Ullikaram

Frequent transfer and a touring work schedule meant my father-in-law had to travel for significant distances over train. During such journeys, he would always insist on taking food packed from home for taste and hygiene reasons. Invariably, the packed food would include Daddojanam (curd rice tempered with spices and curry leaf) and Chapatis. And for chapatis, their preferred accompaniment was Ullikaram (caramelized tempered finely chopped onion recipe).

The dish gets its sweetish flavour from the sugars released by onions upon caramelizing, tanginess from tamarind extract, hint of spice from the tempering and green chillies. My mother-in-law prefers to add vaamu (ajwain/carom) and miriyalu (black pepper) to temper my husband’s over-indulgence and soothe his resultant upset stomach. Having tasted it only after marriage, I am yet to develop the same passion for this dish as my husband and his family. It is a simple recipe where major prep work goes into finely chopping onions (my husband’s mild OCD crops up here when he insists all pieces be about 3 mm squared). He has recently acceded to using Pigeon Onion chopper ( https://www.amazon.in/Pigeon-Stovekraft-Plastic-Chopper-Blades/dp/B01LWYDEQ7/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1BI7XXWPPSYPL&keywords=pigeon+handy+chopper&qid=1573902591&s=kitchen&sprefix=pigeo%2Ckitchen%2C474&sr=1-3 ) much to my relief as against manually chopping onions at a glacial pace which was the norm earlier.

The ingredients and the recipe are as follows, try and do share your own variations and let me know how you like it!

Preparation time : 20 minutes

Cooking time : 30 minutes

For Ullikaram :

• Medium sized onion – 6
• Thick Tamarind extract ( a lemon sized tamarind )
• Salt (as per your need)
• Pinch of Turmeric

For tempering/tadka/popu :

• Aavalu/Mustard seeds
• Minapa pappu/urad dal
• Green Chillies – 4 (According to your taste)
• Dry red chillies-2
• Karvepaku/Curry leaves

How to prepare Ullikaram :

1. In a ladle, heat the oil and add mustard seeds/Aavalu.
2. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add Minapa pappu/Urad dal , dry red chillies and curry leaves.
3. Fry till urad dal and chillies turn golden brown .
4. Add finely chopped green chillies(if required) and onions.
5. Fry the onions on low flame and cover with a lid until they lose the raw flavor.
6. Add tamarind extract, a pinch of turmeric powder and salt as per your need.
7. Stir the mixture occasionally and let the onions cook in their own juices on low flame with a covered lid till the natural sweetness starts manifesting.
8. You would instinctively know when the dish is ready when the onions start to state with a tinge of tanginess from the tamarind juice , sweetness from its own sugars and spiciness from the chillies giving your taste buds a high five.
9. Serve Ullikaram with hot fluffy pooris or chapatis.