Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Sodhi



Sodhi is one of the unique and popular dishes in Tirunelveli.Sodhi is otherwise called Thengaipal kulambu / coconut milk stew. Sothi is a delicious gravy made of coconut milk and vegetables. This is served at marriage feasts, especially during the Maruveedu (return marriage) ceremony which takes place the day after a marriage.
Sodhi is a heavy dish so it is generally consumed as lunch only.
I used a thick coconut milk from can. But if you wish to extract the coconut milk then you may need 1/2 of a big coconut.Extract milk three times and keep the first thick milk separate and add it in the last step. Mix the 2 nd and 3 rd extracts and use it to cook the vegetables.
Stick to the recipe to get the perfect 'sodhi'.
(source - my Rukmani aunty)

Ingredients:
Coconut milk (canned) - 4 tbsp
Ginger grated - 2 inch.
Moong Dhal -1/2 cup
Garlic - 2 pods.
Lime/lemon juice - 1/2 (2 tbsp)
Carrots - 1 cut in long slices (50 gms)
Drum Stick - 1 (100 gms)
potato, - 1 cut in cubes (100 gms)
Onion - 1 cut in large cubes
Cabbage - 1/4 of a medium sized cabbaged cut in large pieces. (100 gms)

To grind:
Grated coconut - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Green chilies - 2-3 (depends on how spicy you want it)

Method:
Cook the moong dhal with garlic in water.
If it is 3/4 th cooked , add all the vegetables and cook it till the dhal becomes mushy.
Take the 2 tbsp of thick coconut milk from the can and dilute it in water to make one can and add it to the boiling vegetables.
(If you are extracting milk, then you may need 1/2 big coconut to do the entire dish.)
Grind the ingredients of the ground mixture.
When the vegetables are tender add the ground mixture and 1/2 can of coconut milk and let it cook for some time.
Now add the remaining thick coconut milk (2 tbsp).
Crush the ginger and extract juice .
Just before you switch off the stove add the ginger juice and cook for a minute and take it off the stove
When Sodhi cools down add salt and lemon juice and temper with mustard and curry leaves. (some people do not temper it).

Serving suggestions:
Makes nearly 700 ml 'sodhi'.Serves 4 people. Serve it over cooked rice.
It should be served more generously like buttermilk so that it runs out of rice.
Do not heat the sodhi as it will give a bitter taste. So try to serve it with piping hot rice. Ginger chutney, sembu (arbi root) fry are suitable side dishes.

8 comments:

Gita Jaishankar said...

Hi Viki,
Thanks for the wonderful post about the maruveedu. Took me back to my maruveedu. The sodhi looks delicious. I have nerve tried this before. I am planning to make it after seeing your post.

Vikis Kitchen said...

Hi Gita , I am so happy that this sodhi makes u remember your Maruveedu. Keep visiting.

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Thanks for visiting my blog, Sodhi is a lovely dish I have friends in Tnv, I love this dish... I guess we will forget all our old dishes cooking modern!!! Thanks for sharing...

Gita Jaishankar said...

Hi Viki,
Pls check my blog. I have a surprise for you :)

anudivya said...

Viki, I have never heard of this... but love the ingredients that went into making it. I will try to make it sometime.

ST said...

Sodhi looks delicious and healthy ...Its new for me...will try for sure...

meera said...

hi viki... good to see this dish in your blog... I am a new visitor and your recipes look great... I am from tirunelveli but was raised in chennai... my mom makes this often and i love this dish very much.... its my all time favorite... I'm residing in US now and i still remember the lunch i had the day i was starting from india... the same sodhi with inji pachadi made by my mom... still feel the taste of that... Sweet memories...:)and your recipe is exactly the same... sodhi not only goes well with rice but it tastes divine with idiyappam....

Vikis Kitchen said...

Meera: Thanks for this lovely view dear. I am sure this brings back a lot of happy memories for us, Tirunelveli people:) That combo with idiyappam seems interesting, i will try soon. Thanks dear. keep visiting!

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