Keerai kadaiyal is yet another signature recipe of Tamil Nadu cuisine and I wanted to try this in clay pot / Manchatti as we say in Tamil. I went with regular spinach that we get here in US (pasalai keerai) but this can be prepared with any greens that you get. It is a simple steamed spinach which is then mashed with Thayir Mathu / Buttermilk churner (see notes below) and tempered with spices. I am super glad that the Indian stores here started to carry Thandu keerai / Amaranth leaves and also Manathakkali leaves/garden huckleberry.
Our friend JV uses clay pot and she was suggesting the same to me too and I couldn’t find them at amazon but luckily found them here and ordered it right away. This is the penultimate recipe that I prepared for this A-Z challenge. (Between I am still a novice in photography. The steam photographs intrigued me a lot and tried in this recipe. All the steam became blurry and I got a some what decent one and that’s my featured. ahem ahem.. I can hear you laughing.. Any tip for steam photography would be helpful)
Clay pots or Manchatti is made out of earthen clay. We all know clay is porous meaning it has lots of tiny holes and that property of clay provides the unique characteristics for the clay pots. As they are porous, they retain the moisture during the cooking process. It reduces the acidity of the foods and also their inert property (chemically inactive) makes them not to react with foods. But before using the clay pot you need to process them and make it suitable for cooking and stove top. I just followed the instructions given in the package, but pretty much all the clay pots follow the same.
- Wash them first with Luke warm water with mild soap and rinse it well.
- Then soak them in water or fill the clay pot with rice stock or water and leave it overnight.
- The next day remove the water, wipe it dry and apply coconut oil all over the pot and keep on stove top and heat the empty clay pot under medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Once it is cooled down, add water or rice stock again and leave it overnight.
- Repeat steps 2 to 4 for four days.
So here is the super simple, humble and healthy recipe, (both turmeric and pepper powder are used for killing any germs, in Tamil we say kirumi naasani)
Ingredients:
- Spinach (I used the regular spinach, you can any other spinach variety) – 10 oz pack 1
- Oil – 2 tsps
- Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
- Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
- Turmeric Powder – a pinch
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Pepper Powder – ½ tsp
- Red chilies – 3
Steps:
- Clean and chop the spinach.
- Heat the clay pot and once it is hot add the oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing.
- As they start to splutter, reduce the heat to medium and break the red chillies and add it to the same.
- Fry for a minute and then add the spinach. (As my clay pot was small, I added half of the spinach and covered it for 2 minutes and then added the remaining half)
- Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
- Now add the turmeric powder, salt and pepper powder.
- Cover and cook again for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Now using the butter milk churner or matthu, mash the spinach nicely.
- Cook till all the water evaporates or if you want to be like gravy, add 1 cup of water and mash it again and as it starts to boil turn the heat off.
Notes:
- For this quantity, we can add 4 to 5 shallots for additional taste.
- Mashed moog dal can be added like kootu.
- Adjust the red chillies and salt according to your preference.
- As I couldn’t find spinach masher/mathu I went with buttermilk churner / thayir mathu.
📖 Recipe
Keerai Kadaiyal in Clay Pot
Ingredients
- Spinach I used the regular spinach, you can any other spinach variety - 10 oz pack 1
- Oil - 2 tsps
- Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
- Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
- Turmeric Powder - a pinch
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Pepper Powder - ½ tsp
- Red chillies - 3
Instructions
- Clean and chop the spinach.
- Heat the clay pot and once it is hot add the oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing.
- As they start to splutter, reduce the heat to medium and break the red chillies and add it to the same.
- Fry for a minute and then add the spinach. (As my clay pot was small, I added half of the spinach and covered it for 2 minutes and then added the remaining half)
- Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
- Now add the turmeric powder, salt and pepper powder.
- Cover and cook again for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Now using the butter milk churner or matthu, mash the spinach nicely.
- Cook till all the water evaporates or if you want to be like gravy, add 1 cup of water and mash it again and as it starts to boil turn the heat off.
Notes
Mashed moog dal can be added like kootu.
Adjust the red chillies and salt according to your preference.
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
i also do this often not in clay pot though :). We call it keerai masiyal
Yeah.. Keerai masiyal la we sometimes add dal too na..
Awesome post and recipe Vidhya. Love your clay pot, Personally I am a big fan of these kind of traditional props…I have some but your clay pot looks so beautiful..especially its lid :-) thanks for the wonderful recipe with a clay pot, I will try!
