Erachi Pidi
Ingredients
For Pidi (Rice Dumplings)
Rice flour - 3 cups
Finely grated coconut - ¾-1 cup
Small onion - 7
Fennel seeds (Perumjeerakom) - ½ tsp
Salt
Hot water - 3 cups
For Beef
Beef - 1 kg, cut into bite size pieces (refer notes for chicken/mutton/prawn option)
Onion - 1 medium, sliced
Chilli Powder - 2½ tsp
Coriander Powder - 2½ tsp
Turmeric Powder - ½ tsp
Crushed ginger and garlic - ½-1 tsp, each
Water - ¾ cup
Salt
Curry leaves
For Masala
Onion - 2 medium, chopped
Small onion - 15, sliced
Crushed/grated ginger and garlic - 1 tbsp each
Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
Green chilli - 2-3, chopped
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1½ - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
Salt
Thick coconut milk - ½ - ¾ cup
To Roast and grind
Grated coconut - 1.5 cups
Chopped garlic - 2 tsp
Fennel seeds - ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
Curry leaves
Instructions
Pidi Preparation
Grind together small onion and fennel seeds (qty mentioned under"for pidi") to a coarse paste. If coconut is not finely grated, just pulse it in mixie for a second.
Add coconut, small onion paste and salt to rice flour. Mix well. Add hot water gradually and make a soft and non sticky dough.
Make small balls of dough almost equivalent to the size of a 50 paisa coin. Make a small dip in the ball, using your thumb.This is done, so that the gravy seeps into the pidi. Steam these balls in low-medium heat for 8-10 mins. We steamed the above qty in 3 batches. Keep aside the prepared pidi/dumplings.
Beef Preparation
Add sliced onion, chilli, turmeric, coriander powder, ginger & garlic, salt, curry leaves and water to the beef. The qty of spices is mentioned under "for beef" title in ingredients list. Pressure cook the beef. Make sure that the beef retains a crunch and not fully cooked. We will be cooking it further. Once the pressure releases, continue to cook the beef on lowest flame, while you make the masala. Stir it in between.
Masala Preparation
Heat oil and add chopped onion. When it becomes soft, add small onion. When the onions turn golden brown, add ginger and garlic. Cook for 2-3 mins. Add masala powders and mix well. Cook till the raw smell goes, around 2-3 mins. Add chopped tomato and green chilli and salt. Cook till the tomatoes become soft. Add this masala to the beef and mix well. Keep cooking the beef on low flame. Make sure you stir it in between..
Heat oil and add grated coconut, chopped garlic, fennel seeds, turmeric powder and curry leaves (qty mentioned under "to roast and grind"). Fry it till the coconut turns golden brown in colour. Let it cool completely. Grind it to a smooth paste without adding water.
Add the ground coconut paste to the beef mixture. Combine and keep cooking on low flame.
By now, the gravy of the beef should be reduced to ⅓rd or ¼th of the original qty. Add half of the cooked pidi and half of the thick coconut milk to this. Mix. Add the rest of the cooked pidi and coconut milk. Give a good mix and bring it to boil. It has semi dry consistency and the pidi, should be coated well with the masala. Add more hot water, if required, to adjust the consistency.
Garnish with fried small onion and serve hot.
Notes
You can refrigerate the dish for 2-3 days. Add some water while reheating. It's better to reheat on stove than microwave. If you find the process too lengthy and tiresome, you can prepare the beef in advance and refrigerate. If there is a delay in steaming the pidi, after making dough, make sure you cover the dough with a wet cloth. Pressure cooking the beef - After the first whistle on high flame, I reduce the flame to low-medium and cooked for 5 more whistles. Keep it closed for 15-20 mins. You can also make this with chicken, mutton and prawns. It's better to use boneless chicken and mutton. If you are making it with chicken, there is no need to pressure cook. If you are making it with prawns, you can cook the prawns in the masala and avoid the pressure cooking part of the recipe. But make sure to increase the qty of masala ingredients accordingly.
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