Senai kilangu prep

1. Clean, scrape, peel and wash the senai kilangu. Wash them several times to get rid of all the dirt and sand. Cut the senai kilangu into little fingers like we do for finger chips. Set aside.
2. Heat a pan with a liter of water and add in the cut senai kilangu. Add in the turmeric and salt. Let it boil for 5-7 minutes until the senai kilangu is 3/4th done. Remove from heat and drain. Discard the drained water. Heat a pan with couple of tablespoon of oil and fry the senai kilangu for 10 minutes on medium flame. It should start to get brown on the edges. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the masala

1. Heat couple of tablespoon of oil in the pan until hot. Add in the cinnamon, cloves, garlic, ginger, dried red chillies, fennel seeds (sombu) and the curry leaves. Fry for a few seconds until fragrant.
2. Add in the fresh shredded coconut, poppy seeds (khus khus), coriander powder and the salt. Fry for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat. Let it cool a bit.
3. Transfer the mixture to a mixie/blender and add a cup of water. Grind to a very very smooth fine paste. Set aside.

Tempering and finishing Senai kilangu masala

1. Heat couple of tablespoon of oil in the pan until hot. Add in the mustard seeds, split urad dal and curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds splutter.
2. Add in the ground masala and the fried Senai kilangu. Keep the flame on medium low and fry till the masala is well absorbed by the Senai kilangu.