Saturday 7 May 2011

Three Syllables for Summer

First blog entry. A million thoughts. Lack of clarity. And suddenly while i drink my good old cup of wagh bakhri adrak tea, the eureka worm crawls out. And grows...
When i was a kid, i learnt that i was not just a hindu, but a CSB as well. A Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin. Still do not know what their place in the universe is, but I know for sure they are not the only TSCs (Three Syllable Communities). As i grew older, i realised, there were many others - GSB (Goud Saraswat Brahmins), CKP (Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus), SOBs-so many of them-and not just restricted to the communities mentioned here.
My post here is about the CSBs though-and about a very special one- my mommy. And her contribution to my ever growing love for good veggie food. Yes, a special recipe- not one she invented-but one that has been passed thru the generations. I of course got this straight fm her, and will always associate this with her - no matter the true origins of this dish.
Here goes- three syllable again- TamBaLi-that's the family of special "cold" cocounut based curries so suitable for summer. Not only are these yummy, they are also a fascinating way to recycle veggie parts that are usually discarded... Read on...

Three syllables for Summer- TamBali
1. Grind together some coconut gratings, red chillies and salt to a coarse paste
2. Add one of the following to the above paste- each bullet head results in a distinct TamBali:

      - hing
      - radish leaves
      - pumpkin leaves
      - ginger/onion (first add ginger, then onion later)
      - tendli leaves
      - skin of turai!
      - garlic

3. Grind to a fine paste

4. Put the paste in a vessel and add sour buttermilk  to form your tambali

5. If needed, garnish with shreds/ slices/ bits of the veggie that went into the tambali

6. Serve with Hot Rice and Ghee

This is what it looks like- you can garnish with coriander leaves and / or tadka of mustard with curry leaves

2 comments:

  1. Tch tch. Wagh bakri adrak Chai - confessions online?
    on a more serious note - when do we get to taste your culinary skills? After all, the proof of the pudding isn't in the 'seeing '

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  2. You will surely get a taste of the same...once i know who you are! aap ki tareef?
    btw, wagh bakhri is just one small part of my tea repertoire!

    ReplyDelete

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