Dates Puliyinji

You can see recipes strewn all over my workspace. It will be in the form of handwritten notes on white paper, sometimes on the back of bills, tissue papers, printouts, or paper cutouts. This is in addition to the digital collection of recipes!

There are days when I go through all these and still can't find something that I like to try out. But there are days when recipes just kinda call out to me. This is one such recipe!

I was organizing or “trying” to organize my desk and suddenly this handwritten note fell out from one of my books and this recipe happened!

I love dates in any form and this combination of spicy, sweet, and sour flavors got me hooked!

This is very similar to the traditional Puliyinji recipe but here we are using dates in addition to jaggery for sweetness. It's almost similar to a date pickle.

It's super easy to make and keeps well in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.

Dates Puliyinji
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Dates Puliyinji

A traditional Kerala sadya recipe made with dates, tamarind and ginger. It's similar to a date confit with a perfect balance of sweet, sour and spicy flavors.
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Cuisine: Indian, South Indian, Kerala, Keralan
Keyword: Onam sadya, Onasadya, Puliyinji, inji curry
Author: Maria Jose Martin

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Chopped dates (I used around 25 small -medium size dates)
  • 2 tbsp Finely chopped ginger
  • 1 Green chilli, chopped
  • 2 tbsp Jaggery powder
  • 1 tbsp Tamarind paste (refer notes)
  • 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp Asafoetida (kayam)
  • 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
  • 1-2 Dry red chilli
  • Curry leaves
  • Salt

Instructions

  • Cook chopped dates with 1/2 cup water until it becomes soft.
    Step 1 dates puliyinji
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  • Heat oil in a wide pan. Add finely chopped ginger, green chilli and curry leaves. Cook for 2-3 mins or until the raw smell goes.
    Step 2 Dates Puliyinji
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  • Add kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt. Cook for 2-3 mins, until oil starts appearing.
    Step 3 Dates Puliyinji
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  • Mix tamarind paste and jaggery powder with 2 cups of water. Add tamarind water and bring it to boil. Let it simmer for 5-7 mins.
    Step 4 dates Puliyinji
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  • Add cooked dates to this and mix well. Do a taste test and adjust the flavors.
    Step 5 Dates Puliyinji
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  • Heat 1 – 2 tsp oil in a small pan. Crackle mustard seeds. Add dry red chillies and curry leaves. Fry for a min and add to the dates tamarind mixture.
    Step 6 dates puliyinji
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Notes

If you are using regular tamarind instead of paste, take gooseberry size tamarind and soak it in 1/3 cup of hot water. Squeeze out the pulp after 10 mins or so and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Tried this recipe? Let others know by…mentioning @mariasmenu or tagging #mariasmenu
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