Sodhi is a flavorful, rich coconut milk based dish from Tirunelveli region of Tamil Nadu. It is a mild creamy gravy with moong dal, mixed vegetables. It is also called mappillai Sodhi widely.
Though you can make this throughout the year, it is specially made during festivals, family gatherings and typically served to the newly wed groom when he visits their in-laws place for the first time after marriage.
Check out my Wheat halwa recipe and Kumbakonam kadappa recipe which is similar to this.
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Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make this scrumptious dish. Check the recipe card for measurements.
- Mixed vegetables - Carrot, beans, potato and drumstick are used mainly.
- Coconut milk - Main ingredient in this recipe. Different thickness of freshly squeezed coconut milk is used throughout the recipe for perfect taste and texture.
- Moong dal - Gives creamy thick texture to the gravy and prevents splitting of coconut milk too in turn.
- Ginger - For flavor as well as aids with digestion.
- Garlic - Adds good flavor, some households don't use garlic too, so it is optional.
- Coconut oil - Typically used in this dish for best flavor.
- Lemon juice - To balance the taste.
- Curry leaves
Check recipe card for quantities. I adapted this recipe from my SIL's blog whose native is from Tirunelveli and also took reference from few other videos.
Step by step images
Let's learn how to make this delicious Tirunelveli Sodhi.
Extract coconut milk
1. Firstly, take one whole fresh coconut. Grate it or cut into small pieces. (2 & ½ to 3 cups loosely filled). Place in a blender / Mixie. Add ¾ cup warm water.
2. Then, grind well and pour over a large metal strainer placed over a bowl. Press against the strainer and get as much as coconut milk as possible.
I had some coconut scraped in freezer and used it. Fresh and fairly young grated coconut is juicy and had lots of milk by itself. You hardly need 2-3 tablespoon of water to get the first milk that is thick, rich. But I added warm water to make sure I get coconut milk from frozen one.
3. Then squeeze well the excess by placing in your hand/ palm. Keep this thick coconut milk (1st extract) aside.
4. After that, return the coconut to the jar again and add one more cup lukewarm water.
5. Grind well and then pour over the metal strainer.
6. Squeeze the milk and set the coconut milk (2nd extract) aside. This is comparatively thinner.
7. Lastly add 1 more cup warm water and grind to get the last batch of milk.
8. After squeezing you can add ½ more cup over again and extract the last bit of milk if any. Refer the video to understand better.
Set this 3rd extract aside. This will be really thin than the previous batches.
Make sodhi
I gave the green chillies a run in mixie to get coarsely ground chilli firstly.
1. Heat a heavy bottomed pan with coconut oil and add garlic, onion, ginger and curry leaves.
2. In medium flame, fry for couple of minutes without changing color, yet it gets cooked. Add a little crushed green chilli at this stage for flavor.
3. Add drumstick, beans and the 3rd extracted coconut milk (thinnest).
4. Cook furthermore covered for 3 minutes.
5. After that, add potato and carrot. Mix well and cook further for 2 more minutes.
6. Then add salt, crushed chilli and 2nd extract, boil in low flame for 3 minutes more.
7. Lastly, add cooked and mashed moong dal and mix it well.
8. In low flame, add the thick extract and stir.
9. Simmer for a minute and switch off the flame.
10. Finally add lemon juice and few fresh torn curry leaves, a teaspoon of coconut oil to garish.
Sodhi kuzhambu is ready and serve it with rice, potato curry, ginger pachadi and fried appalam on the side.
Serving suggestions
A typical mappillai sodhi is served with hot rice,a spicy potato curry, Inji pachadi (Ginger thokku) and potato chips or fried appalam.
You can also enjoy sodhi with idiyappam and aapam.
Top tip
- Do not fry onion or garlic until it changes colour as it may affect the color of sodhi.
- Also do not grind the green chilli smooth as it will also turn sodhi greenish.
