Vendakkai Mandi from the heart of Chettinad
A few readers have requested that we post traditional recipes with an apprentice rating of easy to medium, and so, this week, we bring to you a classic recipe from the heart of Chettinad and one that is fairly simple to make – Vendakkai Mandi. Call it Lady’s Finger or Okra or Bhindi or Vendakkai, this vegetable may not be a universal choice, but it was, and still is, a house favourite with the women of the Muthiah household. To Ayah and the darling daughters, there was nothing to beat this spicy, tangy curry with just a hint of jaggery, served with a simple bowl of curds (yoghurt) and rice. The best way to finish a meal, or start it for that matter! I have to say though, that to Aiyah whose lexicon of vegetables was restricted to ‘English Vegetables’, this one was definitely a miss.
As we call an end to the Pongal festivities and thank the Sun God for a bountiful harvest, I am reminded that there is no other Indian festival that celebrates food as much as Pongal does. And as I wash the mounds of rice that is required to make the Pongal pot overflow, and am about to discard the nutrient and fibre rich water that has been used to wash the rice, I am thankful that the frugal Achi’s (women of the Chettiar community) of yesteryear discovered a way to use this water, called Arisi Mandi Thanni or Arisi Kalanja (Kazhuviya) Thanni. Yes, this water which is normally thrown away or used to feed cattle, is precious to the Chettiars who lived by the adage waste not want not. On Pongal day, the Chettiar tradition is to cook the traditional Ven Pongal (white Pongal) and Sarkkarai Pongal (rice cooked with jaggery) in milk and mandi thanni - symbolic of not wasting any part of the precious harvest.
That apart, Chettiar cuisine is also peppered with dishes that use mandi thanni as a base. While the water was probably used as a thickening agent in the past, it also imparts a unique taste to the dish. Mandi, which literally translates to sediment in Tamil (in that confusing way of the Tamil language, it could also mean a grain market or kneeling, but let’s stick to sediment for the purposes of my story) is also a ubiquitous name given to any dish that uses mandi thanni in the recipe - the adjunct will usually tell you what type of Mandi it is. For example, there is Keerai Mandi, which is a blandish creation of varieties of amaranth spinach (popular in Tamil Nadu) cooked in mandi thanni and coconut milk. Then there is Palakaai Mandi, which literally translates to an assortment of vegetables cooked in mandi thanni – think a spicy sour mixed vegetable curry loaded with the goodness of eggplant, raw banana, banana stem, drumsticks, potatoes, carrots, cluster beans, mango and any other vegetable you can think of, fortified with the nutrients from the rice water. And then there is this Vendakkai Mandi which, dare I say, is the most common of the lot and found in the corner of the banana leaf at any celebratory Chettiar luncheon.
While the Vendakkai Mandi is my favourite, this recipe can also be modified by substituting the main vegetable for another vegetable by itself or in combination with a dry legume. Some other options are Kodamilagai and Mocchai Mandi (capsicum / bell pepper and a dry bean which is the Indian country cousin to a lima bean or a broad bean) or Maangai Inji and Kondai Kadalai Mandi (made using mango ginger, a specific type of ginger found in South India, and chickpeas / channa) or chinna vengayam pachai milagai mandi (the barest form of the dish, made using Indian shallots and green chillies – spice on wings).
While the apprentice with his now well-known dislike of gravies of any sort has not tried this recipe and won’t even deign to eat it, much like Aiyah, we look forward to our newfound apprentices trying it out and falling in love with it. I promise this is an easy peasy recipe. If you do try it, we would love to see the results, so please post a picture on our facebook page.
Notes:
1. This recipe uses lady's finger / okra / bhindi as the main vegetable. You could substitute this with other vegetables / combination of vegetables and dried legumes. Common variations found in Chettiar homes are kodamilagai (capsicum) and mocchai mandi, maangai inji (mango ginger) and kondaikadalai (chickpea / channa) mandi or just plain chinna vengayam and milagai (Indian shallot and green chilli) mandi.
