Mukkala Pulusu

" Mukkala Pulusu " is a very famous South Indian Dish which has hot and sweet flavours. We can find this dish in almost all Andhra Hotels and Marriages.

For this Mukkala Pulusu, we need vegetables like Pumpkin, Bottle Gourd, Drumsticks, Lady Fingers, Brinjals, Sweet Potatoes etc. For the current version, I am using few of them.

Ingredients:
Bottle Gourd Pieces ( Aanapakaya mukkalu ) - 1 Cup
Sweet Potato ( Chilakada dumpa ) - 1 ( medium size )
Brinjal ( Vankaya ) - 1
Green Chillies ( Pachimirchi ) - 3 to 5
Tamarind ( Chinthapandu ) - Lemon Size
Mustard Seeds ( Aavaalu ) - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds ( Jeelakarra ) - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds ( Menthulu ) - 1/4 tsp
Dry Red Chillies ( Yendu mirapa ) - 2
Asafoetida ( Hing or Inguva ) - a pinch
Turmeric ( Pasupu )- a pinch
Gram Flour ( Senaga Pindi ) - 2 tsp
Rice Flour ( Vari Pindi ) - 1 tsp
Jaggery ( Bellam ) - 3/4th tsp
Curry Leaves ( Karivepaaku ) - few
Cilantro leaves ( Kothimeera ) - few
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Water - 3 - 4 cups

Method:
Cut all the desired vegetables into bite size pieces. Split the green chillies also. Take all these vegetables and chillies with 2 cups of water and half boil them.

This may take 10 mins of time. Mean while soak the tamarind in hot water and extract pulp from it. Filter the pulp using a seive and take the juice and keep it aside. Once the vegetables are half cooked, pour the tamarind juice and add salt, jaggery, turmeric and boil this until the vegetables are completely cooked. Add the remaining water also. Now we have to make seasoning for this Pulusu.

Take a seperate pan, heat it, put some oil and add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, hing, red chillies. When they are fried, add curry leaves also and allow them to splutter. Now add this seasoning to the Pulusu and immediately cover with a lid. We want all the flavours of seasoning to get induced into the Dish. Let it cook for another 2 mins. Meanwhile, take the gramflour and rice flour and mix both of them together with some water to make a smooth paste. Now add this paste to the dish and allow to boil for another 2 mins. Switch of the stove and garnish with some coriander leaves. Mukkala Pulusu is all ready ! It goes well with hot rice.
This serves 3 - 4 people.

Tip:

If the recipe is too watery, add some more gramflour+rice flour paste to it and cook well.

Health Info:

Tamarind and Turmeric are antiseptics. Gargles with tamarind water is recommended for a sore throat. Being highly acidic, it gives a cooling effct to our body in summers. It is believed to boost metabolism.Using vegetables with high fiber enhances digestive system.