Curry Leaves Chutney - South Traditional

---Karivepaku Pachadi/Karivepaillai Thuvayal---

Goodbye Pak, Hello Lanka!!! If there is one thing on the minds of Indians in-house and off-shore, its "Cricket WC 2011". As a typical Indian, I grew up along with my two younger brothers enjoying, watching and cheering India, all the way till now. And even now we make those triangular calls after each victory. With all eyes set on the final for Saturday, we join, billion Indian hearts beating for 11 boys in blue to make India proud!..Men in blue, its high time and its right time to go for it!!!

Much like the home game cricket, Curry leaves is a home story for me, as I grew up with one big Curry leaves tree in our back yard. I'll rant about that in my next post of Curry leaves, when I publish the recipe for Curry Leaves Powder. For now I want to proceed with my streaming with this traditional Curry Leaves Chutney, just right to eat with plain rice with a hint of ghee and raw onion.

Ingredients.

2 cups Curry Leaves
1 tbsp - oil
1 tbsp - Channa dhal
1 tbsp - Urad dhal
1 tsp - Cumin seeds
1 tsp - Coriander seeds
3-5 - Red chillies
4 -5 Garlic pods
Tamarind - A big marble size soaked in little water to soften.
Salt to taste
Water enough to grind into chutney.


Procedure :
Stir Fry the curry leaves in oil for 2 - 3 mins and keep aside.
In the same vessel, now fry the all the remaining dry ingredients except tamarind.
Remove from heat and let cool.

Once the fried ingredients are cooled grind them to a coarse powder.
Now add the fried leaves, soaked tamarind, salt and enough water and grind thoroughly till all the ingredients mix well and chutney is almost smooth.
Adjust salt.


Serve with any plain rice, ghee or gingely oil and raw onion.

Coriander Chilly Chutney

-----aka Kothimira Karam Pachadi/Hara Dhaniya aur Hari Mirch Chutney-----

Spring has officially sprung 2 days back, but for us here, we are having a snow storm blast. Chill weather definitely calls for something spicy. Somehow the first few weeks of March I have been posting different kinds of chutney recipes, so thought might as well dedicate the month for chutneys. Its nice to follow a theme like this which inspires to try more variations.

Wanted to actually blog the traditional Coriander Chutney, but at the last moment decided to make this with some twists. Thanks to the versatility of dips and chutneys! Its great how little additions and deletions to the ingredients can result in a unique taste that is only more aromatic and comes out with a burst of flavour. Adding generous amount of green chillies definitely gives a punch to this condiment. Also adding a bit of sugar gives the finishing touch.

So here is another flavourful chutney made by gently frying the spices and then coriander leaves and grinding them together. This chutney is more for tiffins or breakfast items rather than rice.



Ingredients :
1 tbsp - oil
2 tbsp - Urad dhal
1 tsp - Cumin seeds
1 tsp - Coriander seeds
5-8 - Green Chillies
4-5 thinnly sliced Ginger
2 cups Coriander Leaves
Tamarind - A big marble size
1/2 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste
Water enough to grind into chutney.

Procedure :
Heat oil in a kadai, add urad dhall, roast and then add all other ingredients except coriander leaves and tamarind and fry them.
Now add the coriander leaves too and fry till leaves shrink in size and emit nice aroma.
Transfer this to a bowl along with tamarind and let cool.

Now grind all the ingredients in the bowl adding enough water and salt and sugar to a smooth paste.
Check and adjust salt.
Serve with South Indian idly, dosa, vada or use as dip to suited Western food .

Ginger Chutney with a hint of sweet

----AKA Allam Pachadi / Ingi Thuvayal----

Sickness has come a full circle in my house with kids taking turns twice already..It is a challenge to keep up with our daily schedule with sickness at home..But there is always a reason to rejoice..At least we are not rocked by an earth quake or swept away by a Tsunami or living in scare of  any radiation from a Nuclear plant blast...By all means our hearts go to all the victims of our beautiful island "Japan"..Our prayers that the loss be minimal and the country will bounce back at the earliest...Though we know that these calamities will only increase day by day and this is just the beginning of destruction. As sensible human beings we are called to practice a great life style, choose right things, live in harmony and spread the good news, so when it comes we have no regrets...As christian I have a blessed hope of ever lasting life..Praise God!!!..

