Traditional Onam Delicacies: Kurukku Kaalan

Have posted  about this traditional Kaalan recipe previously. This is the recipe served for feasts and special occasions; it does not use any vegetables unlike other variations and is known as Kurukku Kaalan or Katti Kaalan/ thick Kaalan.

This will keep for a few days and is a perfect Friday-Cooking dish; it is also a made-ahead dish for the Onam feasts. This sour chutney usually accompanies rice. Happy to fall back on a routine of Rice, Kaalan and Manga Kari after a week's vacation of theme park food!

This will go to Melodie's Vegetarian Foodie Fridays  and the   Friday Food event hosted at Trends and Tips.

Ingredients

1 Cup grated coconut

1 cup sour buttermilk

2 finger hot green chilli peppers

1/4 tsp Cummin seeds

1 tsp fresh powdered black pepper

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Salt

1 pinch of roasted and lightly crushed fenugreek seeds

For tempering

1 tbsp Coconut oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 dried red chillies

1 stem curry leaves

Method

Grind the grated coconut, cummin seeds, green chillies into a smooth paste with little water [ 2-3 tbsps of water].

Keep aside.

Heat a heavy bottomed pan with the buttermilk on medium high

As it starts boiling, add the turmeric powder,
After 7-10 minutes keep checking the buttermilk which will start reducing to a paste,
Add 1 tsp of black pepper powder and mix well,
Stir and mix well while it reduces so that it neither burns nor sticks to the bottom of the pan.
You will get about 5 and half tablespoons of the Kaalan Kurukku/paste from 1 Cup of Buttermilk. Scoop the paste from the pan and keep aside.

At this stage you have to check for the sourness of the paste; this would depend on the sourness of the buttermilk used.
[At this point you could refrigerate this paste]

Here I have added 2 tbsps of the reduced buttermilk paste/kurukku to the ground coconut paste in the same pan.

Cook on medium low heat for 2 minutes and take off the heat.

Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil to a smoking point,

Temper mustard seeds, then broken red chillies and curry leaves,

Add a pinch of ground fenugreek seeds and pour immediately pour over the Kaalan.

*Note: The amount of paste would depend on the sourness of the buttermilk. This paste will stay in the refrigerator; keep in a clean dry air-tight container. It could also be frozen into 1-2 tsp cubes. It will increase in sourness with time.

Am updating this post and sending it to Back to Basics event, hosted at Served with Love,   and started by Jaya, at   Desi Soccer Mom.

Had been meaning to do this but somehow, mixed it up with another event,  and thought that the deadline was over...then realized that one still had time to submit.