Snake gourd Seeds and amaranth leaves Thuvayal / masiyal

I generally shy away from sharing my off beat recipes but then thgt why not dare posting something this time :). It hurts when people who cant think out of the box tease me about my cooking. and even say "so what" or its no big deal..hmm what say when it is your own family and friends...hence the "keep it to myself" thgt of mine precedes my posts.. im just too much of a baby and cant handle such things i guess...

The thuvayal recipe is fairly simple with basic ingredients ~ tempering, and flavouring and the base ingredients...so here you go!

all you need
base ingredients

1. snake gourd seeds - 1/2 cup
2. amaranth leaves - 1 1/2 cup
3. garlic - 1 clove (optional) (but would be good with just ginger as well!!)

condiments / flavouring 

1. salt to taste
2. tumeric powder- 1 pinch
3. hing / asafoetida - 1 pinch
4. Tamarind pulp - 2 tsp
5. green chillies - 2 

tempering
corainder seeds - 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
mustard seeds - 1/4tsp
chana dal - 1/2tsp
moong dal - 1/2 tsp
urad dal - 1/2 tsp
oilve or sunflower oil - 1/2 tsp (according to your choice)
red chilli -1 (optional)
curry leaves - 5-7 (optional)

What you do :

• Wash and chop Amarnath leaves and set aside to drip dry in a colander
• peel garlic, and wash the snake gourd seeds and drain
• In a pan or a kadahi pour olive oil and put in tempering ingredients - mustard, urad dal, chana dal, moong dal and red chilli and cumin and coriander seeds; Saute on medium flame
• add garlic and the snake gourd seeds, curry leaves, green chillies and saute for another minute or until the seeds look translucent
• add the leaves and saute for 2-3 minutes
• add salt, turmeric powder, hing and cook for another minute or so (or until the mixture no longer has a raw smell but looks and smells yummy)
• transfer to a plate and let the mixture cool
• Grind (mixture and tamarind paste ) to a fine or a coarse paste (as per your choice for thuvayal / masiyal )
• Serve with rice or roti...is a yummy alternative to regular thuvayals and a great way to include greens in ur diet

Snippets

Amaranth leaves - also called thota koora in telugu is a great source of fiber 

Amarnath seeds are a great source of gluten free is very good for people with coeliac dieases 

This paste /thuvayal can be used as a green sauce base for gravy curries 

mixed into roti dough, it makes great rotis as well (flavoured rotis or a diff variety of theplas maybe!!)

I have used this variation instead of pesto in pasta..i know ..i m crazy!!

a little (1 tbsp ) in the gravy makes a very creamy and healthy soup base as well...

you could add a little coriander leaves / cilantro and mint to make a perfect chutney for snacks (samosas and chats)- Believe me !!

So add this yum thuvayal in ur diet and have fun with food..a little thought into what you eat goes a long way :)