Receta Restuarant style Tamil Nadu Thali

by Nisha

Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply - Stephen R. Covey How many of you can relate to this ? I am sure, it stands out for many of us. We all are constantly striving, to impress and compete with everyone that we meet, to climb high on the social ladder. We totally forget to acknowledge the person in front of us and only want to show off ourselves.  We keep preparing ourselves on how to answer them properly and by the time they finish their conversation, totally miss the context!  This line totally stood out for me as I was reading the book 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey. Empathetic listening, as the writer says,  is a much needed characteristic for every human being, in this present social media and networking predominant world. It is a very interesting self help genre book.  I know that was totally irrelevant to today's post. But I could not let go of it without sharing out into the web world! Thats what I have been doing the whole day! Well, today's post is my most favourite order when dining out, especially at lunch time - The South Indian Thali!  The spread consists of the following dishes: Rice Carrot Poriyal Urulai Kizhangu Roast Kara Kuzhambu (Recipe below) Sambhar Rasam Aval Payasam Curd Pickle Restaurant style Kara Kuzhambu Coconut based spicy and tangy Kuzhambu Prep Time: | Cook Time: | Total Time: | Serves: 3-4 Ingredients 1 Medium sized Onion finely slice 1/4 Cup Karamani, soaked for about half an hour 1 tsp concentrated tamarind paste For grinding 1 Tbsp Channa dahl 1 Tbsp Dhaniya 1/4 tsp Jeera 1/2 tsp Sombu | Fennel seeds 2-3 Red chillies 3 Tbsp Grated coconut 4-5 Small onions 1 Medium sized tomato, chopped For Tempering 3 Tbsp oil 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp Jeera few curry leaves 1 Red chilly 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder (if needed) Instructions Pressure cook the karamani for 3 whistles and keep it aside.  In a pan, heat oil. Add the ingredients one by one and fry them until they become brown. Cool and grind it to a smooth paste.  In another pan, heat oil. Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and chillies. Once they splutter, add the Onions and fry until they become translucent. Then add the tomatoes and keep stirring until it softens. Add a cup of water, cooked karamani, tamarind paste and bring it to a boil. Once the raw smell of the tamarind paste goes off, add the ground paste. Check for spice and if needed, add red chilli powder.  Once again, let everything come to a boil. Check for salt and adjust.  Serving Serve this with steaming white rice and a dollop of ghee.  Notes This kuzhambu is generally served in restaurant as a part of the Thali menu. This recipe is close to what I have tasted at restaurants.  Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 74 here.