Thuvayal Thokku Tofu

 Thuvayal and Thokku are two items that can be just mixed with rice and eaten or used as a side dish for other recipes.

A thokku is like a pickle but not exactly the same. Basically grated , minced or ground vegetables are sauteed in sesame oil with some red chilly powder or paste for the spice and salt to taste. This is left to cook for some time till it reaches a nice spread sort of consistency. Thokku can be preserved in the fridge for over a week.

Thuvayal and small onion (shallot) thokku

Thuvayal is sort of a coarse chutney. Its made by roasting lentils and red chillies and ground with some other ingredient like curry leaves or mint or corriander leaves or coconut. My mother in law makes excellent thuvayals and a whole variety of them including ones with brinjals( thats what we call eggplants in India) . You can even make thuvayals with the peels or other parts of some vegetables which we might otherwise throw away! The inner filling of snake gourd  for instance (snake gourd is a vegetable. Have you heard of it? )

Hot rice, coconut thuvayal with tomato raita on the side was a favorite combination for me and my brother. Its easy to cook and great to eat.

Food from other lands:

Tofu . After over a decade of stay here in Singapore, tofu has become a part of our weekly diet . It is manufactured using soy beans and is a key constituent of vegetarian Chinese food. It couldve scrambled like eggs , fried  , added to soup. I have also heard that silken tofu is a good replacement for eggs in some of the baking recipes.

Food for thought:

Todays quote is from Thirukkural, one of the most renowned works in Tamil literature comprising 1,330 short couplets, or kurals. Each kural is of seven words and many of them convey important life lessons. The text is close to 2000 years old. Thirukkural quotes are taught to children in schools and used in oratorical contexts too.

Theeyinar sutta pun ullaarum aarathey naavinar sutta vadu.

Thee - fire

Pun - wound

Sutta - burn 

Naavu - tongue 

Aaru - heal

The wound or the burn caused by fire will heal and fade, but the hurt caused by the tongue or harsh words will never heal ( or last forever).

We must exercise restraint of speech as the hurt of words runs pretty deep and is indelible !