Pudina Thogayal

Some tasty thogayal with fresh mint leaves

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5 from 3 votes

Easy South Indian style accompaniment made with Urad dal and mint leaves as the main ingredients.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Course: Accompaniment

Cuisine: South Indian

Servings:

Calories: 96kcal

Equipment

1 Frying Pan
1 ladle
1 Blender

Ingredients

1 tbsp cold pressed sesame oil
1/4 cup Whole white urad dal
10 grams tamarind or 2 tbsp tamarind paste
12 dry red chilis
2 cups mint leaves tightly packed
1.5 tsp salt or to taste
4 tbsp water Please refer pro tips in the blog post for more information.

Instructions

Prep work
Pick and sort the mint leaves well. Place them in a colander and wash them to get rid of any residual mud. When done, spin it in a salad spinner or air dry to get rid of any moisture.
Heat a pan with sesame oil. When the oil has heated up, add the whole white Urad dal. Reduce the flame to the lowest heat. Saute until the dal begins to change color to a light brown.
At this point, add tamarind and fry till dal completely becomes golden. You need to do this on very low flame, taking care not to burn the Dal.
Once the dal is golden, add the dry red chilies and fry till they become plump.
Now, add the mint leaves and saute them till they are fully wilted. You will see that the mint leaves reduce in volume as they wilt in the heat.
When done, transfer to a high speed blender and add salt. Allow this mixture to cool down completely.
After the mixture is cool, pulse the mixture a couple of times to break down the chilis to smaller pieces.
Now, add 2 to 3 tbsp and blend to a slightly coarse paste. You may add 1 to 2 tbsp more water if you find it difficult to blend.
Transfer the ground Thogayal to a clean and air tight container. Use as required.

Notes

Mint leaves tend to have an underlying bitterness. To mask this taste, we add tamarind. This is why tamarind is what will make or break your Thogayal.
From my experience, I have learned that when you do not saute the mint leaves for long enough, they tend to have a bitter aftertaste. To prevent this from happening. It is very important to saute the leaves till they are wilted.
Use tamarind paste instead of tamarind for a quick version. You will need 2 tbsp tamarind paste for this recipe.
Adjust the chilis as per your spice tolerance levels. If you are serving it to small kids, cut down the number of chilis by half or use Kashmiri chilis instead.
Saute the Urad dal only on low heat to avoid burning. If you increase the heat while sauteing the dal, it may brown unevenly. This, in turn, will spoil the taste and flavor.
While grinding, first pulse the mixture a few times. Then add water by the tablespoon. This will give you the correct texture.
Personally, I do not prefer to add any tempering (tadka) to this dish. However, you can do it if you prefer. Please read the variations to know how to temper this dish.

For Instant Pot & Air Fryer Recipes

Instant Pot timings may vary based on your geographic location. Air fryer settings and timings may vary based on the capacity and the model of the Air fryer.

Disclaimer

Nutrition values are provided here as a courtesy and are only a rough guide. Please consult a health care provider if you have any concerns.

Nutrition

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