THAALAGAM, an ARUDRA/THIRUVADHIRAI special

While I always make this kind of thiruvadhirai kuzhambu or koottu, .... however you may call it, this has always been the typical Thanjavur style. 
People  who hail from Tirunelveli usually make this kind of kuzhambu, called Thaalagam and I got this authentic recipe of  my sammandhi (given to me by my dear daughter).........and I take great pleasure in sharing it with you all...
There is no tur dhal used here, so, I found, this is very light on tummy, and very very tasty too. Will go well with rotis too, and of course, dosas.
My daughter feels ecstatic, because, she does not have to check her hand written  cookery notebook, which is almost in tatters now, and this festival recipe is also being documented in malpatskitchen.
In fact, I have hereby shown a very easy and quick method of making this thaalagam. This is the modification I have made for this recipe, which saves lot of time and the tension to cook the veggies in the right consistency.

Ingredients

Vegetables

White ash gourd / pooshinikkai

Yellow pumpkin

Broad beans/avarakkai

Sweet potato

Chowchow

Vazhakkai/raw banana

Snakegourd

Mochai - 1/2 cup

(All the above mentioned 7 vegetables, leaving mochai) - 4-5 cups, cubed as big chunks)

Tamarind paste - 1 heaped tbsp

Jaggery - a tiny piece

Solid hing - 1 piece

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

To dry roast

White sesame seeds - 2 tsps

To roast in 1 tsp oil

Tur dhal - 2 tbsps

Channa dhal - 1 tsp

Methi/fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp

Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

Red chillies - 5-6

Rice - 1 tsp

Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

To season

Gingely oil - 2 tsps

Mustard seeds -  1 tsp

Curry leaves -  a few

Recipe Cuisine: South Indian; Category: Festival/lunch/dinner

Prep time: 15 mts; Cooking time: 20 mts

Serves 3

First, heat a pan, dry roast the white sesame seeds

and put it in the jar of a blender 

Then add 1 tsp oil, and roast the other above mentioned ingredients

After they become slightly golden, add the rice also

The sitckiness of the oil will still be there, no need to add more oil. Roast the coconut till golden in color

Load the roasted ingredients and coconut in the same jar wherein you have kept the roasted sesame seeds. Let the whole thing cool down for awhile.

In the meantime, put all the cut vegetables in a pressure pan, add jaggery, solid hing, turmeric powder and tamarind paste

Pour water a little less than the immersing level, and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles, depending upon  how your cooker is.

First dry-powder the ingredients

Then, add some water and grind.

Pressure cook the mochais separately for 6-7 whistles, without adding water.

To the cooked veggies, after the pressure releass, add the cooked mochais and salt to taste. Allow to simmer on slow fire.

Now add the ground paste, simmer more.

Mix well

Top with some curry leaves, after switching off.

Season mustard seeds in gingely oil

and pour on top of the curry leaves.

Serve this superb, quick and tasty Thaalagam with Thiruvadhirai kali, or rice or any tiffin you want.

This post first appeared in www.malpatskitchen.com

Notes

*You can add some carrots, beans, peas etc. I wanted to add the traditional vegetables only. 

Categories: Festival Delicacies, Koottu Varieties, Pressure cooker recipes, South Indian Kuzhambus