Thanks a lot Rani.. I love traditional props too. This one we can cook and use it as a prop too naa.. ;-) Please do try and let me know how you liked it. Thanks again.
Wow this is an awesome post..not sure how I missed it!..its wonderful to cook in a new way and the results seem stunning as well..very healthy keerai!
Thanks a lot Valli. :-)
I’ve been thinking of getting a clay pot for a few recipes I want to do for my september theme I have chosen – what a rustic and traditional cooking method
Thanks a lot Mir. Ancientcookware site has good collection and they have store in amazon too. I got it from there only. Luckily ancientcookware had free shipping going on. So it was pretty convenient.
Clay pot keerai kadaiyal are the best, lucky you to have that beautiful pot. I have one too but as good as yours…
Amazon dan Mullai. :-) Amazon eruka bayamen. lol Thanks a lot pa
SImply love the clay pot! I am going to ask my dad to bring one. He is a super good packer, so hopefully he can get me one without breaking it. I love keerai masiyal, but can never make like my mom does. Your version looks lovely. I am going to try it soon.
Getting it from India is the best… Amma’s cooking is always the best naa. Thanks a lot sandhya
Traditional way of making keerai fantastic and healthy dish..
Thanks Padma.
Lovely keerai masiyal Srividhya!! And I so wish I had a clay pot too. I have never cooked in one yet. Yours looks really great!!
Thanks a lot.. Got it from ancient cookware online site. Amazon has it too. Please do check it out. Thanks
An awesome dish and the way you presented it the authentic way in the clay pot is admirable.
Thanks Harini.
I am coveting this clay pot. You are lucky to be living so far away. :p :p
ha ha ha.. :-) I wish I could send you one. :-)
Wow…Making this simple and yet delicious spinach bhaji in clay pot is a fantastic idea and the taste too would turn out yummy…
Thanks a lot Asiya and welcome to my space.
Never cooked in a clay pot. But my aunt uses clay pots for cooking a lot, it gives a earthy taste to the dish. The dish looks very healthy and yummy Srividhya. Beautiful clicks.
Thanks a lot Amara. :-)
I make this once a week in man chatti. There is quite a difference between using man chatti and other vessels. This is so flavourful and tasty…
Very true. Thanks a lot Gayathri.
wow..cooking any dish in a clay pot would definitely enhance flavors..very rustic way of cooking..love the dish for its earthy flavors.
Thanks a lot Vaishali.
Nothing beats the taste of keerai masiyal made in manchatti,it gives a nice earthy taste.
True. Thanks a lot Nalini.
Butter milk churner for mashing keerai? :) There is separate mathu available for mashing dal and keerai, I brought it from india, but not this thayir mathu!! I think you have done the ulta! ;) :)
Different way of keerai masiyal! Nice!
yeah yaar ulta thingy ;-) ;-) . I couldn’t get them here. I have the potato masher but didn’t want to use it on a clay pot. Then thought why not use the butter milk churner. So went with this. Keerai mathu doesn’t have the claws right?
Never cooked in earthen pots. Kudos to you for your trial to cook and present the dish in authentic way. The dish sounds rustic and but I bet it tastes good.
Thanks Suma. Yeah. :-)
This keerai kadaiyal is calling me, can have this healthy dish with some rice and spicy potato fry. Drooling already here.
Spicy potato fry and keerai oh yeah perfect combo… thanks oriya.
You have to play around a bit to capture steam. I have not tried it myself. I should do it sometime.
Yeah true usha. :-)
Awesome Sri.. you managed to get a clay pot! I am super impressed. I am trying to convince S that I need a clay pot too but because of the space constraints, he has been saying no. I love keerai masiyal too and your version sounds very nice. Mine is little different and I so want to try this!
By the way, steam photography is so difficult to nail right?! I tried and tried for my coffee post and could get only one decent shot. I am yet to spend time and try out more! Your featured shot with steam is pretty nice :) can almost smell the keerai masiyal :D
Thanks a lot CH. M didn’t let me bring it from India. I agreed with him because I know how the checkin bags are thrown back and forth. Luckily found them online and got it. Space is one constraint for sure. Somehow I convinced. Yeah da, the keerai masiyal that amma does is also slightly different. I tried it like how my frnd’s mom does. Can’t wait your version. Please post it. :-) Ha tell me about steam photography. To be honest, I havent mastered the regular one itself but I dunno why I jumped on to this. What I read online was, for steam you need to use some artificial gas and stuff. But some say no also. As you said yet to spend time and explore. If you find something please do share. :-)
Thanks for the feedback.