Friday, July 8, 2011

Chutneys or condiments etc..

Chutneys and podis / powders or widely known as condiments are very important part of our any meal whether it is main course or snacks. Chutneys in India are meant for spicy and sweet taste. It generally consists of fruits and vegetables along with lentils, spices and other ingredients to enhance the taste. Here I have shared some of the chutneys which I make at home and you can use with other ingredients for your crackers,dips and sandwiches and with Indian meals too.

Amsotto chutney:::

Amsotto means mango paper or papad reminds me lot of childhood memories and used to drool when I go to India for vacation. In summer , when the market were full of yellow ripe mangoes, my aunt used to make mango puree and then put layers on big steel plate and then keep under the sun for drying. When dried, she used to make rolls from the dried layers of mango and store it for long time and in winter and other seasons we used to enjoy chutneys with that amsotto for the rest of the year. Though In India it is easily available in the market but here I have bought for the first time and prepared the amsotto chutney what my aunt taught us.
Ingredients:::
2-3 nos. mango papad or paper,
one small tomato, finely chopped
1 bay leaf,
a pinch of mustard seeds,
very little ginger paste,
a pinch of salt,
3 small jaggery balls,
a handful of raisins,
1/3 tsp oil.
Method:::
1. Heat oil in a deep-bottomed pan or kadai. Add mustard seeds and bay leaf and when mustard seeds start spluttering, add ginger paste and saute a little.
2. Add chopped tomatoes and sprinkle a pinch of salt and then let it cook until soft and mushy. Add mango papad/paper into the pan and cover the pan and let it cook for 8-10 mins.
3. Stir nicely until mango papad / amsotto are completely cooked and melting. Add little water if needed to avoid dryness. Add jaggery and raisins and let it simmer until jaggery balls are melted.
4. Stir occasionally to mix everything together until thick gravy comes out. Serve hot or chilled.
You can use sweet potatoes too. Adjust sugar level using sugar or jaggery. Do not add sugar or jaggery before amsotto and tomatoes are completely cooked. 

Coconut & Peanut Chutney ::

This Chutney, also called pachhadi in Andra Pradesh is commonly prepared at every home as side dish for Idly or dosa. This is very simple yet spicy and yummy side preparation. 

Ingredients :::
one cup of freshly or frozen grated coconut,
1/2 cup of peanuts,
5 nos. green chillies,
salt to taste,
For seasoning::
2 whole red chillies,
1/4 tsp of mustard seeds,
8-9 nos. fresh curry leaves,
oil to fry.

Method:::
1. Make a smooth paste of grated coconut, peanuts and green chillies adding salt in a mixer or blender.
2. Now heat oil in a small frying pan and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and whole red chillies and saute until mustard seeds starts spluttering. Switch off flame and then make it cool and then add to the coconut and peanut paste adding little water. Make give a two or three pulse to the paste or blend it for some seconds. Your chutney is ready. Serve it with dry red chilli and curry leaves seasoning with dosa or idli.

Tomato n Peanut Chutney :::

This is one of the delicious chutney my family love to have with Idly , Dosa or Uttappam. I have learned from my mother in law and modified a little bit while going through one of best websites of Sailus food.

Ingredients:::
3 big juicy and fresh tomatoes,sliced
5 nos. green chillies,
1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste,
one small ball size tamarind,soaked in warm water,
one handful of peanuts,
a pinch of mustard seeds,
6-7 nos. fresh curry leaves,
2 nos. dry whole red chillies,
1/4 tsp turmeric powder,
a pinch red chilli powder,
salt and oil to fry.
Method :::
1. Heat few drops of oil in a frying pan and add sliced tomatoes,red chilli powder,turmeric powder and salt.Saute for a minute and then add ginger-garlic paste and and again saute nicely until tomatoes are cooked. 
2. Now take out tamarind pulp from tamarind you already soaked in warm water. You can use store-brought tamarind pulp also.
3. Add tamarind pulp to the frying pan and mix nicely with cooked tomatoes and then cook for 3-4 minutes. Then let it cool down and make a smooth paste of tomatoes.
4. In the meanwhile, heat little oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds,curry leaves,whole red chillies and peanuts and fry for a minute. Add half of the seasoning to tomato paste and again paste it together.
5. Adjust salt and then serve it with the rest of the seasoning on the top of chutney as garnishing.
I prepare this chutney spicy so if you want to reduce the spice level then do not add red chilli powder and put one green chilli. You can add the whole seasoning with tomatoes while making the paste or you can use everything as garnishing too.
   
Coconut N split dalia chutney :::


This is very popular South Indian condiment or chutney used as side dish for dosa,idli ,pongal and other meals too. Some people says idli chutney or dosa chutney and in my in-laws house it is called putinal pappu chutney.Very simple preparation yet yummy spicy taste. I prepare in two different ways and I have followed my in laws recipe and that I am sharing with you.

Ingredients ::
one small cup of roasted chana daal / split dalia, soaked for one hour,
one small cup of freshly or frozen scrapped coconut,
5-7 nos. green chillies,
a pinch of mustard seeds,
8-9 fresh curry leaves,
one or two whole red chillies,
salt as per your taste,
little oil for seasoning.

Method:::
1. Make a paste of soaked daal, coconut ,green chillies and salt in mixer jar or blender.
2. Heat oil in a small pan, make seasoning of red whole chillies,mustard seeds and curry leaves.
3. Add the seasoning to the paste and turn the mixer or blender again for 2 mins. Adjust salt.
Sometimes I add a handful of peanut while seasoning and that enhances the taste. and you can make the seasoning and just pour it over the chutney but I like it smooth. You can adjust the proportions of lentils and coconut according to your taste too.