(Red baby onions/shallots in a Kerela-style coconut-based curry).

Do you ever have days when you don’t know what to cook? Days when you are tired of making the routine stuff and want to eat something different? You run through a mental list of some unique vegetable recipes, but you can’t think of any! Trust me, I have been there many times. So today I will share a slightly different curry recipe that you can make at home with very little effort! The pearl onion curry requires you to get some baby onions, which are easily available in the market or in Indian grocery stores. Then with some pretty basic Indian ingredients, you can go on and create this delicious curry.

This is a dish from Kerela - a coastal state in south India. Coconut trees grow abundantly in the coastal regions here and so most recipes from this region use coconut oil and coconut abundantly. This dish too is a coconut-based vegan curry, that you will love for sure!

Ingredients

For the curry -

15- 20 red baby onions/shallots
1/2 tbsp coconut oil (nariyal tel)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tbsp tamarind paste (Imli paste)
1/2 tbsp jaggery powder

For the curry/masala paste -

1/2 tbsp coconut oil (nariyal tel)
1 dried red chili broken and deseeded
1/2 tbsp coriander seeds (dhaniya ke beej)
2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
6-7 black peppercorns (kali mirchi ke dane)
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder

For the tempering -

1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
7-8 curry leaves (kadhipatta)

For the garnish -

coriander leaves chopped

Method

Soak little tamarind(Imli) in warm water for 10 minutes. Make sure the tamarind is properly soaked in the water. If not, add a little more water. Squeeze the tamarind to extract the pulp. Filter it through a sieve to remove the seeds and solid tamarind particles. Set this tamarind pulp aside. Alternatively, you can use store-bought tamarind pulp.
Soak the pearl onions in water and set them aside for 30 minutes. Soaking them makes it easy to peel them. After 30 minutes, peel them and set them aside.
In a pan, heat little coconut oil. Once it gets hot, add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, dried chili, and black peppercorns. Roast them on low flame, till aromatic. Add grated coconut and roast it well on a low flame, till it gets golden brown. Keep stirring continuously to make sure the spices and coconut don’t burn. Add Kashmiri red chili powder. Turn off the heat. Let this mixture cool down completely.
Transfer the mixture to a blender jar, add some water, and blend it into a smooth paste. This is our curry paste.
In the same pan, heat the coconut oil again. Add peeled onion and sprinkle turmeric powder and some salt over them. Mix well thoroughly.
Saute for 4-5 minutes on medium flame, till onions become a little translucent.
Add tamarind paste, curry paste, jaggery, and 1/2 cup water. Mix well. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the curry on low flame for 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat.
In a small tadka pan, heat the oil. Once it gets hot, add mustard seeds. Let them splutter. Add curry leaves and fry them till they become crispy. Turn off the heat.
Add this tadka over the curry and mix well.
garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
PEARL ONION CURRY IS READY TO BE SERVED.
SERVE HOT.

Notes -

Use the very small red baby onions available in the market to make this curry.If you don’t find them, you can use small onions instead.
You can serve this curry with rice or Chapati.
If you don’t have whole coriander seeds, you can use ready-made coriander powder instead.
If you like spicy food, you can add more chilies while making the curry paste.
The coconut oil used in this recipe gives it a distinct taste. The Parachute coconut oil (the one you use to oil your hair!), available in Indian grocery stores, is edible. You can use that to make this dish.

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Meal

Indian, kerela

Yield: 2-3

Author: Gauri Nigudkar