Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Mutton Chukka Varuval .

Mutton chukka varuval is a famous dry curry prepared in the restaurants of TamilNadu , India. Chukka means dry curry.
It gets its gorgeous brown or almost a blackish red color due to the stir fry procedure. This dish will not have any mint leaf or cilantro . But the main flavor comes from the loads of onion and curry leaf.
It is my dad's favorite and he never fails to buy us this incredible chukka along with parotta , whenever he goes to Tuticorin.

It is a famous dish in chettinad cuisine also. But I am narrating my native method here.



Goat dry curry / mutton stir fry / mutton sukka varuval:


Ingredients:
To pressure cook:
Goat meat (mutton) - 1 lb (1/2 kg)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Shallot onion - 5
Garlic - 5 pearls
water - to immerse the meat.

To grind:
Ginger - 3 inch
garlic - 6 pearls
fennel seed (sombu) - 1 tsp
Black pepper - 2 tbsp
cumin - 1 tsp

Others:
Red onion - 2 (big)
Tomato - 2
cinnamon - 2 inch,
clove - 5
bay leaf - 2
Salt - to taste
sesame Oil - 1/2 cup
curry leaf - 2 sprig
Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 3 tbsp
Shakthi curry masal powder - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp (to sprinkle at last)

Method:

1.Cut the meat into small pieces. Wash and clean the meat.
Add all the items given to pressure cook together and cook till we get a whistle. Then reduce flame and cook for 15 minutes.
After the pressure gets released , check if the mutton is cooked.

2. Heat oil in a wok. Add cinnamon, clove and bay leaf.
Then add the finely chopped onion and fry till it becomes red.
Now add the ginger garlic paste and saute for a while.
Then goes the tomato and fry till oil gets separated.

3.Now add all the powders , salt along with the water in the cooked meat , except the the mutton.Stir the mixture continuously till the masala becomes almost dry.

4.Then add the cooked mutton and stir fry until the fry becomes a dry curry.

Mutton chukka varuval is ready !

Serving suggestions:

Serve as side dish with chapathi, parotta chalna or rice.
Sprinkling some lime juice and garnishing with curry leaves makes the dish more flavorful.

Note:
Addition of 1/4 tsp meat tenderizer powder while pressure cooking , makes the meat very tender and juicy.


Event:



Mutton Chukka Varuval goes a 'Side dish for chapathi', an event hosted by me.
Rush your entries before September 15, 2009.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Kulambu milagai thool

The word kulambu milagai thool brings me the memories of the days when people rush towards the grinding mill with their big size vessels with handle (the vessel is called thookku pathiram in Tamil) filled with sundried spices at least once a month. Even though my mom had a different version of making the powder / mixture...I started using this powder recently. It is the basic powder for many delicious South Indian curries.

Kulambu milagai thool is an all purpose curry powder used in many Indian houses. It is similar to the sambar powder except for some ingredients and the large amount of dry red chilly.
This powder can be used in making puli kulambu,kara kulambu, vatha kulambu, meen (fish) kulambu or any non vegetarian curry.

Kuzhambu mil'agai thool / All purpose curry powder




Ingredients:

(Multiply the below ratio to get bulk quantity. If you are interested in grinding large quantities in a mill, then sun drying the below items is the best idea.)
Dry red chilly - 2 cup
coriander seed - 1 cup
cumin - 1/4 cup
Black pepper - 1/4 cup
Asafoetida - tiny piece (1/4 inch cube)
Channa dhal - 1/4 cup
fenugreek (venthayam) - 1 tsp
Curry leaf - 2 brigs

Method:
Dry roast all the items given above individually .
Roast the curry leaves till it looses all the moisture.
Let it cool completely.
Grind to a fine powder using a coffee grinder / Indian mixer.
Spread it to cool again.
Store in an airtight container for use.
No need to refrigerate it.