Sundakkai thogayal is a perfect side dish for lunch, especially with steamed rice or curd rice. With just the simple ingredients in your pantry, this thogayal is very nutritious and best way to include Sundakkai, even for those who are not a big fan of.
When you see fresh sundakkai in the market, do not hesitate, just aquire it and make it to consume for it’s health benefits.
Check out my pudina thogayal and pirandai thogayal recipe in this website.
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Ingredients
Here are the ingredients need to make Sundakkai Thogayal.

- Sundakkai – Turkey berry – Fresh, the best
- Coconut – Balances the taste
- Urad dal – For flavour and texture
- Asafoetida – Gives a good flavour
- Dry red chilli – For spice
- Tamarind – Balances spice
- Salt
Please see recipe card below for quantities.
Step by step pictures
Let’s see how to make sundakkai thogayal.

- Take cleaned turkey berry (sundakkai) in batches, in a mortor pestle.

- Then crush it so that all of them break open.

- After that, keep it immersed in water. Repeat to finish all.

- In oil, add urad dal and red chilli until golden. Remove in a plate.

- Then in the same oil, saute sundakkai until it becomes pale green. It should cook well to avoid bitterness.

- Remove in a plate and add asafoetida above the hot ingredients. Cool down.

- After that, place in a mixie, along with salt and tamarind.

- Add coconut to it.

- Grind sundakkai thogayal with little water to a thick paste. It’s ready to serve!
Enjoy it best with cooked rice and sesame oil or even with idli dosa.

Substitutions & Variations
- Urad dal – add chana dal or a mix of both urad dal and chana dal in equal quantities
- Coconut – Coconut balances the bitterness, you can also reduce half the quantity if you do not mind the mild bitterness.
- Jaggery – add a small piece of jaggery to balance the taste.
- Red chillies – My red chillies are medium spice. According to the spice level you use, adjust the quantities. Idea is to add more chillies, tamarind, so that the bitterness is balanced.
Top Tip
Make sure you crush all the sundakkai, otherwise it may pop while you saute.
Soaking sundakkai in water helps removing excess seeds, which may lead to a heavy tummy feel. So it is okay to soak in water, but do not soak longer.
Cook sundakkai in low or medium heat to prevent nutrient loss. But make sure you thoroughly cook longer.
You can increase or decrease the sundakkai quantity in the recipe.
Health Benefits of Sundakkai
- Has iron, helps in formation of red blood cells, hence fight anemia.
- Sundakkai is known for killing intestinal worms. So it is a great home remedy for intestinal worms. Also kills harmful gut bacteria.
- Sundakkai is rich in flavonoids, hence improves immunity.
- Helpful for bone strength.
- It has hypoglycemic effect, so helps with diabetics.
- Home Remedy for bloating, gas, indigestion.
- Lastly, it fights inflammation and it is a natural appetizer.
FAQ
Sundakkai will be bitter tasting if it is not cooked throughly. Also make sure to balance the bitterness with tamarind, red chilli and a piece of jaggery.

Recipe card
Sundakkai Thogayal Recipe | Turkey berry chutney
Sundakkai thogayal is a perfect side dish for lunch, especially with steamed rice or curd rice. With just the simple ingredients in your pantry, this thogayal is very nutritious and best way to include Sundakkai, even for those who are not a big fan of.
Ingredients
- ½ cup Sundakkai
- ½ cup Coconut
- 1 tablespoon Tamarind
- 10 Dry red chillies
- 3 tablespoon Urad dal
- ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida
- 2-3 tablespoon Sesame oil
- Salt
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Instructions
-
Take cleaned turkey berry (sundakkai) in batches, in a mortor pestle.
-
Then crush it so that all of them break open.
-
After that, keep it immersed in water. Repeat to finish all.
-
In oil, add urad dal and red chilli until golden. Remove in a plate.
-
Then in the same oil, saute sundakkai until it becomes pale green. It should cook well to avoid bitterness.
-
Remove in a plate and add asafoetida above the hot ingredients. Cool down.
-
After that, place in a mixie, along with salt and tamarind.
-
Add coconut to it.
-
Grind sundakkai thogayal with little water to a thick paste. It’s ready to serve!
Video
Notes
- Soaking sundakkai in water helps removing excess seeds, which may lead to a heavy tummy feel. So it is okay to soak in water, but do not soak longer.
- Cook sundakkai in low or medium heat to prevent nutrient loss. But make sure you throughly cook longer.
- You can increase or decrease the sundakkai quantity in the recipe.