use of castor oil in cooking | velakennai samayal
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 3
Ingredients
To pressure cook:
  • Toor dal/Thuvaram parupu - ½ cup
  • Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
  • Asafoetida/Perungayam - a generous pinch
  • Ripened tomato - ½
  • Garlic cloves - 2
  • Water - 1+ cup
  • Castor oil/velakennai - 1 tsp
To temper:
  • Coconut/groundnut oil - 1 tbsp
  • Cumin seeds/jeeragam - ¼ tsp
  • Small onions - 10
  • Green chillies - 1 or 2
  • Curry leaves - few
  • Coriander leaves - few
Other ingredients:
  • Water - ½ cup
  • Rock salt - ¼ tsp heaped
Instructions
  1. Take ½ cup toor dal and wash it twice in a separate bowl. Then transfer the washed dal to cooker. Add ¼ tsp turmeric powder.
  2. Take half tomato, chop it and add. Peel 2 garlic cloves and add.
  3. Add a generous pinch of asafoetida and a cup of water or lil more till an inch above dal.
  4. Add a tsp of castor oil / velakennai and pressure cook for 4 whistles or until cooked soft.
  5. Open the cooker once pressure releases naturally. Chop 10 small onions , 1 or 2 green chillies and few coriander leaves. Wash few curry leaves and keep ready. Add a tbsp of coconut/groundnut/ any cooking oil in a pan. Once hot, add ¼ tsp cumin seeds/jeera.
  6. Once crackled, add chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves. Once onions slightly change colour, add chopped coriander leaves and stir once.
  7. Add cooked dal. Wash the cooker with ¼ cup to ½ cup water and add to dal.
  8. Add ¼ tsp rock salt or as required. Let it boil. Once it becomes slightly thick, switch off. Pls mind that it will still thicken over time.
Notes
1.If you want to use this as side-dish for rasam or any tamarind-based curry, then add very lil water to wash cooker so that dal becomes thick.
2.Do not add more than a tsp of castor oil as it might dominate the taste when added more.
Recipe by My Healthy Kiddo at https://www.myhealthykiddo.com/castor-oil-cooking/