Timare Tambli (Brahmi Tambli)

Here in Singapore, I don’t always get the brahmi leaves. Hence, I have started freezing & storing timare/brahmi/ondelaga leaves for up to a month. I really do not know whether it is good to preserve the leaves for such a long period, but I’m doing this since 2 months & am using the frozen leaves while preparing chutney or tambli. Have a look at my frozen timare.

Brahmi leaves are very good in improving the memory skills, intelligence level of an individual; relieve stress & helps in the growth of nerve cells. In South Canara, Karnataka, India, people squeeze the juice from this leaves & give the infants (as early as 2 months old infants) 2 drops of this juice, early in the morning. There is a belief among our grand moms that, this juice increases the memory power, intelligence level of the kid. Ever since I knew about this, I have somewhat taken an oath to myself that, I’ll give brahmi leaves to my son once or twice a month. This time, I prepared tambli, using frozen brahmi leaves.

Ingredients:
Brahmi leaves: ½ cup (I used 4 cubes frozen leaves)
Grated coconut: 3/4th cup (fresh/frozen)
Buttermilk: 2 cups (we like the tambli thin like rasam)
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp (optional)
Green chilli: 1-2
Salt: According to taste
Coconut Oil: 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds: ½ tsp
Asafoetida: a pinch
Curry leaves: 4-6
Broken red chilli: 1 (optional)

Method:

• Grind together the brahmi leaves, grated coconut, cumin seeds, green chilli with little yogurt/curd. Prepare a very smooth paste with this.
• Mix the buttermilk with the chutney prepared. Add salt & mix well.
• Prepare the tempering by adding oil, followed by mustard seeds, curry leaves, broken red chilli & finally asafoetida/hing. Pour this tempering over the tambli prepared. Refrigerate it & use it within the next couple of hours with rice, pickle or papad.

Steps followed to freeze brahmi leaves:
Wash the leaves thoroughly, include the tender stem. Add very little water & prepare a puree out of the leaves.Pour the puree to the freezing tray.Once brahmi cubes are formed, store the cubes in the ziplock bags for up to a month.

One more brahmi recipe can be found here at my blog.