Good life style definitely includes healthy food choices and talking about health one herbal root that tops the nutrition list is "'Ginger".Ginger is so versatile that it can be added in to most of the foods in assortment. Desserts, Cookies, Soups, Condiments, Curries, Beverages, Medicines, you name it...It is very helpful to reduce indigestion, inflammation, chronic pain, quite effective in treating cold and flu, believed to have anti-cancer properties and also taken as a supplement,

Ginger is available in different forms, as fresh ginger root, dried ginger, ginger powder, ginger pills, granulated or crystallized ginger, or as a ginger drink... the list goes on..With such a wide range of ginger products available and with the ever increasing benefits of ginger being discovered ginger or a product of ginger is something that everyone should have in their homes.

For me ginger is a daily affair..starting from my morning cup of chai tea..I use it so extensively in my cooking..and one of my favourite recipe with ginger is this Chutney that I learnt from an Aunt Friend in my early marriage days.

This is only one of the methods that can be used to make Ginger Chutney.
Fresh ginger root is cut into small cubes and gently stir fried till it emits that outstanding aroma that ginger is known for..then some roasted spices are ground, to which the fried ginger is added along with salt, tamarind pulp and to make the taste irresistible a hint of sweet is added with a piece of jaggery. All these ingredients made into a paste results in an aromatic chutney that can be as a side for most of the Indian breakfast items or just with plain rice with some drops of gingely oil and a raw onion on side.

Ingredients :
1 Big Ginger root about 3-4 inches (cut into small pieces)
1 tbsp - oil
1 tbsp - Channa dhal
1 tbsp - Urad dhal
1 tsp - Cumin seeds
1 tsp - Coriander seeds
3-5 - Red chillies
4 -5 Garlic cloves
Tamarind - A big marble size soaked in little water to soften.
Jaggery - a small block
Salt to taste
Water enough to grind into chutney.

Procedure :
Stir Fry the ginger pieces in oil for 2 - 3 mins and keep aside.
In the same vessel, now fry the all the remaining dry ingredients.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Once the fried ingredients are cooled grind them to a coarse powder.
Now add the fried ginger , soaked tamarind, salt and enough water and grind thoroughly till all the ingredients mix well and chutney is almost smooth.
Adjust salt.
Serve with any idly, dosa, vada or have it as a side for rice

Coconut Coriander Chutney

While it may feel like winter will go on forever, we know the thaw is coming. Just a few more days to spring forward and good that it starts with a March break so kids and parents can adjust to the day light saving time.. For now spicing up our meals with an array of condiments definitely keeps us warm. Thanks to my after Worship fellowship time in Church on Sundays which make me go that extra mile to come out with a range of chutneys to keep variety alive. Times when I buy idlies in bulk for this purpose I usually make home made Sambar with different veggies and accompany it with variance of chutneys each time.

Coconut Coriander Chutney is served as a second variety to tiffins like idlies, dosa, vada in south India. I never tasted whenever it was on my plate, but sure food blogging transforms your perception of tasting & cooking. So here I am with my own home made version of Coconut Coriander Chutney.


Ingredients :
To Grind:
1 cup grated fresh/frozen coconut
2 cups Coriander leaves
4 Green Chillies (increase or decrease accordingly)
A small piece of Ginger (about 1/4 inch)
1 tsp Cumin seeds (optional)
1 Big marble size tamarind ball or use a juice of 1 small lime
Salt to taste
Enough water to grind these into a smooth paste

For Tempering:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dhal
2-3 red chillies cracked
8-10 curry leaves
1 pinch of Asafoetida/Hing/Inguva/Perumgayam

Method:
In a grinder, put all the ingredients in the grinding list and grind them thoroughly to a smooth paste/chutney.
Transfer to a serving container.
Allow mustard to splutter in 1 tsp of hot oil and add the rest of ingredients in tempering list, fry for a few seconds and spread on the prepared chutney.



Happy March Break for kids!!!!

Fried Onion Chutney

Migrating from Pulusu(Stew/gravy) to Pachadi(Chutney/Dip) this Fried onion chutney is a wonderful condiment for South Indian tiffins. Be it Idli, Dosa, Medu Vada, Punukulu, you simply can't stop eating them when they are accompanied by this simple yet tasty treat.

I have blogged about raw onion chutney and how my mom and grand mom always used raw onion to make the onion chutney. But one of my fav Aunt J, used to always fry the chopped onions to make onion chutney which I think most of our south Indians do.

Though for ease of making i regular raw onion chutney, but it amazes to see how just by frying the onion gives a new texture and taste and takes it to level you can't give up.

