Chutney

There are different varieties of chutneys too and they also differ from region to region.

Coconut Chutney

Ingredients:

Coconut grated – about  one cup

Green chilli – one ( according to your fire power)

Fresh ginger – about one cm long

Fresh coriander leaves, chopped – about two tspns

Salt to taste

Mustard seeds – one tsp

Curry leaves – a few

Channa and urad dal mixed – about a quarter tsp

Method:

Grind together the coconut,green chillie,ginger and a little salt to a fine paste.Then add the chopped coriander and grind it just a little.

Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds ,curry leaves and the dals and fry till the dal turns a light golden ,now garnish the chutney with the seasoning and serve.

This is served for idlis,dosas,uthappams,adais,paniyarams,pongal,vadas etc.

Bon Appetit!

Tomato chutney

Ingredients:

Tomatoes – 100 gms

Shallots – 50 gms

Coconut – about 2 tbspns

Tamarind – just about the size of a pea

Green chillies – 2 nos

Channa and urad dal mix – about  2 tspns

Salt to taste

Oil – about a tbspn

Method:

To the hot oil add the dals and roast them till light golden ,then add the split green chillies and diced shallots and sauté.

Then add the sliced tomatoes to it and fry till the oil seperates.Next add the grated coconut and the tamarind and sauté for a few minutes and add the salt .

Remove from fire  and let it cool.When cool ,grind to a smooth consistency and serve.

Bon Appetit!

Coriander Chutney

Ingredients:

Coriander – 100 gms

Tomato – 50 gms

Shallots – 50 gms

Green chillies – 2 nos

Grated coconut – about 2 tbspns

Tamarind – about the size of a pea

Channa and urad dal – about a tspn each

Salt to taste

 Oil for frying

Method:

To the hot oil add the dals and fry to a light golden,then add the diced shallots,split green chillies and sauté,to that add the diced tomatoes and fry well.Now add the chopped coriander,tamarind and the grated coconut to it.

Remove from fire and cool.grind it to a smooth paste and serve.

Bon Appetit!

Grinding of chutneys always takes me back in time to my grandma’s kitchen.I was around five or six years old and used to score with my grandma when compared to my cousins because I used to hand around her kitchen do all the odd chores for her.Well,to be frank I was sortof  an expert when it came to grinding chutneys…..never understood until many years later ….. I was told that I was the official chutney grinder of the family.Those days there were no mixies or wet grinders…..there were only those huge grinding stones.I used to have a small moda for myself to be seated when I was grinding.

Well…it so happened that all my cousins were upset with me and wanted to get back  due to the above reasons and the privileges that I had due to it.

One day an older cousin called me to grind the ‘chutney’ and since it was to be for a puja I was not supposed to taste it.Feeling very important I started to grind the stuff and was busy with it for almost three- quarters of an hour when the same cousin brought all the other cousins with her and to my horror and shock started appling the ‘chutney’ to their hair.

I let out such a shriek that it brought the entire family there and all I could say was – ‘chutney’.Everybody burst out laughing when they realized what had happened.But I was not amused.The so called ‘chutney ‘ that I was given to grind was nothing but a mixture of amla,reetha shikakai ans so on.....i was so furious that it was the last time i ground any chutneys for my grandma.

I do miss my grandma and above all I do really miss the stone grinder.