Simplicity Coimbatore , Thayir pachadi for summer </a
My favourite part of staying in a hotel,as a child, was when our parents allowed us to order room service. My mother would sigh and chuckle to herself when she spotted the dish of boondi raita. Pudina paratha, dhal makhani and boondi raitha with a bit of pickle on the side continues to be a favourite meal.
It struck me the other day how little importance a curd based side dish is given.We would certainly miss it if it wasn’t made or served but very rarely is it acknowledged fully. I for one cannot imagine a Sunday biriyani without a thayir pachadi (beaten yoghurt with flavourings). However I must confess that I am one of those who is not fond of raw onions in the pachadi.
I can almost hear the collective gasp of the ‘raw onion is my favourite’ group but the acrid hit and the unpleasant after taste is something I have never taken to. The advantage of that is that I have always looked to add other ingredients to my curd to make a different pachadi. I know what many of you are thinking ….”there’s no substitute for an onion pachadi”…okay got that but hear me out.
Curd is a vital part of our South Indian lunch. A summer lunch without curd is unthinkable. There are so many foods which when mixed with curd make a pachadi or raita a little bit more special than the ordinary. A favourite with friends is the raita we make at home using different spice powders.
A curd pachadi can be both sweet as well as savoury. The sight of jewel like pomegranate seeds in beaten curd is a familiar combination at most restaurant buffet tables. Add a sprinkling of chaat masala to that and it adds a wonderful mix of flavours. As long as the curd isn’t sour it can be used as a base to highlight so many other fruits, vegetables or herbs.
Another sweet pachadi which is truly delicious is the one made with raisins. Fry the raisins slightly in half a teaspoon of home made ghee,cool and add to the beaten curd. A pinch of salt to taste and a little bit of red chilli powder gives a balance to the sweetness of the raisins. This pachadi is great with a light Kashmiri pulao or closer to home ,a tangy thakkali saadham.
In fact if one is looking for lunch options away from the puli kolambu and spice heavy kurma gravies, a delicious flavoured rice or lightly flavoured biriyani with a thayir pachadi is just right to tuck into for a mid day meal.
Seasonal ingredients are also commonly used to make a tasty pachadi. This will ensure that we imbibe the benefits of eating summer foods while the yoghurt is a much needed cooler for the stomach. Green mangoes are beginning to fruit on the trees all over the city. For this recipe, unripe maanga , fresh ginger , green chillies are chopped up and blended together with a little salt. This paste is added to a cup of beaten curd and then tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chillies. The maanga thayir pachadi can also be made using finely chopped mango and ginger bits. Some folks do like the texture of biting into mango pieces and it adds to the taste. An amla or nellikai thayir pachadi can also be made in this same manner. Serve it with some fragrant coconut rice cooked with seeraga samba rice and maybe add a morru molagai for crunch!
Speaking of ginger the ingredient which is so special to our part of the world is undoubtedly the maa inji or mango ginger. We love it for it’s freshness, crunch and the mild ginger flavour which isn’t as spicy but a lot more mellow and sweet. This particular pachadi is made to a thicker consistency ,more like a chutney.The mango ginger is ground with freshly grated coconut and green chillies and mixed with only a few tablespoons of curd. This pachadi can be served with an ellu saadham made with or without garlic. The toasted sesame gives a nutty crunch and flavour to the rice grains ,a little red chilli powder is added for colour and spice.
A green cucumber thayir pachadi is a favourite at home. We flavour it with fresh mint leaves and a little chaat masala and it is delicious with a lemon rice and a peanut podi or chutney. I can almost feel so many of you nodding your heads in agreement to this combination. Just the idea of it conjures up images of a perfect summer lunch doesn’t it ?
What about an even simpler pachadi, the thaalicha thayir ? All it needs is a regular tempering of the aromatic curry leaves, spluttering mustard seeds and dried red chillies with a hint of asafoetida. This is what I remember being served at home for a when my parents wanted an easy to digest side dish to eat with the idli. I daresay this tastes good with a puli saadham as well ! A tasty addition to this is the steamed white pumpkin mixed into the tempered curd. Translucent and succulent,the vellai poosanikkai is another much favoured pachadi.
In addition to many of these ingredients used in the raw or steamed form there are so many kinds of pachadi which are made with fried ingredients like ladysfinger, brinjal , garlic, tomato & onion, cashewnuts and even with lightly sautéed baby corn. Even though it is not a typical South Indian ingredient , corn does grow in plenty around the country side. Picking it when tender allows it to be used as a different ingredient.
I remember we had baby corn at home one day and my mother turned it into a delicious pachadi by adding curd, cumin powder, salt and red chilli powder. We paired it with a traditional vengaya chutney saadham made at a typical gounder kitchen and it is a taste which I have never gotten out of my head.
With all these wonderful options of ingredients we have to choose from this summer it seems likely that summer lunches will be far from boring. By the way did we mention that drumstick is in season now ? Wonder what a drumstick pulp pachadi will taste like ! Do tell us what your favourite curd side dish is and if there are any unusual pachadi combinations which you would like to share with us this summer.
MENU IDEAS FOR ‘Curd & RICE’ SUMMER LUNCHES
1.Spiced raita with paneer biriyani
2. Raisin pachadi/raita with a kashmiri pulao or thakkali saadham (tomato rice)
3. Maanga /nellikkai thayir pachadi with coconut rice & morru molagai
4. Maa inji thayir pachadi with ellu saadham & poondu podi
5.Cucumber thayir pachadi with lemon rice
6. Thaalicha thayir (tempered curd) with a Kothumali/pudhina saadham
7.Vellai poosanikkai or white pumpkin thayir pachadi with puli saadham (tamarind rice)
8. Baby corn thayir pachadi with vengaya chutney saadham (Onion chutney rice)
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