Thursday, September 3, 2009

Valliyoor Kooraku Pulusu


The comfort curry I learnt from Amma. Apparently this dish is a mix of Andhra and Tamil, our ancestors, who belonged to Andhra, later got settled in the Southern towns of Tamil Nadu (in and around Valliyoor) would have possibly included the curry in their regular diet.

A request to my blogger pals who hail from Andhra….

Have you heard of this ‘Pulusu’ in your state, as such?..as I still wonder how this Pulusu acquired this strange name. May be Valliyoor, the town in Southern Tamil Nadu, Kooraku- the spinach and Pulusu- the curry, put together would explain the same.

An aromatic, healthy curry which goes well with rice, a meal by itself..

Ingredients:

  • Spinach-any variety-use the leaves only- a medium bunch which yields 3 cups more or less when chopped fine.
  • Shallots/ pearl onions-assort smallest ones to use 'em as such-10-15 nos or a handful
  • Tamarind- a gooseberry sized ball- Soak and extract pulp
  • Salt-to taste

To grind to a smooth paste

  • Grated Coconut- ¾ cup
  • Garlic cloves-1-2
  • Red chillies-10 (I use 20 ;)-according to your spice level.. you can also use chilly powder)
  • Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
  • Jeera powder-1/2tsp

To Season

  • Oil-Preferably sesame seed oil :)-a tbsp
  • Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
  • Urad dal-1/4 tsp
  • Uluva/venthaiyam/methi seeds-1/4 tsp
  • Shallots/ pearl onions-2-3 sliced round
  • Red chillies-2 nos-broken to 3 pcs.
  • Curry leaves- a sprig

Method:

  • Cook the chopped spinach in a cup of water along with the handful of onions.
  • While 3/4th done, add the ground paste, salt and tamarind extract.
  • Bring to a boil and simmer until the raw smell of the curry disappears; say for 15-20 mins.
  • Add water if needed to get the right consistency.
  • Remove from fire, season the curry with the listed ingredients.
  • Serve warm with steamed rice.

I've been tagged by Lena and Priya.

The rules :

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share the ABCs of you.
4. Tag 4 people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let the 4 tagged people know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Do not tag the same person repeatedly but try to tag different people, so that there is a big network of bloggers doing this tag.

The Tag:

1. A – Available/Single? Sorry- No!!(sigh) ;)
2. B – Best friend? Amma, Sis, Swapna, Seba n Raju (5 Best please) :)
3. C – Cake or Pie? Cake
4. D – Drink of choice? Apple nectar
5. E – Essential item you use every day? My Mobile phone
6. F – Favorite color? Peach shade
7.G–Gummy Bears Or Worms? Like both.The flavour matters rather than the shape.Still not choosy.
8. H – Hometown? Kottayam
9. I – Indulgence?-For food, non-veg any time any day ;)
10. J – January or February? Jan- My Birthmonth
11. K – Kids & their names? Kavya and Akshay
12. L – Life is incomplete without? ..a warm family.
13. M – Marriage date? 26th Jan
14. N – Number of siblings? Two
15. O – Oranges or Apples? Apples
16. P – Phobias/Fears? Ophidio and Hydrophobias.
17. Q – Quote for today? Never take life seriously.Nobody gets out alive anyway.
18. R – Reason to smile? Friends
19. S – Season? Spring
20. T – Tag 3 People? Suma, Sharmilee and Kitchen Queen
21. U – Unknown fact about me? Impatience!!
22. V – Vegetable you don't like? Love all..
23. W – Worst habit? Browsing with no clue of time.. :)
24. X – X-rays you've had? The back bone X-ray for lower back pain, a few years ago.
25. Y – Your favorite food? 'Edibly' Non-veg ;)
26. Z – Zodiac sign? Aquarius

I'm supposed to tag 4 more.. Please leave a message in the comment box, those you are willing to take up the tag or else the first 4 buddies who leave comments here are tagged ;).

30 comments:

  1. Pulusu sounds nice & diff bharathy.......nice to know about u ....

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  2. The dish Valliyoor kuravu pulusu is new to me but it looks delicious and good

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  3. The dish Valliyoor kuravu pulusu is new to me but it looks delicious and good

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  4. Nice tag....
    Hope you had a wonderful Onam, Bharathy.

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  5. I have never had a curry like this, looks so so yumm, first i thought there wilbe some dal in them, but then i read the ingridients.
    I am sure bookmarking it .
    I can really imagine how comforting this will be to eat with plaing rice.
    Thought makes me drool.
    Loved knowing more about you ;-)

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  6. Curry sounds mouth watering, bookmarked! I made dal with spinach and methi few days back and looked quite similar to this curry

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  7. This pulusu is totally new to me, but I hate greens though I knw its health factors :(

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  8. Gud to knw more abt you....Kavya is my fav name :) And thanks for tagging me will try to do it soon!

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  9. Yes, Pulusu is a telugu term Bharathy! The word pulusu is derived from the word PULUPU which means sour. Tamarind pulp is the main ingredient in this. Any vegetable that is cooked in tamarind gravy is called as "Pulusu" in Andhra!

    Your Spinach Pulusu is sooo tempting and yummy. It's a little different from the way I prepare :)

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  10. sis! this reminds me of vedavalli atha! and i don't think they have this dish in andhra. our folks must've created and named it after their native-valliyoor, when they were there.

    so glad you have a collection of these oldies for me to refer back any time :D

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  11. Bharathy, pulusu for us is essentially tangy and sweet based stew. We do make spinach pulusu but I haven't heard of coconut being added. Anyway a great recipe, fusion dish.
    Do check my blog for an event that I am hosting.

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  12. Hi Bharathy, any gravy with tamarind in it is called pulusu. Even meat-based gravies are sometimes called pulusu. As for Kuravu, I wonder if it could be kooraaku (koora + aaku = greens)?

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  13. now this is wat we call yummmm....

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  14. Oh yeah, Sra!.. :)..Have edited!!! ;)...Not to mention how "Great" I am with my mother toungue!! ;)

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  15. thanks for the tag ..will do it..and ur curry looks perfect and tempting. onam okke aagoshichoo?

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  16. book marked it already ....will try and let u know ...
    it was nice to read your tag:)

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  17. Pls collect ur awards from my blog dear...

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  18. Bharthi,
    pulusu valliyoor pulusu sounds new to me...but its tempting....oru chinna gift pls check my blog:)

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  19. நல்ல à®°ெசிப்பி

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  20. First time here!!
    You have a wonderful space
    Keep rocking!!
    cheers!!!

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  21. love the name valliyoor pulusu, nice one, a must try recipe.

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  22. this curry is new to me.. sounds so tasty! great combo with rice...

    plz collect your gifts from my blog, dear..

    Lissie
    http://saltandspice.org/

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  23. Hey I am also from Kottayam..to be more precise Changanacherry!!

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  24. very new to me...but looks good and seems rather easy to prepare

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  25. Hey this seems very unique and so tempting. i am surely going to try it today

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  26. :)...Happy to note that Srujana...Do let me know how it turned out :)!

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  27. Just made this pulusu. Came out really well. Its a very different recipe and tastes great!

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