Ingredients :
1 tsp Oil
2 Medium sized Onions chopped
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
5-6 red chillies cracked
1 big marble size tamarind ball( increase if you like tanginess like me, which actually enhances the taste of this chutney)
1 Tbsp sugar
Salt to taste
A few drops of water to grind these into a smooth paste

Method:
In a kadai heat oil and add cumin seeds to saute for a few seconds, add red chillies, followed by chopped onions and fry the ingredients till onions change color slightly and give nice aroma.
Remove from heat and transfer into a bowl and keep aside till the mixture cools.
Now add salt, sugar and soaked tamarind to the fried onion mixture and blend them to a smooth paste in a blender.

Transfer to serving bowl and enjoy with hot soft fluffy idlies, Dosa or Vada
You can preserve the left over for 2-3 days if refrigerated.

Paper Dosa and Coconut Peanut Chutney

I have been MIA for the past month. Its not that I couldn't take time at all..but its the kind of void that you go thru sometimes..no mood to blog at all..It was first for a week, then two and so quickly its more than a month already..Even now I am just forcing myself so that my Blog Archive will show this month.

Summer is in full swing with temperatures hitting 28c-32c, feels like 40, something we are not used to here....kids are enjoying their summer holidays and having fun time.. so do we parents..Food is first thing first that pops up in holidays..With picky eaters we always have to be on the look out to entice them with something they look forward to eat.

Dosa with coconut chutney is one of kids fav..This coconut chutney is a variation by adding peanuts instead of roasted gram. Kids don't know the difference though. And the dosa is also made crispy to fold like a paper

Coconut Chutney - Type II

Coconut with Peanuts and Red chillies:
Ingredients :
To Grind:1 cup grated fresh/frozen coconut
1/2 cup Roasted Peanuts
1 tsp cumin seeds (optional)
4 Red chillies (increase or decrease accordingly)
A small piece of Ginger (about 1/4 inch)
1 Big marble size tamarind ball
Salt to taste
Enough water to grind these into a smooth paste

For Tempering/Tamlinpu:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dhal
2-3 red chillies cracked
8-10 curry leaves
1 pinch of Asafoetida/Hing/Inguva/Perumgayam

Method:
In a chutney grinder, put all the ingredients in the grinding list and grind them thoroughly to a smooth paste/chutney.
Transfer to a serving container.
Heat up the small tempering vessel add oil, after the oil is hot, allow mustard to splutter and add the rest of ingredients one by one ending with Asafoetida, fry for a few seconds and spread on the prepared chutney.

Paper Dosa
Follow the instructions here to make dosas, just increase the rice flour by 1/2 cup more and fry them for longer time to make them paper crisp...

Enjoy with coconut chutney and sambar.

Green Chutney

Yet another simple chutney made with ease is green chutney..with its pungent and powerful flavour its goes well with most of the Indian snacks/tiffins.

Ingredients:
1 bunch Coriander leaves - about 2 cups
1 cup Mint leaves
3-4 Green chilies
1/2 a Lemon juice
salt to taste
1/2 tsp sugar

Method:
Mix all the ingredients in a blender except lemon juice, with a little water and grind till smooth.
Serve in a bowl, add lemon juice and mix well.
Goes well with Bondas, Dholkas, Dosas etc..

Peanut Chutney

This is yet another chutney which is easy to make and so tasty that it goes with most of the South Indian tiffins, Idly, Dosa, Upma, Adai, Pesurattu, Uthappam, Rava Dosa etc..

Back home I use to help my grandmother grind this roasted peanut chutney whenever she made pesarattu. Now it isa staple at my home to make it as an accompaniment for Upma. Kids enjoy it too..Moreover boths my boys are peanut fans..so its hard to keep them away from the nuts when I'm shelling the roasted peanuts..

Ingredients :
To Grind :
3/4 cup roasted peeled peanuts
4-5 green chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds/Jeera/Jeeragam
A big marble size Tamarind ball
Salt to taste
Enough water to grind into a smooth chutney

For Tempering/Tamlimpu:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dhal
2-3 red chillies cracked
8-10 curry leaves
1 pinch of Asafoetida/Hing/Inguva/Perumgayam

Directions:
Soak tamarind in just enough water to make it soft for grinding.
Remove stems and slit green chillies into half
Combine all the ingredeints in the grindling list with enough water and grind into a smooth chutney.
Transfer to a serving container
Heat up the small tempering vessel add oil, after the oil is hot, allow mustard to splutter and add the rest of ingredients one by one ending with Asafoetida, fry for a few seconds and spread on the prepared chutney.
Enjoy with dosas, idly, pesarattu etc.

