19 SODHI

Sodhi/ A stew made with vegetables and cooked in coconut and coconut milk gravy.


Few days back a friend requested me the recipe for Sodhi...so here I am with the recipe...my grandma and mom being a native from a place near Tirunelveli....so obvious they do this at home many times, mostly during any family get togethers. My grandma and aunt(Gomathi Athai) make the best sodhi and they usually serve this with hot rice for lunch or with Idiyappam for dinner.I had posted this recipe few months back... but reposting it with a picture.


Sodhi is very different( with light variation) from Koottu or vegetable stew. This is a traditional dish.

So to make sodhi we need

Moong dhal - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 2 or 3pods
Onion - 1 small chopped( can use shallot)- using onion is optional
Coconut milk - 1 1/2 cup
Drumstick - 5
Potato - 1 big ( chopped into big cubes)
Beans - 10 ( cut into 1 inch long pieces)
Carrot - 1 ( cut into 1 inch pieces)
Cashew - 8
Curry leaves - few
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece( crush and extract juice)

Grind together :-
Coconut - 1/4 cup grated
Jeera - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 4 or 5


Dry roast moong dhal till it turns light brown...do not let it to to darken..(Later can rinse once in water). Next add water and cook moong dhal with garlic pods ...when they are half cooked...add drumstick, beans, potato and carrot...allow them all to cook together till the vegetables are done ( soft but firm)....now add the ground coconut paste wait for 5 mts and add coconut milk.....reduce the flame and cook for another 8 - 10 minutes ...also add salt...next add ginger juice...switch off flame... or it will turn bitter with the ginger juice( or look for the tips below).


In a small kadai/frying pan heat a tbsp of oil and add cashew pieces, onion and fry well ..when they turn light brown add curry leaves and pour it on the curry. This goes well with hot rice and ghee and in our house they serve this with plain Idiyappam .

Mom's tip of making sodhi
1. Add half of cashew and grind along with coconut to get a thick /rich flavor , the other half to fry and add it during the tempering.
2. Add ginger( chopped fine/grated during tempering- so the dish does not get bitter when re heating.
3. Can add lemon juice after removing- but be careful enough while re heating- if making in large batches add lemon juice to just the portion that is being served.

In the above picture, I have not added lemon or ginger juice... just chopped some ginger piece and add it with the tempering ingredients... so now I need not worry about it while re-heating :)