2. You could also add a dried legume to this recipe, preferably mocchai (a dried bean common in Tamil Nadu - I believe this is called Vaal in Hindi). Soak 1/4 cup of the beans in warm water overnight. Then pressure cook for about 10 whistles or cook in a pan until tender. Drain and add to the mandi, once the okra is cooked, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. The best rice to extract the mandi thanni from is raw rice or idli rice. However, I have also used long grained rice and basmati rice in the past - you will just need more rice to get the same amount of mandi thanni.
4. If you don't have mandi thanni, in a pinch, you can substitute with 1 teaspoon of rice flour mixed with about 4 tablespoons of water. The consistency won't exactly be the same, but will do in a pinch.
5. If you find the mandi too spicy, dice half a potato (1/2 inch cubes), parboil it, add to the mandi and simmer for 5-10 minutes until potato is fully cooked. The potato will absorb some of the spice.
Ingredients:
2 cups arisi mandi thanni (see instructions on how to get the arisi mandi)
1 tsp tamarind paste (or the juice of 1 small lime sized ball of tamarind)
1 whole head of garlic / 20 pods garlic, peeled and cut into half lengthwise
15 Okras, cut into 1 inch pieces
10 small Indian shallots peeled and cut in halves or 1 medium onion, diced (1/2 inch cubes)
1 tomato, diced (same amount as onions)
4-6 green / red chillies, slit (increase up to 8 if you’d like spicier)
Salt to taste (~2 tsp)
1 tsp powdered jaggery
For Tempering
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal / black gram dal
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
4 dried red chillies, keep whole
4-5 curry leaves
Method:
1. Extract 2 cups of arisi mandi thanni. The best rice to do this is either from raw rice or idli rice. Take a cup of rice, pour enough water to cover the rice, wash the rice by rubbing the grains. Drain the water into a bowl – this is the mandi. Repeat the process two more times – this should give you enough for 2 cups. The trick is not to dilute the mandi thanni, so don’t extract more than 2 cups from 1 cup of rice.
2 cups arisi mandi thanni
2. If using tamarind paste, mix the paste in the mandi thanni until it dissolves. If using tamarind, extract the juice using 1/4 cup of warm water and add the juice to the mandi thanni.
1 tsp tamarind paste (or the juice of 1 small lime sized ball of tamarind)
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the mustard seeds and urad dal. Once the mustard pops and the dal is golden brown in colour, add the fenugreek seeds, dried red chillies and the curry leaves and sauté for a few seconds. Take care not to burn it.
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal / black gram dal
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
4 dried red chillies, keep whole
4-5 curry leaves
4. Next, add the garlic and sauté for a few seconds. Then add the okra and sauté until it is no longer slimy and the skin is slightly brown.
1 whole head of garlic / 20 pods garlic, peeled and cut into half lengthwise
15 Okras, cut into 1 inch pieces
5. Add the shallots / onions and sauté until translucent. Then add the tomato and fresh chillies and sauté for a minute.
10 small Indian shallots peeled and cut in halves or 1 medium onion, diced (1/2 inch cubes)
1 tomato, diced (same amount as onions)
4-6 green / red chillies, slit (increase up to 8 if you’d like spicier)
6. Finally add the mandi thanni and the tamarind and salt. Mix and cook semi-covered until the okra is cooked. While the okra is cooking, check the spice – if it is too spicy, remove some of the chillies. Continue simmering until okra is cooked. You will know if the okra is cooked if you can easily cut it with a spoon.
Salt to taste (~2 tsp)
7. Once the okra is cooked, add the jaggery, cook until it mixes in and turn of the flame.
1 tsp powdered jaggery
8. This tastes better when it is stored for a bit, so serve at least a couple of hours after you make it. Serve hot with rice and yoghurt or thayir saadam (yoghurt rice).
Serves: 4 people
Apprentice Rating: The apprentice did not make this, but it is quite an easy recipe to make.
Recent Posts:
