Summer goodies #4 -Chundakka vathal

I made these in summer and the post has been languishing in my draft for a really long time. Chundakka (Kerala tamil) or Sundakka (Tamil) is used in sambar and thoran in the fresh form. Very often, it is sun dried and turned into vathals so that it can be preserved for a longer period of time and used as and when needed. To see what fresh chundakka looks like, click here.

What you need:
Chundakka - 1 cup
Urad dal - 2 tsp, heaped
Red chillies - 2
Salt
Sour buttermilk - enough to cover and soak the chundakka completely

Grind the urad dal and red chillies to a smooth paste.
Soak the chundakka in plenty of water for 10-15 minutes. Wash well and then crush slightly with a heavy pestle or stone. Add the buttermilk, salt, and ground paste to the chundakka. Mix well. Cover and set aside overnight. In the morning, take the chundakka out with a slotted spoon and dry it on a plastic sheet in direct sunlight. In the evening, soak it again in the buttermilk mixture. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk is absorbed. Dry for 2 or 3 more days in the sun and then store in an airtight container. If properly dried and stored, this will stay good for over a year.

Check out my other posts in this series:
Summer goodies #1 - Ela vadam
Summer goodies #2 - Microwave mango thokku
Summer goodies #3 - Pavakka vathal

This post goes to Roma's Long live the Shelf event.

Summer goodies #3 - Pavakka vathal

The title has probably made you wonder why Iam still talking about summer. Well, if you don't know it already, it's almost always summer in Chennai. A few unseasonal showers did give us some days of respite, but it is now back to the heat that Iam slowly but not very successfully beginning to learn to ignore.
Two hot summer noons is all that it took for these bittergourd slices to be dried to a crisp.

Here's what you need:
Bittergourd - 3 large ones
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste (add more salt than you normally would for curries)
Water - enough to cover the bittergourd

Chop the bittergourd into medium sized circles and remove the seeds and pith.
Add turmeric, salt, water and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until the water just starts to boil. The bittergourd should not get cooked.
Leave it alone for about 20-25 minutes so that the salt gets absorbed.
Drain off all the water.
Spread on a plastic sheet and dry in the sun until all the moisture evaporates and the gourd becomes hard to the touch.
To use, heat some oil in a pan and deep fry a handful of the dried bittergourd and serve as an accompaniment with rice.

Check out my Summer goodies #1 - Ela vadam and #2 - Microwave mango thokku.