Inji puli is a pickle that is a must in a Kerala Sadya. As all of you know, most of the Kerala dishes are influenced by regional variations. As far as I know, this dish has two major variations and is called by two different names in the Southern and Northern part of Kerala – Inji Curry and Puli Inji. As both me and Lakshmi, are from the South, we have already posted the recipe for inji curry here.
This puli inji recipe was shared by Preetha Jayesh who is from Trissur. Inji curry is usually spicier than puli inji and the taste of ginger predominates the sweet and sour taste of jaggery and tamarind . But in the case of puli inji there is a balance of sweet and sour elements and the taste of ginger does not dominate them and it is way sweeter than our inji curry. The main ingredients of this dish are ginger, green chilies, tamarind and jaggery. The traditional method doesn’t call for frying the ginger but you can fry it if you want. The other recipes, Inji thayir and Inji Kichadi, are not a part of traditional Kerala feast but is usually served during pirannal sadya and “sraddham”. Hope you like them!!
Ingredients
- Ginger – 1/4 cup, finely chopped
- Tamarind / Puli – Lemon-sized
- Green chilies – 5 – 6, sliced to thin rounds
- Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
- Chilly powder – 1/2 tsp
- Jaggery - 4 cubes (1/4 cup + 1 – 2 tbsp) or to taste
- Salt – To taste
To season
- Coconut oil – 2 tsp
- Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
- Dry red chilies – 2
- Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Method
Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup warm water for a few minutes. Squeeze the tamarind and pour the extract into a deep saucepan. Add 3/4 cup water, salt, turmeric powder, chilly powder. Bring it to a boil (do not cover with lid). Reduce to simmer. Add the chopped ginger (You can use fried ginger if you want. To fry ginger - Heat about 2 tbsp oil in a pan and saute the finely chopped ginger until brown), jaggery cubes and let it simmer until it reaches a thick consistency, stirring occasionally. It would take more than an hour to achieve this consistency. Adjust the tamarind and jaggery according to your taste preference.
Heat oil in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Fry the dry red chilies and curry leaves. Pour over the prepared puli inji. Serve with rice.
INJI THAYIRU
Ingredients
- Ginger – 2 tbsp, grated
- Green chilies or birds’ eye chilies -1 – 2, finely chopped
- Pearl onion – 2 – 3, chopped (You can avoid this if you are preparing it for sadya)
- Yoghurt – 1/2 – 3/4 cup
- Curry leaves – 3 – 4 , chopped (optional)
- Salt – To taste
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Taste-check for salt. Serve inji thayiru with rice.
INJI KICHADI (Serves 4 – 5)
Ingredients
1. Ginger – Two 4 inch pieces, finely chopped (kothi ariyuka)
Green chilies – 3
2. Yoghurt – 1/4 – 1/2 cup or as required
3. Oil – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
Dry red chilies – 2
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
4. Oil – 2.5 tbsp
Method
1. Heat 2.5 tbsp oil in a small pan. Add the chopped ginger, green chilies and little salt. Stir-fry until the ginger turns golden brown, it takes about 20 minutes at medium heat. Once the ginger start turning golden, the oil will start separating. You can either discard this oil or use it for seasoning mustard seeds. Switch off. When it cools slightly, add beaten yoghurt. Mix well and check for salt.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds and fry dry red chilies and curry leaves. Pour the seasoning over the inji kichadi.
wowwwwwwwwwwww…. oru sadya-kke irrikkan thonnunnu. lovely pics as usual…very very tempting and professional!!!!
Looks so inviting and lovely. I love your leaf shaped wood bowl.
inji thayir sounds brilliant…next time i have the urge 2 eat a mallu far i shall try this
nannayittundu……..
Yummy ooo yummmy…Inji puli and Puli Inji adipoli aayitundu..
yummy yummy yummyyyyyy…
Super yummy….
adipoli puli inji and thayir inji!nice click!
Great recipes – they sound very authentic!
Loved your cute bowl 🙂
US Masala
super delicious and inviting !! excellent clicks !!
Wow adipoli,randum nannayitundu,nice clicks dear.
Both looks irresistible,tongue tickling dishes..
perfectly done.. love the cute little bowl..
bright and gorgeous color
mouth-watering pickle, looks so tempting and yummy!
Looks so delicious ….. the wooden bowl n spoon are so cuteee
Kuthari chorum,inji puliyum, thairum entha bahavane eni vendathu unu kazikan.
I just drool over the rice in your pics , makes me miss home . Both ginger recipes are my favs
Om Mouthwatering here…yummy
Always love ur tempting clicks…
I am drooling looking at the pictures.Made your banana chips for Vishu,they turned out too good. Now I will have to make a new batch for Vishu as there is nothing left.
Adipoli maya, enne ethina engane kothipikane…
Healthy delicious recipes dear….
nice clicks 🙂
Fantastic…irresistibly yumm..
Thank You All!!
@ Vidhya,
Thanks for trying out the banana chips..Glad to hear that they came out well 🙂
wow..beautiful and tempting pics….inji curry okke kootti choru okke kazhichittu kure kaalam aayi..
tats awesome … my hubbys fav..
should we grind roasted ginger or add yogurt to roasted mix as such.
Anonymous,
Add the yogurt directly to the slightly cooled roasted ginger. You dont need to grind it.
I am yummy o yummy fan for past 10+ years. None of the recipes from here have failed me except this puli inchi recipe. Tried two times and both time it turned out to be too spicy. I didn’t fry ginger as mentioned in recipe. That left with a strong ginger flavor which made it hard to consume. Recipe calls for green chilli. But instructions doesn’t mention anything about when to add green chilly. I fried it as i thought amount of chilly is too much. But still it turned out to be too spicy. Had to triple amount of jaggery. Still it didn’t came to the puli inchi that we loved and enjoyed. Sorry to say, but disappointed.