Grandma’s recipe: Tirunelveli sodhi

A cooling recipe from south Tamil Nadu

Tirunelveli Sodhi Photo: R.Ashok

I learnt this recipe from my mother who learnt it from her mother. This is a must at all our family festivals and makes a perfect foil for rice and idiyappam

What you need: (Serves 2)

Large coconut: One

Small onions: 100 gms

Green chillies: Three

Potatoes and carrots: Two each

Drumstick and lemon: One each

Green gram or moong dal: 50 gms

Salt: To taste

Oil: For frying

Cooking instructions

Boil green gram, potatoes, carrots and keep aside. Blend grated coconut in a mixer with two cups of water. Extract thick coconut milk and set aside. Repeat the process and add the coconut milk extracted second time to green chillies, onions and drumstick sautéed in oil. Let the mixture boil well and add boiled green gram. Stir well while emptying the first coconut milk into the pan. Then add chopped potatoes and carrots. Stir for a few minutes and take off the stove. Let it cool for five minutes. Now squeeze lemon and add a pinch of salt. Garnish with fried cashew nuts, if preferred. Tastes best with potato chips and ginger pachadi.

Sumathi Sakthivel is a homemaker whose chief interest outside cooking is tailoring and hand embroidery.