- Since there is coconut milk involved, make sure to the flame is in medium while adding second milk .
- Add cooked, mashed moong dal and mix well before adding the thick coconut milk. This prevents curdling of the coconut milk.
- As it cools, it thickens a bit, so switch off accordingly.
- Adjust green chilli according to the spice preference or the chilli variety you use.
My notes
- I prefer to cook vegetables stove top according to their cooking time. So firstly added drumstick and beans which will take longer time to cook. Then added the soft quick cook veggies. If you know to cook in pressure cooker without overcooking, yes you can go ahead.
- Add salt only later when you add second coconut milk.
Substitutions & Variations
Coconut milk - Though there are coconut milk available ready-made and you can use it, I strongly recommend to use fresh one as it good flavor.
Vegetables - Some people add brinjals, green peas and people comment we are not supposed to add those veggies. May be authentic version doesn't have it but when you make at home, feel free to improvise. You can make it with just one vegetable like potato alone.
Instead of small onion, you can also use 1 sliced big onion.
Garlic - You can skip it if you do not want to add and use just ginger's flavor.
Storage
Since we are using coconut milk and moong dal, both tends to go bad soon. Also we add lemon juice after switching off the stove, so better to consume soon. If refrigerating to ensure longer shelf life, do it as soon as it cools down. Do not let it sit in room temperature for long time and then store it.
Recipe card
Sodhi Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Coconut oil
- 10 -12 small onion
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon Ginger
- 4 Green chilli
- 1 Carrot
- 7 beans
- 1 potato
- 1 drumstick
- 1 cup Coconut milk thick, first extract
- 1 cup Coconut milk second extract
- 1.5 cups Coconut milk third extract
- 3 tablespoon moong dal
- 1 lemon’s juice
Instructions
Extract coconut milk
- Firstly, take one whole fresh coconut. Grate it or cut into small pieces. (2 & ½ to 3 cups loosely filled). Place in a blender / Mixie. Add ¾ cup warm water.
- Then, grind well and pour over a large metal strainer placed over a bowl. Press against the strainer and get as much as coconut milk as possible.
- I had some coconut scraped in freezer and used it. Fresh and fairly young grated coconut is juicy and had lots of milk by itself. You hardly need 2-3 tablespoon of water to get the first milk that is thick, rich. But I added warm water to make sure I get coconut milk.
- Then squeeze well the excess by placing in your hand/ palm. Keep this thick coconut milk (1st extract) aside.
- After that, return the coconut to the jar again and add one more cup lukewarm water.
- Grind well and then pour over the metal strainer.
- Squeeze the milk and set the coconut milk (2nd extract) aside. This is comparatively thinner.
- Lastly add 1 more cup warm water and grind to get the last batch of milk.
- After squeezing you can add ½ more cup over again and extract the last bit of milk if any. Refer the video to understand better.
- Set this 3rd extract aside. This will be really thin than the previous batches.
Make sodhi
- As prep work, firstly cook moong dal for 3 -4 whistles and mash, keep aside. Then give green chillies a run in the mixer to get coarse chilli.
- Heat a heavy bottomed pan with coconut oil and add garlic, onion, ginger and curry leaves.
- In medium flame, fry for couple of minutes without changing color, yet it gets cooked. Add a little crushed green chilli at this stage for flavor.
- Add drumstick, beans and the 3rd extracted coconut milk (thinnest).
- Cook furthermore covered for 3 minutes.
- After that, add potato and carrot. Mix well and cook further for 2 more minutes.
- Then add salt, crushed chilli and 2nd extract, boil in low flame for 3 minutes more.
- Lastly, add cooked and mashed moong dal and mix it well.
- In low flame, add the thick extract and stir.
- Simmer for a minute and switch off the flame.
- Finally add lemon juice and few fresh torn curry leaves, a teaspoon of coconut oil to garish.
Video
Notes
- Add salt only later when you add second coconut milk.
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