Raw Onion Chutney

This is one chutney that can be made instantly in a jiffy. Was regularly made by my mom and grand mother in my childhood and college days, whenever we made idlis made at home.

I quickly adapted this after my marriage because of the ease of making it. There is no frying ingredients before or no tempering required after grinding. Its ready in just five minutes. Just peel the onions, chop them, throw in other ingredients that go into it, press the button to grind, and there you go..its ready.

But since its raw onion you get best results if the chutney sits for a while in the fridge, till all the pungent nature of the onion is gone, The cumin, dried red chillies, tamarind and sugar really transform the onion into a flavourful chutney.

Raw onion chutney is the best side dish, for Uthappam, Idlis, Pesarattu. It is a perfect combo with one other Tamil speciality called Adai. A pancake made with the batter of different ground dhals mixed with spices..Hope to blog about it sometime.

For now into the recipe of Raw onion chutney.
Ingredients :
To Grind:
2 Medium sized Onions chopped into pieces
2 tsp cumin seeds (optional)
5-6 red chillies cracked
1 big marble size tamarind ball
1 Tbsp sugar
Salt to taste
Enough water to grind these into a smooth paste

Method:
In a chutney grinder, put all the ingredients in the grinding list and grind them thoroughly to a smooth paste/chutney.
Transfer to a serving bowl

Serve with hot idlis, dosas, Uthappam, Pesarattu, Adai etc..

Idli with Coconut Chutney - A Humble Combo, A bond indeed

The relationship of a south Indian with Idli and coconut chutney so intense that we can write pages about it. This is one break fast that we South Indians grew up on back home.
I call it a humble combo because every household can afford to make it at home or even to take out from the near by breakfast restaurant or get from small street side stalls. I grew up in a joint family along with grand mothers, uncles and aunts. Idli is one easy breezy breakfast to feed large families. At my house back home it was a staple breakfast 2 to 3 times a week. Though I was not so fond of it those days and never use to eat more than 1 or 2, I very much long for Idly and coconut chutney in this part of the world. Obviously we know the value of things when we can't get them so readily. With very few South Indian restaurants in Toronto you got no option then to enjoy home made idlis and chutney. And I do prefer it than store bought..Though the preparation takes a few long steps, and involves using lot of equipments like wet grinder, Idli moulds and pressure cooker, scooper etc..it’s all worth to go through the process and enjoy it at least in the weekend. All the more when the whole family including my 3 year old loves it.

Idli is prepared mainly in two different ways. Though there are many other variations and varieties of Idlies. In Tamil Nadu they use whole rice and Urad dhal(White Lentils with Black husk on them usually called black gram) and in Andhra(at least in my home, I don't know in other parts) we use Rice Rava(Cream of Rice) and Urad dhal and also the proportion of rice or rice rava and urad dhal differs.

For a Tamil Nadu style idly I use 1 cup urad dhal to 3 to 4 cups rice( par boiled or combo of par boiled and raw rice or the Tamil nadu special idly rice), soak them separately and grind them separately. Usually the urad dhal is grinded to very fine batter and the rice is grinded to hold rava constituency, then both are mixed together with salt and allowed to ferment overnight, where by morning the batter almost rises to double or triple, so that you get that soft fluffy idlis.

With Andhra Style, I use 1 cup urad dhal to 2 to 3 cups rice rava(usually call Idli rava), soak them separately and then urad dhal is grinded to very fine batter and the rice rava is squeezed from all water and added to the ground urad dhal then both are mixed together with salt and allowed to ferment overnight. Unlike the batter made with whole ground rice, this one doesn't rice so much , but is good enough to make delicious idlies.. I find this method is easy too..as we need to grind the urad dhal only and add it to the already made rice rava.

Though home made idlis and chutney are tasty and hygenic..I still long for that street side idli and coconut chutney..I still remember those days even in a good restaurant a plate idli use to be only 1 rupee 25 ps with unlimited chutney. Just the smell of this combo was a simple pleasure. Mini idlies soaked in hot sambar topped with ghee is a frequent site for breakfast or lunch in Chennai restaurants.

