Vegan Karuvepilai Thuvaiyal Recipe

Karuvepilai Chutney from Tamil Nadu. Best eaten with dosa, idli, and anything you feel like!

Whole Food Plant Based Karuvepilai Thuvaiyal (Curry Leaves Chutney)

Course: Chutneys, Side dish for Course 3 (Grain Dishes) at Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: Tamil Recipe from South India
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Servings 4 people

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup Curry Leaves (Karuvepilai / Karibevinasoppu / Kari patta)
2 tsp Urad Dal (Uluthamparuppu / uddina bele)
2 tsp Bengal Gram Dal (Kadalai Paruppu / Kadlebele)
1 dried fruit Garcinia (Punarpuli / Kokum)
1 tsp Cumin Seeds Jeera
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 small Green Chili
2 tbsp Fresh Grated Coconut
1 pinch Asafoetida (Perungaayam / Hing)
4 tsp Miso Paste (Healthy Salt Alternative. See Nutrition Science Highlights below for details)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Dry roast the dals (each separately)
2. Dry roast jeera and pepper until jeera starts popping.
3. Grate or chop coconut into small pieces.
4. Grind all the ingredients together in a mixie, with water as required. The thick chutney is our personal favourite, with just a little water.
5. Serve fresh with jowar rava upma.

Plant Based Chef Pro Tips for Best Karuvepilai Thivaiyal Recipe (Curry Leaves Chutney)

1. If you want a tadka, dry roast mustard seeds and mix into chutney as soon as it starts sputtering.

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Karuvepilai Thuvaiyal Recipe (Curry Leaves Chutney)

1. Why Miso Paste? Miso paste is fermented & salted soya bean paste. American Heart Association Maximum recommended maximum daily salt intake of 3.75 grams per person to minimise risk of high blood pressure, stomach cancer and chronic kidney disease. In addition to helping us restrict salt intake, replacing salt with miso paste also helps by neutralising the negative effects of salt by soya phytonutrients. You can easily make fresh miso paste at home by mixing 100 grams of cooked soya paste with 10 grams of salt, or 10 tablespoons of cooked soya paste with 1 tablespoon of salt. If making at home, ensure to use immediately, or freeze in batches to use later. Or, simply use 3.75 grams of salt or less per day per person and add 18 to 20 grams (dry weight) of soya beans in any dishes, spread through the day!
2. Why not tadka? Tadka, thaaLippu, oggaraNe. Tempering spices in oil is quintessential to Indian cuisine. This practice may have started as a compromise when whole nuts were unavailable, and indeed, is more common in inland, drier areas where nuts do not grow easily, all year round. You can enjoy the taste and fragrance, though, by just dry roasting the spices you require, without the oil, or even better, mixing spice powders directly into your dish!
3. Why nuts instead of oil? Whole foods are healthier than processed foods. When nuts are pressed and oil is extracted, fiber and phytonutrients are lost, along with many other nutrients. Therefore, whole nuts are much healthier than oils, whether cold-pressed or refined. In addition, they provide the oil content we need to absorb fat-soluble phytonutrients from other whole plant foods! This may be why nuts are used to garnish nearly every traditional Indian dish!