Ulli Theeyal

Kerala shallots simmered whole in a near-black paste of coconut roasted to the edge of burning

Origin: Palakkad & Kerala, South India

From the journey of Shallot.

Theeyal means burnt, and the name is a fair description of the technique rather than an accident. Grated coconut is dry-roasted in a heavy pan, without oil, past golden and past brown, until it is genuinely dark and smells of caramel with an edge of smoke. Coriander seed, dried chilli, and fenugreek go in towards the end and roast alongside. The whole is then ground with a little water into a paste the colour of dark chocolate, and that paste is what makes a theeyal: a gravy that is almost black, faintly bitter, deeply nutty, and quite unlike the pale coconut curries most people associate with Kerala. Into it go shallots, whole. Ulli is the Malayalam word, and the small pink shallot of the south is the classic subject of the dish, though bitter gourd and aubergine take the same treatment. The shallots are fried first until their edges catch, then simmered in the paste with tamarind until they are soft enough to collapse under the tongue but still whole on the spoon. Why shallots rather than onion is a question with a technical answer. The shallot holds together through a long simmer where a bulb onion disintegrates into the gravy, and its higher sugar means it sweetens as it cooks, which is exactly the counterweight the burnt coconut and the sour tamarind need. Kerala cooks will say a theeyal made with big onion is not a theeyal, and they are describing a real difference rather than defending a habit. It is a sadya dish, part of the vegetarian banquet served on a banana leaf, and it keeps and improves for a day or two.

Ingredients

Shallots

300 g small shallots (sambar onions), peeled and left whole

Roasted Paste

150 g fresh or frozen grated coconut
2 tbsp coriander seeds
6 whole dried red chillies
0.5 tsp fenugreek seeds
0.5 tsp black peppercorns
0.5 tsp ground turmeric

Cooking

3 tbsp coconut oil

Tempering

1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 sprigs fresh curry leaves
3 whole dried red chillies, broken

Gravy

30 g tamarind, soaked in 200 ml warm water
400 ml water
1.5 tsp salt, or to taste
0.5 tsp jaggery, grated, optional

Method

Dry-roast the grated coconut in a heavy pan over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 12 to 15 minutes.
Keep going past golden and past brown until the coconut is genuinely dark, the colour of strong coffee grounds, and smells nutty rather than sweet.
Add the coriander seeds, six dried chillies, fenugreek, and peppercorns to the pan and roast for a further two minutes, then take off the heat and stir in the turmeric.
Cool completely, then grind to a smooth dark paste with 150 ml of water, working it as fine as your grinder will manage.
Heat 2 tbsp of the coconut oil in a wide pan and fry the whole shallots over a medium heat for six to eight minutes until browned in patches.
Strain the tamarind, discarding the solids, and add the tamarind water, the ground paste, the remaining water, and the salt to the pan.
Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, over a low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until the gravy has thickened, darkened further, and the oil begins to separate at the edges.
Taste and adjust the salt and the tamarind, adding the jaggery if it needs rounding.
Heat the remaining oil in a small pan, add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop, then the curry leaves and broken chillies. Pour the whole tempering over the theeyal.

Notes

Small pink shallots, sold by South Asian grocers as sambar onions or small onions, are what the dish is built around. Peeling three hundred grams is tedious; soaking them in warm water for ten minutes first loosens the skins considerably. Fresh grated coconut gives the best result. Frozen grated coconut, thawed and patted dry, is a close second. Desiccated coconut roasts much faster and burns easily, so use two-thirds the weight and watch it constantly. The same paste makes pavakka theeyal with bitter gourd and vazhuthananga theeyal with aubergine. Serve with plain rice as part of a sadya, or simply with rice and a spoonful of yoghurt. It keeps three days refrigerated and is better on the second day.

The Gastrographer

Name: Ulli Theeyal
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: South India
Ingredients: 300 g small shallots (sambar onions), peeled and left whole; 150 g fresh or frozen grated coconut; 2 tbsp coriander seeds; 6 whole dried red chillies; 0.5 tsp fenugreek seeds; 0.5 tsp black peppercorns; 0.5 tsp ground turmeric; 3 tbsp coconut oil; 1 tsp black mustard seeds; 2 sprigs fresh curry leaves; 3 whole dried red chillies, broken; 30 g tamarind, soaked in 200 ml warm water; 400 ml water; 1.5 tsp salt, or to taste; 0.5 tsp jaggery, grated, optional

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control