COOKING HOUR: Veppam poo thuvaiyal, neem flower recipes

Veppam poo thuvaiyal is easy to make, not too bitter if made in right way. Learn how to make perfectly balanced tasting veppam poo thuvaiyal.

I was looking at my freezer last week and had some veppam poo (Neem flower) that mom gave to me couple of years back. In addition to it, Vj without knowing it’s already there in freezer, bought a pack from shop.

We both love veppam poo rasam, so it’s fine even when we have more stock. For that reason, I wanted to finish the ones mom gave it to me. I was desperate to finish that stock as well as try something new for my blog post.

However, I had a huge doubt about the taste. I have already couple of times asked mom about the taste and how to make it. Again, last week pinged her asking about the recipe and taste. I told her if it is not tasting good, I will send her by courier. She was not at all bothered, she says she loves veppam poo thuvaiyal and she will happily eat it.

She kept pinging me how it tasted, but I actually just tasted, never had it that day. Next day also she pinged me asking about the taste. But when I had it, it was not at all bad as I thought. Vj too liked it. If you like veppam poo rasam then you will also love this thuvaiyal. Do try it.

What is the key in any of my thuvaiyal making? It’s to use more tamarind, balance spice and salt accordingly. Same applies to this too. Especially this neem flower have bitter taste right, so special care to add more tamarind and chilli to balance that taste. Also jaggery is a must for a rounded outcome.

Veppam poo thuvaiyal Summary

Dry roast veppam poo patiently in low heat until it starts to waft a pleasant smell. It will start to smoke as well as turn darker in colour.
Roast chilli in a tsp of oil. Saute tamarind to soften it.
Remove in a plate and cool down.
Grind with little water, salt and jaggery.

VARIATIONS

I have not experimented adding urad dal and coconut as in other thogayals. If I try, will update here.

STORAGE/ SHELF LIFE

Stays good upto a week in fridge.

Is video more your thing?
Here’s a quick video on how to prepare veppam poo thuvaiyal

Health benefits : Veppam poo or neem flower is good for tummy related problems. It eliminates worm in stomach/ intestine.

RELATED POSTS

GOES WELL WITH

Plain rice
Kootu
Poriyal

Caution: Not advisable for Pregnant women. Also, this generates heat in body, so must consume with ghee and only once in a month.

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Veppam poo thuvaiyal

Veppam poo thuvaiyal is easy to make, not too bitter if made in right way. Learn how to make perfectly balanced tasting veppam poo thuvaiyal.

Course Condiments

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings 6

Equipments (Amazon Affiliate links)

Cup measurements

Ingredients

1/2 cup Neem flower/ veppam poo loosely filled
10 Red chilli spice level high
1 tbsp Tamarind
1 tsp Jaggery
1 tsp oil
Salt as needed

Instructions

First, heat a heavy bottom pan. Once hot, add neem flower and roast in low flame patiently for 10 mins.
Remove in a plate. Wipe the pan and add oil. Roast chilli until it starts turning black here and there and crisp.
Remove in plate for cooling. In the same pan, just saute the tamarind to soften it.
Once all the ingredients are cooled, place in a mixer jar.
Grind it with salt, jaggery and little water to a paste. It should be thick, not watery like chutney.

Video

https://youtu.be/Je7BVCDNn1I

Notes

I used spicy variety of chilli. If it is milder, use 12 chilli.
If you taste the thuvaiyal, it should taste slightly bitter, spicy and slightly tangy with a sweet taste. Any of these taste is dominating, it wont taste good. If it is bitter, it means likely you added less tamarind. Too tangy, then the spice is not enough. If it is too spicy, salt is not enough.

Step by step photos method:

Firstly, heat a heavy bottom pan. Once hot, add neem flower and roast in low flame patiently for 10 mins.
Remove in a plate. Wipe the pan and add oil. Roast chilli until it starts turning black here and there and crisp. Remove in plate for cooling. In the same pan, just saute the tamarind to soften it.
Once all the ingredients are cooled, place in a mixer jar. Finally, grind it with salt, jaggery and little water to a paste. It should be thick, not watery like chutney.