I found this greens at an Indian store last week and was I thrilled! One of the things I miss about my hometown is the wide variety of greens we could use, right from SiruKeerai, Ponnanganni Keerai, Agathi Keerai….The list is long and I could go on and on…I know those greens only by their Tamil names…
Oh, I forgot to name those green beauties I found. They are Amaranth leaves or MulaiKeerai or ThotaKoora.
My mom makes MulaiKeerai in a different way, without using dal. I grew up to like it a lot, though it might be a little bland to some palates.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
Amaranth Leaves – About 2 to 2.5 cups
Water – 1 Cup
Turmeric – A pinch
Salt – As per taste
Seasoning:
Garlic Flakes – 3 big ones
Mustard Seeds – 1 Teaspoon
Dry Red Chilli – 4
Urad Dal – 1 Teaspoon
Jeera – 1/2 Teaspoon
Oil – 2 Teaspoons
Mustard Seeds – 1 Teaspoon
Dry Red Chilli – 4
Urad Dal – 1 Teaspoon
Jeera – 1/2 Teaspoon
Oil – 2 Teaspoons
Chop Amaranth leaves and cook them in water, with a pinch of turmeric. Use a masher or a blender and blend till coarse. Add salt as per taste.
Crush garlic flakes and break dry red chillies into small pieces.
Heat oil and add mustard seeds, jeera, urad dal, red chillies and garlic flakes. After the mustard seeds splutter and the garlic flakes turn light brown, add it to the amaranth leaves and serve.
This curry can be used with rice or rotis.
Chandrika: This time of year in CA amaranth is plentiful in farmer’s markets and also in the asian stores (Chinese, Vietnanes, etc). If you live near any Chinese produce marts you may want to check those out for tasty and cheap greens.I too love amaranth and have been making it a lot lately. I will definitely try your recipe – thanks!
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Hi Chandrika,I love this Keerai Masial. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi there!I have recommended your blog for Blog Day 2006 < HREF="http://thecookingadventuresofchefpaz.blogspot.com/2006/08/happy-blog-day-august-31-2006.html" REL="nofollow">here.<>Best,Paz
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Hi Chandrika,I too miss a lot of greens like agathi, murungai,araikeerai and sirukeerai. Keerai masiyal looks nice..
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Hi chandrika,my mom used to do thotakura pappu and my inlaws do thotakura vepudu.This sounds intresting.thanks for sharing
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Good recipe. Picture is more attractive. Why can’t they find something which will turn the picture into reality so that we can eat what you have published as a picture. Jobs will be made easier. Isn’t it?
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I used to cook this in B’lore. But haven’t eaten this in 10yrs.!!Lucky you are to get it in CA, not a chance here 😦
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erp…Sorry for the typo in the post above – I meant “Chinese or Vietnamese” markets. But I suppose you knew that.Thanks again for the inspiration!
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hi Chandrika..loved your blog.. Beautiful pictures. Amaranth curry(thotakura)looks delicious. I prepare with dal but your version seems exciting. Should prepare next time. Thanks for sharing.
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The curry looks great Chandrika
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Hi chandrikaSo mulaikeerai is thota koora ?? Ore confusion pa.. Ravi said that this keerai int he pic is thota koora..Krishna said that araikeerai is a thota koora ( i beleive krishnaarjuna more ) I need a tamil-telugu lexicography
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Diane, thanks for the tip. I will check out at the Chinese store nearby.You are welcome, Vidya.Thanks Paz.Thanks, Prema.You are welcome, Meena.Thanks, Balaji. Let’s hope technology will improve soon!I am in NJ, Asha. I am sure you would get it in NC. Check out at the Chinese/Asian stores as Diane had mentioned.Thanks for your nice compliments, Sudha.Thanks, Ashwini.Revathi, I got confused too. So, I sent a detailed picture to my mom and also showed it to her via webcam. She confirmed it as Mulai Keerai. Araikeerai has smaller leaves and the stems are much slender. And both Mulaikeerai and Araikeerai belong to Amaranthus species. Hope this helps.
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Hi Chandrika! U have got a great blog. I luv the yummy pictures. I got confused with the names and what type of greens was it in tamil. And when i googled it up i found ur site. Even iam not sure about whether this is araikeerai or mulaikeerai. Cos Araikeerai is full green in colour and it is as others have mentioned. But still i prepared the dish as we do usually for araikeerai and it is the same way as u have posted. It tastes good . Thanks . Jai.
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