Sodhi is a simple yet delicious coconut milk curry recipe that borders closer to a soup than the curries we are familiar with. Gold from turmeric powder, sodhi is rich but not overpoweringly so, and can be easily made vegan or vegetarian by leaving out a few ingredients without affecting its taste. It is the perfect accompaniment to string hoppers aka putu mayam, especially when liberally poured over until your hoppers are almost drowning in sodhi. But if you’re not a fan of string hoppers, sodhi goes great with rice too.
Just like curries, there are probably a million different ways to make sodhi that vary from country to country, region to region, and even household to household. We’ve chosen a super simple fuss-free recipe that is also easily adaptable if you’d like more vegetables or different types of seafood in your curry. Make this for Deepavali, special occasions or for no specific reason than wanting a warm, rich soup in your belly. And don’t be surprised if you find yourself adding this incredibly easy recipe to your regular rotation and asking yourself – sodhi, where have you been all my life???
Ingredients
- 510g grated coconut flesh (from 2 coconuts)
- 26g fenugreek seeds (2 tbsp)
- 70g red onion (1 medium to large red onion)
- 90g tomato (1 medium tomato)
- 12g green chili (1 large green chili)
- 2g turmeric powder (1 tsp)
- 3 portions of warm water: 450ml, 900ml and 300ml each
- 1 lime, juice only
- 7g salt
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 stalks curry leaves (25-30 leaves)
Optional
- 5 hard boiled eggs
- 300g prawns
Serves: 5-6 (when eaten with rice or string hoppers)
Method: preparation
- Lay a large cheese cloth or tea towel flat inside a large bowl, making sure the cloth covers most of the inner surface of the bowl.
- Pile grated coconut flesh onto the cloth, then pour 450ml warm water over the grated coconut. Let rest for a few seconds
- Wrap and twist the cloth over the grated coconut and squeeze every ounce of liquid out. Be careful as the water may be hot. This will give us first-pressed coconut milk. Set aside.
- Leaving the grated coconut still wrapped in the cloth, transfer it to another large bowl and open the cloth up. Pour 900ml of warm water all over the grated coconut and mix it a little with a spoon to even out the liquid.
- Repeat step 3 and squeeze out all the liquids to make second-pressed coconut milk. Discard grated coconut and set second-pressed coconut milk aside.
- If using eggs, prepare your hard boiled eggs.
- If using prawns, peel and clean prawns.
- Cut onion and tomato into 8 segments.
- Slice green chili diagonally.
Cooking sodhi
- Place onion, tomato, chili, fenugreek seeds and turmeric powder in a pot.
- Pour 300ml warm water into pot. Stir then transfer to your cooking range and bring to boil over high heat.
- Add 6g salt, stir. If using prawns, add them in now. Continue boiling until the tomato is soft and disintegrating.
- Turn the heat to low and add second-pressed coconut milk. Stir over low heat and continue stirring so the coconut milk heats up, but doesn’t burn or boil. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add in peeled hard boiled eggs.
- Pour in first-pressed coconut milk immediately, then stir to mix thoroughly for about 1 minute. Add 1g salt, stir again, then turn the heat off.
- Squeeze lime into the sodhi and stir thoroughly.
- Without waiting, in a small pan, melt ghee over high heat.
- Once ghee is melted, add in curry leaves and fry for 1 minute.
- Pour entire contents – ghee and curry leaves – over the cooked sodhi and stir to mix well.
- Serve with string hoppers or rice.
Extra tips
- Use freshly grated coconut flesh as it contains more moisture and will yield a much richer coconut milk.
- Can’t be bothered to make your own coconut milk? Buy fresh, first-pressed coconut milk from the market or supermarket instead. You’ll need 900ml. Divide in half and mix one half with equal parts water to create second-pressed coconut milk.
- Besides prawns, you can also use squid, crabs, or if you want to get really fancy – lobster!
- Vegetarian? Just omit the seafood.
- Vegan? Omit seafood, eggs and ghee. You can also add more vegetables – potatoes, carrots or drumsticks, for a heartier sodhi.
- If you don’t like eggs, you don’t need to add it to your sodhi.
- Fenugreek seeds are very important to this dish, but biting into a few of them at one go can get very bitter!
If you like hearty, comforting soups, sodhi is a great addition to your soup repertoire. Despite the addition of green chili, it is not particularly spicy and suitable for kids as well. We’d like to thank Roshni Menon for sharing with us this deliciously simple recipe. We love it and we’re pretty sure you will too!
Don’t forget to share your pictures with us by hashtagging #butterkicap when you try any of our recipes. And if your family makes sodhi a different way, tell us how you make yours!
Enjoy!
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