Saturday 7 March 2015

MANATHAKALI ELAI DAL

Manathakkali or Milagu thakkali or wonder berry is a tiny juicy berry, and its leaves is called  Manathakkali keerai.  This is used mostly  in  South Indian homes.  It is called as Manathakkali in Malayalam, Kamanchi Chettu in Telugu, Makoy in Hindi, Kakkesappu in Kannada, and Black Nightshade in English.

The raw berries are used for making vatha kuzhambu and  ripe berries can be washed and eaten directly. The ripe Manathakkali has a sweet taste and helps alleviate stomach pains and mouth ulcers.


It helps cure liver disorders, chronic skin ailments (psoriasis and ringworm), inflammatory conditions, painful periods, fevers, diarrhoea , eye diseases, and hydrophobia. It is also recommended as a home remedy for mouth ulcers.


I have got a plant in the pot in my balcony.  The plant I saw it in one of the walls outside was picked by me and planted in the pot as I was sure that it will get destroyed over there.  Since it has got medicinal value, I thought I should not miss the chance to bring home.



Coming back to the recipe, I made dal with the greens.







Let us look at the recipe now:


Preparation time: 15 minutes
cooking time: 25 minutes
serves: 2-3


Ingredients:


1 cup leaf tightly packed
1/2 cup moong or masoor or tur dal
1 green chilli
1/2 tsp sambar powder (can increase if you wish)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 onion finely chopped
1 tomato finely chopped
turmeric powder
salt



Tempering;


1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
 1 tsp oil

Method:

Put the leaves in salt water so that if any tiny worms stuck in the leaves comes out.  check before putting them in water.  wash thoroughly, drain and keep.  then chop them finely.

Pressure cook the dal for one whistle and keep.  In a kadai, heat oil add the tempering items. when it is done,  add the chopped onion, when onion becomes translucent, add the tomatoes, cook till mushy.  add sambar powder, chilli powder, dal, chopped leaves, turmeric powder, salt and boil it till the leaves are cooked.

serve hot with rice, chapati.







the ripe fruit

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