Puli Inji Recipe

Puli Inji also known as inji puli, inji curry or puliyinchi is a popular Kerala style ginger pickle made with ginger, green chillies, spices cooked in a tamarind jaggery sauce to a thick jam like consistency. Puli inji is a must make dish to serve in your Onam sadya feast. Inji puli taste amazing with parippu curry, curd rice or pulissery with rice. Learn how to make perfect puli inji with step by step pictures and video. 

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Puli Inji Recipe

Onam is on its way. So let's start making some onam special dishes. If you like sweet and tangy dishes like me then this will be your favorite. This is a must have dish in your Onam sadya. Not only in your sadya menu, you can serve this as a pickle.

Jump to:

• About Inji Puli (Puli Inji)
• Watch Inji Puli Video
• Inji Puli Ingredients
• How to Make Inji Puli (Stepwise Pictures)
• Expert Tips
• FAQ
• 📖 Recipe Card

In fact I make a big batch of puli inji and store it in fridge. I like to serve it with my parippu curry and moru curry.

About Inji Puli (Puli Inji)

Puli inji also known as inji puli, Kerala ginger pickle, inji curry or inji pachadi is one of the most important curry served in your Onam sadya feast. The main ingredient used to make puli inji is ginger, green chillies, tempering spices, tamarind, jaggery. 

Inji puli is made many different ways. Every household has their own way of making this dish. My mom makes amazing inji pachadi using coconut, raw mango which taste amazing with amma’s paruppu. In Nagercoil weddings inji pachadi is made by roasting dry red chillies, ginger, coconut till golden brown which is ground and cooked with tamarind and some jaggery to make a brown sauce like texture. 

In Kerala puli inji is made many different styles too. Some people add shallots or sambar onion in their inji puli and some don’t. Personally I don’t prefer to use onions, I like the taste of ginger and chillies together. But if you want, you can add it.

Some people prefer to chop ginger finely. But I like to grate the ginger so it cooks faster and also it helps with the puli inji texture. Saute ginger and chillies in coconut oil along with whole spices and spice powders. Pour tamarind pulp and jaggery and cook till thick in consistency. Puli inji tends to have more coconut oil, tamarind pulp and jaggery because it has to cook down till thick jam like texture. Using more tamarind and oil helps preserve puli inji for a long time. I have shared more important tips and variations below. 

Similar Recipes

Ginger Rasam

Mango Ginger Pickle

Ginger Kuzhambu

Watch Inji Puli Video

Inji Puli Ingredients

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Ginger  - use young ginger for making inji puli, since we are grating ginger, young ginger tends to cook faster and have pleasant taste when bitten into. Make sure you peel ginger skin using a peeler or a spoon, rinse them really well in water and grate them.

Green chilli - you can add more or less green chillies depending on your taste and the spice level of the chilli used. 

Tamarind - make sure you use generous amount of tamarind pulp for making puli inji. You can soak tamarind in warm water and extract thick pulp  or you can use store bought tamarind pulp. 

Jaggery - to balance the taste of the puli inji, a good amount of jaggery is used. You can taste and add more or less depending on your taste. 

Spice Powders - I used turmeric powder and chilli powder. 

Coconut Oil - use generous amount of coconut oil which helps preserve this pickle and adds to the taste. 

Tempering Spices - mustard, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, dry red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida are the whole spices used for tempering. 

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2 Ways of Making Inji Puli 

Inji Puli with Onions - Heat coconut oil in a kadai. Add in tempering spices in the oil and fry till lightly golden. Add in chopped onions, grated ginger, green chillies and saute for 5 minutes. Now add in turmeric, salt, chilli powder and mix well. Pour in tamarind pulp, water, jaggery and mix well. Cook on medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes till it thickened and oil separates. 

Inji Puli (Deep Frying Method) - This method of making inji puli requires finely chopped ginger. Chopped ginger is deep fried in coconut oil till crispy. Strain and set aside. Heat little oil in a pan, add in tempering spices and green chillies. Add in tamarind pulp, jaggery and the fried ginger. Simmer for 10 minutes. Puli inji ready to serve. This version of puli inji has longer shelf life. 

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How to Make Puli Inji (4 easy steps)

Preparing Ginger - peel ginger skin using a peeler or a spoon. Once peeled, wash ginger really well to remove any dirt. Now use a grater to grate the ginger into fine shreds.

