Inji Puli is a harmonious blend of six basic tastes such as (1)bitter (2) sweet (3) sour (4) salty and (5) hot (6) Astringent . This unique combination follow Ayurvedic tradition to create a palatable herbal spread using ingredients which fits the above categories.
Inji Puli is hot , from the heat of fresh Ginger which is distinct from pepper hot. We use fresh skinned Ginger roots to make Ginger paste, the main ingredient of Inji Puli. The hotness of the Inji Puli is further enhanced by Black Pepper corns. We use fresh black pepper corns dry roasted into powder for Inji Puli for every batch.
The bitterness of the Inji Puli comes from herbal spices such as Turmeric powder, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. We always use whole spices in our products and we do NOT use any ready made powdered spices. Our spice powders are prepared by roasting fresh seeds such as Mustard, Fenugreek, Cumin which help to retains the medicinal qualities and fresh flavor. We use the imported herb, asafoetida blocks and powdered them to use for each batch. We use either fresh or dried curry leaves.
The sweetness of the Inji Puli comes from the sugar, which is either palm sugar or yellow cane sugar blocks imported from South India . We do NOT use white sugar in any of our condiments or chutneys . The palm sugar or yellow cane sugar blocks are minimum processed sugar which retains most of the essential nutrients but have no acid impurities as we generally see in white sugar.
The sour taste of Inji Puli comes from the fresh tamarind juice. We prepare our own tamarind extract by boiling the whole tamarind after removing the skin, seeds and stems. The fresh tamarind fruit is dissolved in water and later boil to get a thick extract .
The base sauce of the Inji Puli is made by melting sugar in hot mustard oil. Mustard oil from mustard seeds have proved to be one of the best natural preservative. The pungent taste of mustard add to the taste of Inji Puli.
We use very little Koshar salt in Inji Puli to add the saltiness .
Some people may argue that Pungency is another taste from these five different tastes (1)bitter (2) sweet (3) sour (4) salty and (5) hot.
Inji Puli has a remarkable shelf life . The more it matures, taste it better. We have Inji Puli three years old. It smell so great when you open an aged jar of Inji Puli. The key to retain the longevity of Inji Puli is in handling of your jar.