Now if I don't get to some serious recipe time, I will never go out of my ranting.
For cream of the Rice (Rice rava)Idlis:

Ingredients :
1 cup urad dhal
2 to 3 cups Rice rava(Idli rava),
Salt to taste
Water enough to grind and mix
2 Tbsp Yeast (if desired) I usually don't use

Method:
1.Wash thoroughly and soak urad dhal for althea 3 hours.
2.Simultaneously soak rice rava separately.
3. Wet Grind urad dhal to very smooth batter, keep aside.
4. Now squeeze rice rava from all water with palms and added to the ground urad dhal. 5. Then add salt and enough water and mix thoroughly till all the rice rava and ground urad dhal combine well and mix into each other.
6. Allow this mixture to ferment overnight.
Tips : In cold places fermentation is a challenge. So I usually follow these steps. Always use thick steel vessel to ferment the batter. Heat up the oven for a few seconds, turn off and then place the steel vessel on the oven rac. Let it stay in the oven overnight isolated by the colder temperatures outside. You can repeat that process a few times for better results, if the temperature outside is too cold. Remember to place the steel vessel with batter on a wider plate when placing in the oven..at times the batter ferments and rises so much that it overflows on the oven rac..
7. After the overnight fermentation when the you are ready to make idlis, mix the raised batter, adjust salt if necessary keep aside.
8. Fill 2-3 cups water in the Idli Steamer depending upon the size of the cooker and heat up till the water starts to boil.
9. Meanwhile grease the idli moulds with oil or ghee and add a ladle full of idli batter into each single mould, taking care that the batter does not overflow the mould.
10. Now insert the idli mould plates into the idli steamer and steam on high first and then medium heat, for 15 - 20 minutes depending on the size and the number of idlis.
11. Once the time elapses, check to see if the idlis are done and then remove from heat.
12. Sprinkle cold water on the hot idly mould plates and use a special idly scooping spoon to separate the idlis from each mould.
13. Serve hot and fresh with choice of chutneys, podi/powders or gravies.

Coconut Chutney :

Though Idli can be eaten with various accompaniments like, chutneys, podis, curried gravies like fish, chicken, lamb; one best combo for Idli always rules..that is Idli with Coconut chutney.
Like variations in Idlis making, Coconut chutney is also prepared in a number of varieties..and different combination of ingredients.

1. Coconut with roasted gram with green chillies, yogurt based
2. Just with Plain Coconut
3 Coconut with roasted gram with red chillies
4. Coconut with peanuts & green or red chillies
5. Coconut with Coriander/mint leaves and green chillies

Here let's see the making of first variety mentioned above.
Coconut with roasted gram with green chillies, yogurt based:
Ingredients :

To Grind:1 cup grated fresh/frozen coconut
1 cup roasted gram/vepina chenaga pappu/varutha kadala parippu
1/2 cup sour yogurt
1 tsp cumin seeds (optional)
4 green chillies (increase or decrease accordingly)
1 marble size tamarind ball
Salt to taste
Enough water to grind these into a smooth paste

For Tempering/Tamlinpu:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dhal
2-3 red chillies cracked
8-10 curry leaves
1 pinch of Asafoetida/Hing/Inguva/Perumgayam

Method:
In a chutney grinder, put all the ingredients in the grinding list and grind them thoroughly to a smooth paste/chutney.
Transfer to a serving container.
Heat up the small tempering vessel add oil, after the oil is hot, allow mustard to splutter and add the rest of ingredients one by one ending with Asafoetida, fry for a few seconds and spread on the prepared chutney.

Serve with hot idlis, dosas etc..

Now that we made both Idli and Coconut chutney lets enjoy this combo.

Chutney with Ridge Gourd Skin/Beerapottu pachadi

As I shared in my last post, ridge gourd is one vegetable which can be used both in and out. A Delicious curry with the body and yet another yummy spicy chutney with the skin.

Growing up this was one of my favourite chutney/pachadi..My granny knew how much i cherished this chutney , so she use to preserve the skin and make the chutney for me..to enjoy it with plain hot rice and ghee/oil and the best accompaniment for this is a piece of raw onion. A first serve of rice will be done in a jiffy..

Ingredients :

Skin of 2 or 3 Ridge gourds /Beerapottu (cut into small pieces)
1 tbsp - oil
1 tbsp - Channa dhal
1 tbsp - Urad dhal
1 tsp - Cumin seeds
1 tsp - Coriander seeds
3-5 - Red chillies
4 -5 Garlic pods
Tamarind - A big marble size soaked in little water to soften.
Salt to taste
Water enough to grind into chutney.

Procedure :
Stir Fry the ridge gourd pieces in oil for 2 - 3 mins and keep aside.
In the same vessel, now fry the all the remaining dry ingredients.
Remove from heat and let cool. Once the fried ingredients are cooled grind them to a coarse powder.
Now add the ridge gourd skin, soaked tamarind, salt and enough water and grind thoroughly till all the ingredients mix well and chutney is almost smooth.
Adjust salt.
Serve with either plain rice or have it as a side for rice with sambar.