THOYYAL KEERAI GRAVY

Thoyyal keerai is a kind of spinach having nutrients. Keerai is the Tamil name for spinach. This recipe is familiar in village areas of Kongu regions of Tamil Nadu ( villages of Karur, Erode, Coimbatore, Pollachi,Tindikal Districts). Greens are the inevitable dish in every villagers day to day food. The eating greens is habituated by every villager's meal from very ancient times onwards.

The thoyyal keerai masial or gravy like version is the best combination for hot rice/ Finger millet kali or Ragi kali with ghee.

Ingredients:

3 cups of Thoyyal leaves.

shallots finely chopped half cup

mustard seeds one spoon

green chillies two

curry leaves half cup

cooking oil one tablespoon

cumin seeds one spoon

half spoon turmeric powder

Procedure:

Clean the thoyyal leaves and wash several times.

Cook the leaves with half spoon of turmeric, shallots, green chillies , salt and cumin seeds

just for 9 minutes.

Add 50 ml of water.

Close the vessel with a lid.

Allow to cook for nine minutes only in medium level of flame.

Remove from the flame and allow them to cool.

Transfer them in a mixer jar and blend it into a coarse paste.

Transfer the green paste into a serving bowl.

Heat the oil in a small tempering pan over medium flame. 

Add mustard seeds. 

When they start to crackle, add curry leaves.

Switch off the flame.

Transfer the tempering mixture into the green gravy or paste.

Note:The perfect cooking time and addition of turmeric powder preserve the fresh green color of the spinach even after cooking.

The Thoyyal keerai gravy is giving an extraordinary taste when you have with hot steamed rice with one spoon of ghee.

Hope you will give it a try and enjoy it....:)