PS: Thank my mom if it comes out real good.
Serves 2 people. You can magnify the ingredients proportionally and save the paste or gojju for future use.
Gojju or paste can be served with chapathi / rotis also.
Ingredients:
for gojju or paste
split Channa dal 1 spoon + 2 tsp (for tadka)
split Urad Dal (without skin) 1 spoon + 2 tsp (for tadka)
white/black sesame seeds 2 spoons
whole pepper seeds about 10 in number
cumin seeds 1 spoon
grated dry cocunut 2 spoons
Dry Red Chillies about 10-12 in number ( I usually split this count by half and use byadagi menasinakayi - the chillies which give colour; guntur menasinakayi - chillies which add spicyness)
tamarind about 75-100 gm
water - 1 cup
groudnut oil / sunflower oil 6 spoons
mustard seeds 1 tsp
ground nuts one fist full
curry leaves 2-3 sticks
finely cut coriander leaves about 2 spoons
asafoetida 1 tsp
cooked rice 3cups
salt to taste
jaggery powder 1/2 spoon
Method:
1. Soak the tamarind in water. Let it soak for about 1/2 hour.
2. Meanwhile take a pan and dry roast all the following ingredients separately one by one
channa dal
urad dal
fenugreek seeds
black whole pepper seeds
cumin seeds
grated dry coconut
sesame seeds
dry red chillies
3. Grind coconut and red chillies first and pour it into a bowl. Then grind channa dal and urad dal separately. Now grind rest of the ingredients. Mix all the powdered ingredients.
Please note: Red chillies that you get out of India only add spice. For colour you can use paprika powder that you get in the stores and reduce the count of chillies by 3-4.
4. Take another pan and pour the oil. Once the oil is warm, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start spurting, add channa dal and urad dal. Also add peanuts. Fry it till the lentils turn golden brown and peanuts are roasted well. PS: Do not burn while roasting these ingredients. Burnt tadka gives bad taste to gojju and puliyogare.
Also add coriander leaves and curry leaves. Add Hing / asafoetida. Leave it for abt 30 seconds
5. squeeze the tamarind in water and get filtered the juice out of it. Add this juice to the tarka.
6. Add the powder prepared in step 3.
7. Add salt to taste and jaggery powder and allow it to boil for about 5-10 minutes. Keep sauting else it starts burning from the bottom. Add oil/ghee if required.
8. Now that the gojju or paste is ready, u can mix it with rice adding little more salt .You can also serve it with chapathi or roti or store it for future use.
Tip: More concentrated tamarind juice gives more taste. This also means that it reduces the spicyness of the dish.
