21. Pitlai

Pitlai  is a kuzhambu vaiety. Any fried vegetable is a good combination. We can make pitlai with pakarkai/bitter gourd, brinjal or jack fruit seed.

Ingredients:
Toor dal - 3/4 cup
Channa dal - 1/4 cup.
Tamarind - 1 lemon size
Turmeric powder - a pinch
salt - 1tbs
Hinge - a pinch
vegetable - 1cup
Black channa or ground nut - 1tbs

For grinding:
Coriander seeds - 1tbs
Channa dal - 1tbs
Hinge - a pinch
Red chilli - 5
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1tbs  for frying the above

Seasoning:
Oil - 1tbs
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hinge - a pinch
Red chilli - 1
Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Pressure cook Toor dal and channa dal together.
2. Extract tamarind paste.
3. Cook chopped vegetables and channa in tamarind water with salt, turmeric powder and hinge.
4. Roast the items given under grinding till the dal turns brown. Grind along with coconut.
5. Mix cooked and smashed dal with the ground paste and add to the tamarind paste.
6. Allow it boil for a few seconds.
7. Season and serve hot.

Note: Chop pakarkai in round shape. If you use brinjal chop into small cubes. If you use jack fruit seed, cook it in pressure cooker in a separate vessel along with dal and remove the white skin. cut them into small cubes.

vegetable fry

Vegetable fry: 

Vegetables like lady’s finger, brinjal, potato, kovaikai, vazhakai, senai (yam) and pavakai(bitter guard) can be fried with little more oil.

Lady’s finger fry:

Ingredients:

Fresh lady’s finger – ½ kg
Oil – 5 tsp

Mustard - ½ tsp

Asafotida – a pinch

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Chilli powder – 1tsp

Salt -1 tsp

Curry leaves

Method:

1. Soak lady’s finger in water for a while. Then wash it in running water. Leave it aside for 2 minutes to drain the water completely. Chop it into thin slices. 
2. Heat the pan and add oil, mustard and asafetida. When mustard splutters, add curry leaves and the copped vegetable. 
3. Add salt and turmeric powder. Stir well once. Now stir gently and occasionally. 
4. Do not add water. Do not stir too much. Keep the pan open to retain the green color.  It takes just 5 to 7 minutes for cooking.   
5. Add chilli powder and switch off the stove. Do not close till the pan is cool.

Brinjal fry:

Ingredients:

Potato – ½ kg
Oil – 5 tsp

Mustard - ½ tsp

Asafotida – a pinch

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Chilli powder – 1tsp

Salt -1 tsp

Curry leaves

Method:

• Soak brinjal in water for a while. Then wash it in running water. Chop it lengthwise. 
• Heat the pan and add oil, mustard and asafetida. 
• When mustard splutters, add curry leaves and the copped vegetable. 
• Sprinkle handful of water, add salt and turmeric powder. Stir well once. 
•  Now stir gently and occasionally. Sprinkle handful of water again and stir when the all the water is dried. Do not stir too much. 
• Keep the pan closed for fast cooking. It takes just 5 to 7 minutes for cooking.  Add chilli powder and switch off the stove.

Potato fry: 
Ingredients:
Potato – ½ kg
Oil – 5 tsp
Mustard - ½ tsp
Asafotida – a pinch
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Chilli powder – 1tsp
Salt -1 tsp
Curry leaves
Method:
1. soak  potato and wash thoroughly. cut potato into small cubes. Fry as we do for lady's finger without adding water. Or you can sprinkle water as we do for brinjal but you should keep the pan open or it will be smashed.
2. you can pressure cook potato, peel off the skin, cut into 4 or 8 peices and add all the ingredients mix well and then fry as we do for lady's finger. You can add 1 onion cut into lengthwise. This does not take much time. Just 2 or 3 minutes will do.
Tips: You can cut the potato 8 pieces and pressure cook. Either fry them as such or peel the skin and fry.
Baby potatoes can also used. Leave it on the stove in lower flame for more time to get deep fried.

Kovaikai fry:

Ingredients:

Kovaikai – ½ kg
Oil – 5 tsp

Mustard - ½ tsp

Asafotida – a pinch

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Chilli powder – 1tsp

Salt -1 tsp

Curry leaves

1. Soak kovaikai in a bowl of water for 10 minutes. Clean the impurities and soak again in water for a while. Now wash in running water. Drain the vegetable. Chop it into thin slices.
2. Heat the pan and add oil, mustard and asafetida. When mustard splutters, add curry leaves and the copped vegetable. Add ¼ cup of water, salt and turmeric powder.

Stir well. 
3. Keep the pan open to retain the green color.  Stir occasionally. It takes just 5 to 7 minutes for cooking. 
4. Add chilli powder and switch off the stove. Do not close till the pan is cool.

Vazhakai fry:
 Ingredients:Vazhakai – big size2
Oil – 8 tsp
Mustard - ½ tsp
Asafotida – a pinch
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Chilli powder – 1tsp
Salt -1 tsp
Curry leaves

• Peel off the skin. Cut vazhakai into thin slices. 
• Repeat step 2 to 5 as we did in lady's finger fry.

Note: It requires more oil than other vegetables. If you want to reduce oil, you can either sprinkle tamarind water or buttermilk to get it cooked and then you can leave it to fry in a non stick pan for more time in low flame.

Senaifry:
Ingredients:
Senai – ½ kg
Oil – 8 tsp
Mustard - ½ tsp
Asafotida – a pinch
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Chilli powder – 1tsp
Salt -1 tsp
Curry leaves
Method: 

• Peel the skin and chop them into small cubes.
•  Heat the pan and add oil, mustard and asafetida. When mustard splutters, add curry leaves and the copped vegetable. Add ¼ cup of water, salt and turmeric powder.Stir well.
  
  
• Keep the pan closed. Once the vegetable is cooked, leave it for more time to get fried and add chilli powder finally and switch off the stove after a second.

Pavakai fry:
Ingredients:
pavakai – ½ kg
Oil – 5 tsp
Mustard - ½ tsp
Asafotida – a pinch
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Chilli powder – 1tsp
Salt -1 tsp
Curry leaves
Method:

• Wash and chop pavakai as you wish. you can either cut into small peices or into semicircles. 
•  Heat the pan and add oil, mustard and asafetida. When mustard splutters, add curry leaves and the copped vegetable. Add ¼ cup of water, salt and turmeric powder.Stir well.  
• Keep the pan open to retain the green color.  
•  Stir occasionally. It takes more time for pavakai to get cooked. Add ¼ cup of water again when the water is dried. 
• Add chilli powder and switch off the stove.