yummy everyday meal: Keerai Thanni Saaru /Keerai Kazhani Saaru

Keerai thanni saaru is a soup kind of preparation with spinach and rice rinsed water,popular in village sides.In most of the households this thanni saaru is made often and it cures mouth ulcer and stomach ulcers.This can be taken like soup or mixed with softly cooked white rice like rasam.

Thanni saaru is mostly made with either black night shade leaves(manathathakkali keerai) or agathi keerai and sometimes with moringa leaves.As I don't get any of those spinach variety in my part of world,I used the tender leaves of home grown amaranthus (mulaikeerai/thandu keerai).

Coming to the recipe,rice rinsed water is used to cook the spinach as it has some nutritive value as well healing property.Also it adds a nice flavor to it.To get the original authentic taste,I highly recommend to use the rice rinsed water.Rinse the rice with water one time and discard the water,then soak the rice with required amount of water for 10 minutes and use the water.

Keerai Thanni Saaru /Keerai Kazhani Saaru

Basic Information

Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 10 minutes

Serves 3

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Spinach/Keerai	2-2.5 cups
Rice rinsed water/kazhani thanni	2 cups
Shallots/chinna vengayam	3- 4(finely chopped)
Green chilly/pachamilagai	1-2 (slit lengthy)
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1/2 tsp
Salt	1 tsp

Grind to a fine paste

Ingredient	Quantity
Coconut(grated)	1 tbs
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1/4 tsp
Black pepper/milagu	1/8 tsp

Method

Clean the spinach and keep it aside.If the leaves are tender,no need to chop.Grind the coconut along with cumin and black pepper to a fine paste.
In a pan take the rice rinsed water/kazhani,spinach,green chilly,cumin seeds,chopped shallots and keep it on a flame.To this add salt,let it cook in a medium flame for 5-6 minutes or till the spinach cooks well.
Now add the ground paste and allow it to cook for one boil.Switch off the flame.

Do not add more of coconut paste a it will tend to change the consistency of the saaru.
In the original recipe no tomato is used,sometimes my mom used to add a small tomato along with the spinach.