Agathi Keerai poriyal அகத்தி கீரை with coconut. Easy and healthy to do side dish for lunch. South Indian Tamilnadu style recipe. With step by step pictures.
Agathi Keerai is a highly regarded green in Tamil cuisine as it has lots of health benefits. There are two theories as to why its called as Agathi. It is believed to be named after the Sage Agathiyar / Agasthya. Sage Agasthya is often considered as the father of traditional Indian Medicine. Agathiyar(அகத்தியர்) in Tamil means one who is focused inward. Agam in tamil means inner place. The other theory is that the name can be split in Tamil as Agam + thee = agathi. Agam means inner place. “Thee” means fire. So agathi is considered to be a substance that keeps the heat of the body in balance. These leaves are used extensively for its healing properties. It is called as Agathi keerai அகத்தி கீரை in Tamil, Avisi Koora in Telugu, Agase Soppu in Kannada and gaach-munga in Hindi. The leaves are slightly bitter but tastes really well with the added coconut.
There are many agathi keerai recipes. Here is how to do a simple Tamilnadu style agathi keerai poriyal – stir fry recipe. First, remove the leaves from the stem of the keerai. Just pull the leaves from the stem downward like below and it will easily come off. Discard the stem.
Soak the leaves in plenty of water for 10 minutes to get rid of the fine dust and sand. Wash it several times in running water. Drain the water and set aside.
Heat oil in a pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds and the urad dal. Wait for the mustard seeds to splutter and the urad dal to brown. Add in the finely chopped onions, salt and the chopped green chillies. Fry till the onions are soft.
Add in the agathi leaves and cook for 10 minutes in medium flame until the leaves are soft and cooked. Add a little water (about 1/4 cup ) while cooking if necessary.
Add in the fresh shredded coconut and fry for a minute. Switch off the flame.
Serve Agathi keerai for lunch with rice, sambar and rasam .
- 250 grams Agathi Keerai
- 2 teaspoon peanut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon split urad dal
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 green chillies, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup fresh shredded coconut
- First, remove the leaves from the stem of the keerai. Discard the stem. Soak the leaves in plenty of water for 10 minutes to get rid of fine dust and sand. Wash it several times in running water. Drain the water and set aside.
- Heat oil in a pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds and the urad dal. Wait for the mustard seeds to splutter and the urad dal to brown. Add in the finely chopped onions, salt and the chopped green chillies. Fry till the onions are soft.
- Add in the agathi leaves and cook for 10 minutes in medium flame until the leaves are soft and cooked. Add a little water (about 1/4 cup ) while cooking if necessary.
- Add in the fresh shredded coconut and fry for a minute. Switch off the flame.
- Serve Agathi keerai for lunch with rice and a side dish of sambar and rasam.
- Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Side dish for Lunch
- Cuisine: South Indian, Tamilnadu
- 250 grams Agathi Keerai
- 2 teaspoon peanut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon split urad dal
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 green chillies, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup fresh shredded coconut
- First, remove the leaves from the stem of the keerai. Discard the stem. Soak the leaves in plenty of water for 10 minutes to get rid of fine dust and sand. Wash it several times in running water. Drain the water and set aside.
- Heat oil in a pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds and the urad dal. Wait for the mustard seeds to splutter and the urad dal to brown. Add in the finely chopped onions, salt and the chopped green chillies. Fry till the onions are soft.
- Add in the agathi leaves and cook for 10 minutes in medium flame until the leaves are soft and cooked. Add a little water (about 1/4 cup ) while cooking if necessary.
- Add in the fresh shredded coconut and fry for a minute. Switch off the flame.
- Serve Agathi keerai for lunch with rice and a side dish of sambar and rasam.
- Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Side dish for Lunch
- Cuisine: South Indian, Tamilnadu
Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/agathi-keerai-poriyal/
Recipe for spongy white set dosa recipe. Made with rice and atukulu / poha. Makes for an excellent breakfast. With step by step pictures.
The thing I like about set dosa is that its really so soft and so good for dunking in chutney or kurma / sagu. Its common in restaurants here in Bangalore and the name set dosa kind of intrigued me. At first, I just thought it was a set of uthappam served with kurma. But everytime I ate it, I dint know how they could get the dosa so soft and spongy. Later on, I learnt that the batter itself is completely different. The softness of the batter comes from the atukulu or poha (Aval). Also the addition of yogurt makes the batter so soft and so delicious. Its usually served with vegetable sagu / kurma. This is a very famous dish from the udipi region of karnataka. Here is my way of doing it.
We will need a cup of idly rice (I used salem car rice). Use idly rice only. Raw rice does not work very well for this recipe. Idly rice is easily available in grocery shops these days. We will need quarter cup of unpolished whole white urad dal, half a cup of poha (aval/atukulu) and half a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds. To know in detail about the ingredients that we usually use for making idli dosa batter, Check out my post on how to make soft idlis.
Wash all the ingredients together 2-3 times in running water to get rid of dust and dirt. Soak the ingredients in a bowl with lots of water for 2 hours. Drain the water and set aside.
Grind the ingredients to a smooth paste. While grinding add half a cup of yogurt and a cup of water. The batter needs to be ground to a really fine smooth paste. If the mixie wont budge, grind the batter in 2-3 batches.
Once the batter is ready, cover the batter bowl with a lid and let it to ferment in a warm draft free place for 12 hours. If the place where you live is cold, leave it inside the oven with the pilot light on. After the fermentation, Set Dosa batter should have increased in volume and should look foamy. Mix in the salt. The batter is ready. We are ready to do dosas.
Heat a dosa griddle/pan until medium hot. Apply few drops of oil on the griddle. Ladle the batter and pour it onto the griddle. Do not spread the batter like you do normal dosa. Spread it ever so lightly if necessary. Lots of holes will start forming on the top of the dosa. Cover the griddle with a lid and let it cook for 40 seconds on low medium flame. This dosa is usually cooked only on one side.
Note: If you feel the dosa is sticky, flip the dosa and cook for 20 seconds.
The dosas are ready when the top is completely cooked and the bubbles have settled.
Remove the dosa from the griddle and repeat with the rest of the batter. Serve the dosa hot with vegetable sagu / kurma or a spicy kaara chutney.
- Measurements used – 1 cup = 250ml
For grinding batter
- 1 cup idly rice
- 1/4 cup unpolished whole white urad dal
- 1/2 cup poha (aval / atukulu)
- 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 cup curd
- 1 cup water
Other ingredients
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Oil for griddle while making dosa
- Wash all the ingredients together 2-3 times in running water to get rid of dust and dirt. Soak the ingredients in a bowl with lots of water for 2 hours. Drain the water and set aside.
- Grind the ingredients to a smooth paste. While grinding add half a cup of yogurt and a cup of water. The batter needs to be ground to a really fine smooth paste. If the mixie wont budge, grind the batter in 2-3 batches.
- Once the batter is ready, cover the batter bowl with a lid and let it to ferment in a warm draft free place for 12 hours. If the place where you live is cold, leave it inside the oven with the pilot light on. After the fermentation, Set Dosa batter should have increased in volume and should look foamy. Mix in the salt. The batter is ready.
- Heat a dosa griddle/pan until medium hot. Apply few drops of oil on the griddle. Ladle the batter and pour it onto the griddle. Cover the griddle with a lid and let it cook for 40 seconds on low medium flame.
- Remove the dosa from the griddle and repeat with the rest of the batter. Serve the dosa hot with vegetable sagu / kurma or a spicy kaara chutney.
Notes
Store the left over batter in the refrigerator and use within 2 days.
- Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 12 hours
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Breakfast, dosa
- Cuisine: South Indian
