Maangai thuvayal / Raw mango chutney

A very simple, no-cook dish. I love it from my childhood. When my mom makes it I will be waiting nearby her to get that first tasting experience. Remembered it after a long time and asked my mom for the recipe and here it is for you all. The fresh smell of raw mango, pearl onions, green chillies and ginger makes this dish divine !!!

Ingredients :

Raw mango- 1 small, sour one

Pearl onions / shallots - 2-5 nos, depending on its size

Green chillies- 4 nos

Coconut piece- 2 big ones

Ginger- a small piece

Salt to taste

Method :

Cut everything into pieces and grind them together using a food processor. Maangai thuvayal will be ready. It tastes excellent with rice congee, pazhaya saadham ( previous day rice soaked in water), curd rice and also makes an excellent companion for idlies.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Never do tempering. Use only fresh coconut. You can also use red chillies in the place of green ones. Do not forget ginger.  Happy cooking !!!

Thakkali-ellu chutney/ tomato chutney with seasame/ ramulakaya-nuvvulu chutney

 

 

The origin of this chutney is an interesting story. When I was doing PhD in India we (our labmates) went to a stem cell conference in Hyderabad. That was my first visit to AP and I had no clue at that time that I will marry a person from AP :). The conference was arranged in a five star hotel so there were lots of delicious food. We really had gala time and till now I have never attended such a posh conference. But the dish that mesmerized me was not from that five star hotel. We stayed in a  very normal hotel and in the morning we used to buy idlies from a nearby shop. With that idlies they served a tomato chutney. All the 3 or 4 days we stayed there I would eagerly wait for the breakfast because of that particular chutney. I could never forget that taste. I always had that tomato chutney in my mind. One day I wanted to make that chutney myself by remembering that taste and imagining the ingredients and that is how this chutney originated. Do try it. You will also get caught by its taste. 

Ingredients :

Tomato - 2 nos (ripe and firm ones)

Onion- 1 no 

Garlic- 5 pods

Urid dhal- 1 heaped tbspn

Black seasame seeds- 2 heaped tbspns

Dried red chillies- 6 nos (adjust according to your taste, I like it spicy)

Curry leaves- some 10 leaflets

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Tamarind- size of a small gooseberry (optional) ( If your tomatoes are not sour enough use it when grinding)

Salt to taste

Oil- 2 tbspn

Method :

Heat a pan. Fry urid dhal, black seasame seeds, red chillies and curry leaves until the urid dhal turns brown and emits a nice aroma. Remove from fire. Cut onions and tomato. Peel the garlic pods. Add oil in a pan. When the oil gets heated add a pinch of turmeric, onion, tomato and garlic. Saute them until the onions become translucent and the tomato pieces becomes soft. Now add all the items together in a mixer grinder including the required amount of salt and grind them into a paste. Tasty, tasty tomato chutney will be ready to serve. Tastes wonderful with idly, dosa and even with curd rice.

Taste enhancing tips : Do not use white seasame seeds. Use the black one. Take care not to burn the ingredients when frying. Onion, garlic and curry leaf  adds taste to this dish. Happy cooking!!!

Palli pachadi / nilakadalai chutney / peanut chutney

Rajender's faaavouriteeeeeeee. If I make idly or dosa the first question from him will be 'Did you make palli chutney?'. He will be very happy and satisfied if there is palli chutney. But there is no wonder in it. He comes from a region where groundnut is one of the staple crop. All year round there will be groundnut in his home. His mother makes variety of dishes with groundnut, even for  pongal (pulagam) my mom-in.law adds powdered groundnut instead of moong dhal. In the beginning it was difficult for me to get used to groundnut chutney. In my home, coconut chutney is the standard side-dish for idly and dosa. But once I got used to this palli pachadi, coconut chutney lost its special place. Palli pachadi is very wholesome, satisfying and several times healthier than coconut chutney. Peanuts are rich in heart-healthy fats, proteins, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins. The main disadvantage of coconut is its high saturated fat content. Only after marriage I got to know this tasty chutney. I think everyone knows it well and  this is for people who still do not know this healthy dish. Here comes the recipe:

