Sothi
''Sothi'' is a mild coconut curry which is cooked mainly by the South Indians and Tamils of Sri Lanka. Here is my mother’s non -vegetarian ''sothi'' recipe, which is a favourite amongst her children and grandchildren.
Ingredients
- 1 coconut (fresh coconut milk) or canned coconut milk. Nothing beats the taste and flavour of fresh coconut milk! If using fresh coconut, grate and blend them finely. Add little hot water and blend them further to extract the milk, using a sieve.
- A tiny pinch of turmeric powder.
- Salt – as needed
- ⅓ tsp fennel seeds
- ⅓ tsp mustard seeds
- ⅓ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 2 sprigs of curry leaves
- 4 tbsp dried anchovies ("ikan bilis") (Optional if you are vegetarian)
- 4 green chillies – split chillies in halves
- 4 fresh red chillies – sliced thinly.
- 1 Bombay onion or a handful of shallots – thinly sliced
- 1 large potato – peeled and sliced thinly
- 2 heaped teaspoon – ginger garlic paste
- 2 large, very ripe tomatoes – chop coarsely or cut into thin wedges
- 2 tbsp of coconut oil / olive oil (add more if sticking to the pot)
DRY ROAST (over a very low flame and grind)
- ½ tsp black pepper, dry roast slightly.
- 1 tsp cumin seeds, dry roast until fragrant.
- A good pinch of fenugreek seeds, roast seeds slightly or the dish would be bitter
GARNISH
- Coriander leaves – a handful torn or chopped coarsely
Instructions
- Pour 4 tbsp oil in a pot and when its warm enough, add in the fennel and the mustard seeds until the mustard seeds pop.
- Then add in the onions and fenugreek seeds until the onions becomes quite soft before browning.
- (Optional) Add in the rinsed dried anchovies ("ikan bilis") roughly pounded, and curry leaves until the onions turn golden brown.
- Stir in the chillies, potatoes and tomatoes.
- Sprinkle some salt and a pinch of turmeric powder.
- After a few minutes, add enough water to cover the vegetables.
- When the potatoes are soft and tomatoes are mushy, add in the coconut milk.
- The milk will simmer at the sides but do not let it boil or it curdles.
- Taste for salt. Sprinkle the roasted and ground ingredients.
- Add in the coriander leaves and stir for 1 minute.
- Switch off the flame and continue stirring for a few minutes.
- Allow it to cool slightly before you cover the sothi.
- Best eaten with string hoppers or hot & spicy food.
Notes
NB:
- To cook a traditional ”sothi”. omit the ”ikan bilis” or dried anchovies and potatoes.
- Sothi should be quite mild, especially children love this dish. It should not be too watery – consistency of a stew. Plus, not too yellow in colour.
- Vegetarians can omit the dried anchovies (ikan bilis).