InchiPuli (Inchi puli) or Pulinji(chi) is a side dish made predominantly with ginger and tamarind and can be categorized as a relish. 'Puli' means Tamarind and 'Inchi' means Ginger in my native language. This is an awesome relish/chutney/curry that is part of the traditional sadya, prepared during festivals. It has so many varieties of spices and flavors in it that a little drop is enough to awaken all your taste buds.
Why you will love Inchipuli (inji puli)?
- Ginger is an essential part of this dish and we already know the great benefits of this wonderful root.
- This side dish enhances the sadya and is delicious.
- It can be prepared and stored for about two to three weeks.
- The combination of ginger, tamarind, jaggery, and spices works brilliantly and gives a unique sweet, sour, tangy, and spicy flavor that enlivens all your tastebuds and is hard to resist one helping after another.
Ingredients needed to make Inchipuli
- Tamarind soaked in warm water, extract the juice out of this and keep aside.
- Finely chopped ginger, garlic, green chilies, shallots, curry leaves, and dried red chilies.
- Roasted and Powdered rice, fenugreek, mustard seeds, cumin.
- Vegetable or Avocado oil
- Spices like turmeric and red chili powder.
How to make Inchipuli?
Cook the chopped veggies and tamarind extract
First, we start by tempering mustard seeds in oil with dry red chilies and adding the chopped ginger, garlic, shallots, curry leaves, and green chilies. Sautee until transparent. Add the spices, turmeric red chili powder, and salt. Add the tamarind extract and boil till the raw taste of the tamarind is gone.
Thickening the relish with unique flavors
Dry roast the mustard, matta rice, fenugreek seeds, cumin, and powder when cooled. Add the powder to the tamarind extract and keep boiling until it starts to thicken into a thick relish. Store in a glass container when it cools.
InchiPuli (Inji puli) - Ginger and Tamarind relish
Ingredients
For the Puliinchi gravy
- 3 big tamarind lemon sized balls -soaked in water and pulp extracted
- 4 green chilies finely chopped
- 3 big pods garlic finely cut
- 5 tbsp ginger finely cut
- 5-6 shallots cut into small bits
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds
- 2 red chillies dry
- 1 cup jaggery (add more depending on the sweetness you prefer)
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
To dry roast and powder
- 1 tbsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 3 tbsp rice broken matta rice or raw
Instructions
- Keep the chopped shallots, red chilies, green chilies, ginger, garlic, and curry leaves ready.
- Take a deep bottomed pan and heat about 3-4 tbsp oil.
- Splutter mustard and dry red chillies.
- Add chopped shallots, red chilies, green chilies, ginger, garlic, and curry leaves
- Add the turmeric and chilly powder and fry for about 5 minutes
- Add the extracted tamarind pulp and water
- When it comes to a boil and the raw smell disappears, add jaggery.
- Add salt and continue boiling it.
- Meanwhile, dry roast all the ingredients in the "To dry roast and powder" section
- Once roasted and cooled, powder it a fine consistency
- Add the powder to the tamarind ginger relish that is cooking
- The relish will start thickening on adding the roasted powder
- Check the taste and add more jaggery if you prefer more sweetness
- Adjust the spice and salt as per your liking and switch off the flame
- Pulinchi is ready to be served.
- That is it, All you need is some All you need is some dal and rice.
Dippy-Dotty Girl
Making my mouth water 🙂
InspiresN
Thank you ! hope you will try it out some time 🙂
Dippy-Dotty Girl
Surely!
Megala
Wow! really mouth-watering!
InspiresN
Thank you Megala! sweet and sour has that affect on me as well 🙂
Megala
Ginger & tamarind, a wonderful combo!
InspiresN
yes indeed its a traditional recipe .Thank you:)
PriyaPandian
Drooling, when I think of flavours 🙂
InspiresN
Thanks Priya! the combination of flavors are indeed unique
PriyaPandian
☺️👍
Cook with Smile..
One of our favorite..we eat even idli , dosa or chapati with ingipuli😊...
InspiresN
oh that's awesome!
Anshu Agarwal
Completely mouthwatering...felt the urge to try it as i saw the recipe..
InspiresN
Thank you Anshu! Hope you will try it and like it as well 🙂
Anshu Agarwal
Ya i will try it soon and will definitely let you know how it came out..!!
Moushmi Radhanpara
MOuth watering.
InspiresN
Thank you Moushmi!
afoodiehousewife
Can have this with just about anything! yummm! feel like dipping my finger in it and licking away 😉 Love!
InspiresN
Thank you dear! so nice to read your comments ..
savvysouthindian
Very delicious!
InspiresN
Thank you Latha!
Lana_SHON
Very delicious. Thanks fpr this great recipe!
InspiresN
Thank you!