I have heard of this paya in some movies and this week i decided to give this one a try. Since my native is very close to kerala , we are much familiar to all their recipes. All the traditional dishes we make in our native are very much similar to the taste of kerala. My hometown is known for coconuts , which is our predominant ingredient in every dish we make. This paya is also one  such recipe which was a real gift to our taste buds. Making this paya was not easy, it was a long process but totally worth it.

              We will directly proceed with the preperation method for the paya,

* At first the legs/trotters has to be cleaned. Mostly we get the cleaned trotters in the shop, but still it is good and safe to clean them to remove any dirt or hairs on the trotters. Heat a litre of water in a big pan , add turmeric pwder to the boiled water and add the trotters .Let this boil for a min.

*Once boiled strain the trotters and slightly scrape it. Do not scrape of the skin.

*Now to make the broth, take nearly 1.5-2 litres of water in a pressure cooker and add the legs to it. Now add turmeric powder and pepper to this and pressure cook for atleast 70 mins. Yes, 70mins is a very long time but the legs take a long time to cook so do not count the whistle instead set the timer.After the trotters are cooked store the broth water.

*Now to make the paste, take a pan add in a teaspoon of coconut oil or gingely oil (i prefer coconut oil) and saute the dry spices ( fennel, black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cardamom, clove, star anise) .Add in onion(1 big), tomatoes(2), ginger, garlic and green chillies. Saute this for about 4-5 mins . Remove it from the heat and add it in the mixie after it has cooled down. Grind it to a smooth paste , use the broth water to grind the mixture.

*Now we have to make the finishing paste for the paya for which soak the cashews and the white poppy seeds for about 10mins. Grind this along with coconut and water to make it a smooth paste.

*Now its time to make the final stew, in a heavy pan heat coconut oil or gingelly oil add sliced onion and curry leaves after the onion turns tender add in tomatoes and saute till juicy. Now add the grind masala to this and add the mutton trotters after sauting this for a min add the broth water and salt. Let this boil for about 20 mins, also add some whole green chillies for flavour. Once boiled add the finishing paste to this and let it boil for 5 mins.

*Our spicy aatukkaal paya  is ready.

Though it is a long process making this paya,i can assure you that it is totally worth it. Give it a try.

                                                Toodles…!!!