowl, then wash the can to scrape the contents with approx. 1 1/2 cups of water & use it as 3rd milk. Then, after adding all the other ingredients, add the entire can of coconut milk as the 1st milk. The results are equally good. I make it with the canned coconut milk & my mom makes it the traditional way.

2. Be really careful to add salt only at the stage mentioned, else it might curdle.

3. After adding the 1st milk, donot boil for long.

4. Please donot grind garlic, as it will spoil the flavour completely!