Pidiyum Kozhiyum To Dal Ki Dulhan: 5 Traditional Pasta-Like Dishes Across India
In Kerala, there's Piddiyum Kozhiyum, featuring rice dumplings and chicken curry, while Uttar Pradesh and Bihar offer Dal ki Dulhan, with wheat dough shaped into flowers and cooked in lentil stew.
When you hear the word 'pasta', Italian dishes like spaghetti, penne, and fusilli often come to mind. However, pasta is essentially freshly kneaded dough rolled into desired shapes and cooked in flavourful sauces. India boasts a variety of traditional pasta dishes across the country. In Kerala, there's Piddiyum Kozhiyum, featuring rice dumplings and chicken curry, while Uttar Pradesh and Bihar offer Dal ki Dulhan, with wheat dough shaped into flowers and cooked in lentil stew. These regional dishes highlight India's rich culinary diversity, showing that pasta transcends cultures with its versatility and deliciousness.
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Here Are 5 Traditional Pasta Recipes Across India:
1. Pidiyum Kozhiyum:
Pidiyum Kozhiyum is a traditional dish of St. Thomas Christians in Kerala, enjoyed for breakfast or dinner. 'Pidi' refers to small boiled balls of rice flour, while 'Kozhi' means chicken curry with traditional spices. Resembling Italian gnocchi in preparation and texture, Pidi uses rice flour and cumin for flavour, making it rich in fibre, proteins, and carbohydrates.
To prepare Pidi, mix rice flour, salt, and cumin seeds. Boil water with grated coconut, then gradually add the rice flour mixture, stirring continuously. Form small balls from the dough and boil them in coconut milk until cooked.
2. Yetti Masala Pundi:
Yetti Masala Pundi is a Mangalorean dish where 'Yetti' means prawns and 'Pundi' refers to rice dumplings. This one-pot meal, enhanced by fried onions, offers a delicious twist to the traditional pasta.
To prepare this, mix rice flour with water and salt to form dumplings, then cook them in a spiced prawn curry made with onions, tomatoes, and coconut milk.
3. Shengolya:
Shengolya is made up of small tear-drop-shaped rings prepared from jowar flour, wheat flour, and besan, spiced with garlic and green chillies. The dish is cooked in a broth with red chilli powder and turmeric, and can also be made in buttermilk for Takatle Shengole.
To prepare, make the dough, shape the rings, and simmer in the flavourful broth for 45 minutes. Enjoy with ghee.
4. Menthe Kadubu:
Menthe Kadubu, a North Karnataka dish, can be enjoyed soupy or dry. Ideal for winter, it combines wheat dumplings with a flavourful gravy.
To prepare this, make the dumplings out of wheat flour. Simultaneously, cook a gravy with spices, fenugreek, and tamarind. Combine the dumplings with the gravy, and cook until well-blended. This versatile dish can be sweet or spicy.
5. Dal ki Dulhan:
Dal ki Dulhan, a popular dish in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan, is light and diabetes-friendly. This comforting dish features wheat dough flowers cooked in lentil stew.
To prepare, cook lentils with spices. Meanwhile, make small flowers from wheat flour. Once the lentils are cooked, add the dough flowers and cook further, until they are soft and well-blended with the dal.
(Anasuya Suji Anil is student of NIFT)
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