Masala Motchai or
Averekai Masala.
This is a preparation of Madurai area in Tamilnadu. This is not an Udupi cuisine. I learnt
it from a cookery programme on TV many years back. It is eaten as a snack or
with rice or chapathi or poori. Hailing from Udupi, where to almost all dishes we
add jaggery, even for this I add a little jaggery to balance the spicy taste.
Ingredients:
# 1) Motchai kottai
or Avare kalu – 1 cup. 2) Chana flour or
Basen or Kadale hittu – 2-3 tsps. 3) Red chilli powder – 1 tsp. 4) Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp. 5) Cooking oil (I
use coconut oil) – 2+2 tsps. 6) Salt as needed. 7) Mustard – 1 tsp. 8) Sombu or
Fennel seeds- 1 tsp. 9) Onions, small(sambar onion) or medium pieces – ½ cup.
10) Ginger finely cut – 1 tsp. 11) Green chillies – 3-4, finely cut. 12) Garlic
4-6 pods – finely cut. 12) Curry leaves – few.
13) Coriander leaves – few. 14) Jaggery – ½ tsp or more, optional.
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Ingredients: Avare seeds, green chillies, garlic pods. Onion (small sambar onions preferred), Ginger,
Chana Flour, Red Chilli powder, Sombu, Turmeric powder,Coriander leaves and curry leaves.
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| Green chillies, Ginger & Garlic pods -all finely cut, small onions and cooked Avare seeds mixed with masala. |
Method of preparation:
Cleaned and dried avare seeds or motchai kotte is cooked in
a pressure cooker (one whistle) or rice cooker and cool it.
Mix well Kadale mav or Basen, chilli powder, salt, turmeric
and 2 tsps of oil. To this add the cooked avare seeds and mix to give a nice
coating of the masala.
In a kadai heat 2 tsps oil, add mustard, sombu, onions
(preferably small ones) and fry till mustard spurts. Now add finely cut ginger,
green chillies and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium flame when a nice
aroma comes. At this time reduce flame and add masala coated motchai and mix
and cook for 3-5 minutes. Adding jaggery is an option at this time.
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| After frying all other items add masala coated Motchai to the Kadai to mix and cook for 3-5 minutes more. |
Finally transfer to serving dish and garnish with curry
leaves and coriander leaves.
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| Final stage after garnishing with curry leaves and coriander leaves. |
Can be eaten as it is as a snack or with rice or chapathi.
Preparation time
: About 20-25 minutes.
Serves 3 to 4
persons.
Special note: can
make similar masala using Potato cubes instead of Avare kalu.
