Puli Inji

Puli Inji is a tart, spicy, and sweet side-dish that is used like a pickle. It has lot of ginger, a little bit of chilli/spice, tamarind, and jaggery/brown sugar to make a tongue-clicking side-dish. It is served in weddings, but it's not fancy or laborious for everyday meals. 

We love puli inji, so my mom made some a few days back. In my mind, puli inji is like thokku (pickles prepared from grating the vegetable/fruit)

This puli inji does not have its typical rich brown color, because the jaggery I get here doesn't seem to have as much rich molasses in it.

Please refer to the Glossary if you'd like more information on the Indian ingredients listed here

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup of coarsely ground ginger (make sure to peel the ginger) / or grated ginger
2. 1/3 cup grated jaggery / brown sugar
3. 1 inch ball of tamarind soaked in 1/2 - 3/4 cup of hot water (enough to cover the tamarind)
4. 3 tablespoons of sesame oil
5. 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
6. a few curry leaves
7. 1 green chilli
8. salt, as needed

Preparation:

1.  Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter. Add curry leaves and green chillies (careful, they will also splutter). (it is not absolutely necessary to add these seasonings)
2. Add ground ginger / grated ginger and stir-fry a couple of minutes.
3. Extract tamarind juice and add it to the ginger. If the pulp is still juicy, add another 1/4-1/2 cup warm water and extract more juice. 
4. Add salt and bring it to a boil. Boil / cook until the tamarind doesn't smell raw and concentrates a little. Takes about 20 minutes.
5. Add jaggery and stir everything and cook until the mixture thickens slightly. Takes another 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and let it cool. When cool, store in a dry jar and use it within a week.  Puli inji goes great with yogurt rice, rotis, idlis, etc.

As with most dishes, people prepare slightly different variations of puli inji, that are either thicker or slightly more watery in consistency than this one. Regardless of the nuances, ginger, tamarind and jaggery make an awesome savory-sweet combination.