Ingredients :

Groundnut- 1 cup

Green chillies- 4 nos

Garlic- 1 pod

Jeera seeds- 1 tspn

Onion-  2 or 3 nos of pearl onion or 1/4 of a ig onion

Tamarind- a small piece

Dried red chillies- 4nos

Curry leaves- few leaflets

Jeera seeds,  mustard seeds and urid dhal- 1/2 tspn for tempering

Salt to taste

2 tbspn of oil for tempering

Method :

Fry the groundnuts until they emit a nice aroma. Remove from fire and allow it to cool. Then deskin the groundnuts. If you grind chutney with the skin intact it acquires a bitter taste. Now add green chillies, garlic, jeera seeds, onion and tamarind to the peanuts and grind it to a smooth paste. You can dilute this paste according to your desired consistency. Now temper it using dried red chillies, jeera, mustard and urid dhal. Heat oil in a pan. Add urid dhal when the oil is hot enough. When the urid dhal turns brown add jeera and mustard seeds. When they splutter add red chillies and curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds. Now transfer this to the peanut chutney. Add salt to taste. Tasty, tasty groundnut chutney will be ready to be served. Peanut butter can't even compete with it in texture and taste.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Make sure you remove the skin before grinding. Small variety  peanuts taste much better than the larger ones. If you need to save time you can also use the deskinned,  fried and salted peanuts which are sold as snacks. One of my friend once added nicely minced red onions to the peanut chutney. It tasted awesome!!! (Thanks Shoba) Happy cooking friends!!!

Pasalai keerai chutney/ Bachalla kura pachadi

Rajender likes it. He used to say when his mom makes this pachadi he would absolutely love the smell of it. I got a fresh bunch of pasala keerai from Indian shop this week. Asked my sister-in-law for the recipe and here it is for you.

My hubby is from telangana region. Rice, chillies, onions, ground nut, coriander seeds, garlic, mangoes, tamarind are some of the locally grown crops there. So these items take an upper hand in their kitchen too. The dishes are very tasty but done with minimum ingredients. For example chicken is cooked with ginger, garlic paste and coriander powder. No extra spices like, cinnamon, cloves, aniseeds etc are added to it. But taste-wise they are excellent.

As a tamil girl I am not much aware of these pachadis before coming to Germany. But after coming here and mingling with the telugu community people I started watching with surprise how they can make pachadi with almost anything :). I am not a big fan of this Indian spinach (pasalai keerai) but after eating this chutney I have become a fan of it. You can have this pachadi with rice, idly, dosa or even with chappathi!!!

Ingredients

Pasalai keerai- 1 bunch

Dry red chillies- 6 nos ( Use 5 or 6 more if you like it really hooot!!!)

Coriander seeds- 2 tbspns

Cumin seeds-1 tspn

Garlic- 2 pods if it is very big / 5 or 6 small ones

Tamarind- one lime sized ball (deseeded)

Oil (as needed, preferably groundnut oil)

Method

Cut the pasala keerai into small pieces. Do not throw away the stem part. Use them too. The stems are rich in fibre and it gives a fulness to this pachadi too.

Take a non-stick pan. Add 2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil gets heated add the pasalai keerai and saute till it becomes half of it original volume. Keep it aside.

Now add a teaspoon full of oil and fry the coriander seeds and red chillies till it gives out a nice aroma.

Take a mixer jar. Add cumin seeds, garlic, tamarind and fried red chillies and coriander seeds. Grind these items into a nice powder. Then add pasalai keerai and salt and grind till it becomes mashed. Try to avoid grinding it to a smooth paste consistency.

You can now temper the ground pasalai keerai mixture with 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 red chillies, 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds and few garlic pods. If you like the taste of raw onions cut them into small bite-sized pieces and mix them with the chutney.

This chutney keeps good for a few days without getting spoiled. But if you would like to add raw onions add before serving.

Happy cooking!!!