Inji Pachidi- Onam Sadya Recipes series number 5

Mom tells me in their childhood they had sadya every single day throughout their onam holidays (that lasted for 10 days). And they had no refrigerators or grinders in those days and it was impossible to make 26 dishes in one day. They even made their own chips and there was no condensed milk for making palada.So each day they made one curry so in ten days they made 5 types of pachidi one for each day.  Pachidi is a spice yogurt preparation and sometimes the base has a coconut ground gravy mixed with yogurt.The fun part was eating from a banana leaf so the curry never mattered says mom. But for Onam these days we try preparing 26 dishes in a day or two and hardly remember any of the flavours when we are done with Onam. So this time I decided I would try atleast one curry a day. I made different stuff over the past two days in small quantities so that they would not last for more than a day. I made inji pachidi the day before because for thiruvonam I had manga pachidi on my mind because we have guests. I love the flavour of burnt ginger and now my hubby loves it too. So instead of the traditonal  buttermilk curry(moru) we have for lunch we often make this pachidi.It's easy and does not require any special ingredients. And its minus coconut, which is how other pachidis are prepared. I just  had it with my lunch right now and its yummy even after a day in the refrigerator. If you plan on a pachidi  without coconut that can be made ahead, this is the one.

Ingredients for Inji pachidi

Ginger- 200g (finely chopped)

Curry leaves- 1 sprig- (finely chopped)

Green chilies- 6-7 (finely chopped)

Onion- 1 (finely chopped)

Mustard seeds- 1 tsp

Oil- 2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Yogurt- 250 ml

Directions

Whisk the yogurt with salt and set aside. Add a little water to the yogurt if its too thick. In a pan heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Now add the finely chopped ginger, onion, green chilies and curry leaves. Saute till they brown. Please do not burn them but it should be brown and not golden yellow. 

Once you are done frying it to dark brown transfer it to a plate to reduce the heat and add it to the whisked yogurt once it has cooled. And that's inji pachidi ain't it the easiest yogurt curry?