Vallari keerai thuvayal or chutney

The dish goes well with rice adding a spoon of ghee. This is a great healthy chutney and is recommended to feed them at least once in a month. It is rich in nutrients with lots of medicinal properties. It improves digestion, treats constipation, ulcers, headache, skin infections and is good for pregnant women. Its leaves are rarely used in Indian cuisines but we see it in a couple of recipes in the traditional Tamil cuisines.

The Keerai is finely chopped and mashed in order to prepare a smooth curry which tastes wonderful and soupy. Use only the leaves and avoid the stem at all times as it is bitter to taste and will spoil the taste of your dish. Keerai is a bit hard to digest and therefore people who do not have a powerful digestive system must avoid this dish for dinner. It has the potential to enhance intellect by enhancing memory development, learning and concentration.Kashyap made out of it is called brain tonic in Ayurvedic medicine. I have heard people saying that the vallarai leaves are excellent for nerves. In Chettinad they make a nice thuvayal or chutney out of vallarai Keera which tastes yummy both with rice and tiffin. To make people identify the keerai.

 

Prep time	Cooking time	Serves
10 mins	20 mins	3 persons

Recipe Type: Chutney

Cuisine:  Indian

Ingredients Vallarai keerai – 2 cups (leaves alone) Small onions -3 to4 no’s Red chillies -3 to 4 no’s Grated coconut – 3 table spoons Tamarind – little Jaggery – little (optional)

Method

1.Keep the kadai in the stove and add oil, 1 teaspoon urad dhal. 

2. When they turn golden brown add the red chillies, onions, grated coconut and the green and sauté nicely till the green loses the green smell. Switch off the stove. 

3. Add the salt needed and the tamarind. After the mixture cools down grind it to a smooth paste using a mixie. In the end add the jaggery if desired and grind one round more. 

4. It will remove the little bitter taste of the green. If desired the thuvayal can be seasoned with ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and 1 teaspoon urad dal.

Serve with

Rice or Dosa