Tempering Spices - Heat oil in a kadai or earthern ware pot. Add in tempering spices and mix well. Let them sizzle in the oil.

Cooking Ginger - Add ginger and green chilli and mix well. Saute this for 4 to 5 minutes till it gets slightly brown. Add in salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder and stir fry for few more minutes.

Making Puli Inji - Pour in tamarind pulp, ½ cup of water, jaggery and mix well. Bring it to a full boil, cover and cook on low for 10 minutes until it thickens. Once thickened, cool it completely. Store in an air tight jar in fridge

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How to Make Inji Puli (Stepwise Pictures)

Preparing Ginger

1)use young ginger for making inji puli, since we are grating ginger, young ginger tends to cook faster and have pleasant taste when bitten into.

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2)peel ginger skin using a peeler or a spoon. Once peeled, wash ginger really well to remove any dirt.

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3)Now use a grater to grate the ginger into fine shreds.

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Tempering Spices

4)Heat coconut oil in a pot. I am using my earthernware pot, you can use any pot as you prefer.

use generous amount of coconut oil which helps preserve this pickle and adds to the taste. 

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5)Once the oil gets hot, add in mustard seeds, urad dal, dry red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. Let the spices sizzle in the hot oil till golden.

If you are making big batch and want to preserve this for longer period, you can skip urad dal in this recipe.

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Adding in Ginger

6)Now add in grated ginger along with green chillies. Green chillies depends on your taste. You can add more or less.

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7)Once ginger and green chillies are added, saute this in the oil for 4 to 5 minutes.

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8)Now the raw smell of the ginger should be gone and it should have softened a bit.

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9)Add in turmeric powder and chilli powder. I am using kashmiri chilli powder in this recipe.

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10)Add in salt to taste.

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11)Mix this really well.

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Making Puli Inji

12)Add in the tamarind pulp. I am using my homemade tamarind pulp.

If you are using fresh tamarind, just a large lemon size tamarind, soak in warm water and extract pulp. You can add more or less depending on taste.

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13)Add ½ cup of water to make a gravy like texture. Because we are going to simmer this even more. So it will thicken up more.

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14)Add in jaggery. This depends on your taste. Some people prefer puli inji to be on the sweeter side, in that case you can add more.

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15)Mix the jaggery well into the puli inji.

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16)Cover and cook on low medium heat for 10 minutes till the puli inji thickens.

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17)Now you can see the puli inji has thickened up and looks glossy.

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18)Once thickened, cool it completely. Store in an air tight jar in fridge.

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Expert Tips

• When handling ginger, make sure you peel the skin and wash them really well to remove any mud or dirt. 
• You can use chopped ginger or grated ginger in this recipe. Make sure you saute them in oil till lightly golden before adding in tamarind pulp and jaggery.
• Some people prefer deep frying ginger till golden, you can do that for more authentic taste.
• Be generous with coconut oil, it helps in preserving the pickle. 

Serving & Storage

Puli inji is a must make dish to serve in your Onam sadya feast. Inji puli taste amazing with parippu curry, curd rice or pulissery with rice. 

You can store puli inji in fridge for 10 days. 

FAQ

1)What is the meaning of Inji Puli?

Puli inji also known as inji puli, Kerala ginger pickle, inji curry or inji pachadi is one of the most important curry served in your Onam sadya feast. The main ingredient used to make puli inji is ginger, green chillies, tempering spices, tamarind, jaggery. It is a Kerala sweet, sour and spicy ginger pickle. 

2)What are the benefits of Inji Puli?

Inji puli has ginger and spices which helps in relieving tummy ache and helps in digestion. 

3)How to cook inji puli?

Saute ginger and chillies in coconut oil along with whole spices and spice powders. Pour tamarind pulp and jaggery and cook till thick in consistency. Puli inji tends to have more coconut oil, tamarind pulp and jaggery because it has to cook down till thick jam like texture. Using more tamarind and oil helps preserve puli inji for a long time. I have shared more important tips and variations below. 

More Pickle Recipes to try

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If you have any questions not covered in this post and if you need help, leave me a comment or mail me @[email protected] and I’ll help as soon as I can.

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