Menthya Miryal Gojju – Methi Pepper Gojju

Garlic is this month’s spice over at Sunita’s World and I couldn’t think of a better dish than Menthye Miryal Gojju, which is a tamarind based gojju and has lots of garlic in it. The name of the dish is a little funny coz it has two languages in it;Menthye which means Fenugreek seeds in Kannada and Miryal which is Whole Black pepper in Telugu. I have no idea yet again how that name came up, but we know it best this way. When granny and mom used to make it back home, we all looked for only one thing in it – garlic!! The pods are so tiny so they would have to put atleast half a dozen heads to keep us satisfied. Luckily for me, here the heads of garlic are huge, so a little does go a long way.

You will need:

¼ tsp Fenugreek Seeds
¼ tsp Whole black pepper crushed
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
1 tsp Chana dal
¼ tsp Hing
Few dry red chillies
1 medium Onion chopped
10 Cloves of garlic cut into bits
2 tbsp Tamarind paste
3 tbsp Jaggery (powdered)
2 tbsp Besan flour
½ tsp Rasam powder
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, crushed black pepper, urad and chana dal. When the seeds begint to splutter, add the dry red chillies. Add the chopped onions and garlic. Saute till onions are soft. Dissolve the tamarind paste in water to make a thick smooth paste. Add this and the jaggery to the onion mixture. Bring to a simmering boil. Add water as you go to make more of the gojju. Don't worry about it being too thin.

Mix the besan flour with water and make a smooth paste. Add this to the tamarind mixture while stirring. This thickens the gojju. Add more of the besan if the gojju is not thick enough yet. Season with salt and taste,add more jaggery if required. Bring to a boil and serve.

This goes great with hot white rice and ghee. This will keep for a week in an air tight container in the fridge.

Menthye Miryal Gojju is my entry to " Think Spice--Think Garlic" event hosted by dear Sunita of Sunita's World.