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Thursday, November 18, 2010

AGATHI KEERAI KARIAMUDHU / AGATHI LEAVES CURRY


This is a famous Iyengar kariamudhu (curry) which is made on Dwadashi days. People fast on 'Ekadashi' day and have 'Dwadashi Paranai' (special food or thali) on the next day which levels the acidity and the menu by itself is fantastically medicated. We don't use tamarind for this thaligai(samayal). The menu is as under:

1. Rice
2. More kozhambu
3. Agathi keerai kariamudhu (poriyal)
4. Poricha kootu
5. Poricha sathumudhu(Poricha rasam)
6. Nellikkai pachadi or Nellikai thogayal
7. Akkaraadisil or any kannamudhu (payasam)
8. Sundakkai vathal fried in ghee
9. Curd

Known as agathi in Tamil, gaach munga in Hindi, avisi in Telugu, agase in Kannada and akatti in Malayalam, agathi leaves have medicinal properties and removes toxins from the blood. Boiling agathi leaves in water and drinking the water kills the germs and bacteria in the stomach. Yet, it is not supposed to have agathi leaves daily. It can be made once in 15 days and can be consumed only twice a month and that is why our ancestors have made it a point to consume it on dwadashi days. Coming to the recipe,

INGREDIENTS:

Agathi keerai - 1 bunch
Sundaikkai vathal (Dried turkey berry) - 10 nos.
Coconut scraped - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 tsp.
Salt - as per taste
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp.
Urad dhal - 1 tsp.
Dry red chillies - 1 or 2
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Oil - 1 tsp.
Ghee - 1 tsp.

METHOD:

Take out the agathi leaves, discard the stem and chop it finely. Boil it in water alongwith turmeric powder and salt till done. Drain the water completely (Do not discard the water, and this can be drunk).

Heat ghee and fry the sundaikkai vathal (dried turkey berry) till dark brown. Keep aside. Heat oil and temper with mustard seeds, urad dhal and chillies. Add the boiled agathi leaves, sugar and coconut. Saute well and finally add the fried sundaikkais. Mix well and this is an excellent side dish with Dwadashi meal.

36 comments :

  1. ya i remember my patti make this agathi keera sundal (thats how she used to call) Yummy. But sundakkavathal in it is new to me.

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  2. My mom makes this for vaikunta egadesi .. I miss this :( will try this soon :)

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  3. i love this curry and the sundakkai twist is a good one !

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  4. i always love keerai poriyal.... love it

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  5. New dish to me mam n looks yummy.

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  6. Healthy and yummy,new dish to me..so good

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  7. Nice looking dish and i loved the yellow bowl and green dish ....

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  8. i heard the name 1st time it is like palak but looking good

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  9. Dear Shanthi,
    Good Evening!
    I did not fast yesterday;but did not have rice,dal etc.
    What are agathy leaves?
    New to me.Looks so god and yummy.
    Thanks for the update and at the right time.
    Wishing you a lovely evening,
    Sasneham,
    Anu

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  10. I had made kootu and thanni saaru with this keerai,but not yet tried poriyal,sounds yumm!Wow,really u have got somany recipes for karthigai deepam! Rocking!! :)

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  11. hi shanthi I knew you would post this today! Surprised because I used to make it on uttana dwadesi, I love this poriyal I can never get this here, I am eating through my eyes hahha, lovely click too dear

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  12. oh god ...i love ur recipes.. so many posts...congrats on ur success. Sure am gonna watch out for u.....

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  13. chechi its sounds a great recipe..dont know wat is turkey berry.....
    Biny

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  14. this green is totally new to me. looks delicious.

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  15. Love Keerai's any day and Agathi Keerai is a special one...Love its unique taste and this one is surely an awesome recipe!!Sundakkai in this dish is a unique one and got to try this!!

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  16. Never tried this before Shanti didi. Looks great.

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  17. Its has been ages i have this poriyal,my fav curry..

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  18. Very nice recipe Shanti. So simple and healthy :)

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  19. Agathi leaves is new to me too..Good to know about its medicinal properties. Quick and easy to make. Good informative post. Isn't it amazing that our ancestors were so well connected with nature..and knew so much abt the medicinal values amd hence were so healthy..

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  20. very healthy dish. my mom used to make agathi keerai often:) lovely:)

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  21. Agathikeerai poriyal looks yumm. Never heard of adding sundaikkai vathal. Love to try your version soon..

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  22. Nice poriyal and very healthy too. I love poriyal...the coconut flavor truly reminds me of home..mom's cooking.

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  23. hi Nice blog. this dish looks nice. rare ingredient. Never herd of these leaves used for cooking. Will try it as soon as i can get the leaves :)

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  24. Love this poriyal... Healthy and delicious.

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  25. very healthy recipe...thanks a lot for sharing...

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  26. This looks and sounds very healthy and delicious!
    Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and for the kind comment! :)

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  27. I am truely missing all this keerai here drumstick leaves, agathi keerai, ponnagani mmm my mouthwaters.. all greens are my fav and wish i can get here too.

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  28. And adding sundakkai to this is new..

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  29. Dear Shanti, your blog is perfect. I am verymuch pleased to read it. Agathi keerai siTdedish, we in Srirangam add little cooked/boiled tuvaramparuppu to it. It tastes good. Also instead of putting Sundaikai in this we put fried sundaikai in mor khuzambhu. Today being Ekadasi I just started reading Dwadasi thaligai. Will go through other item as well. God Bless you. Have done a fantastic job.

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  30. Vanakkam.... from which age ahathi keerai can be introduced ? What r the keerai varieties kids of all ages can have ? Kindly reply.. thank you

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