Chutney Week: Part 4 ,Chutney powders
Annie Alexander : Kerala Chamanthi Podi
Ingredients:
About 2 cups Fresh grated Coconut
3-4 sliced small Onions
1/2 tsp of chopped Ginger
1 tsp of chopped Garlic
5-6 Peppercorns
few curry leaves
Whole dry red chilies or crushed chili flakes, to taste ( I added about 2 tbsp)
Tamarind paste, to taste
Salt, to taste
Method:
Dry roast fresh grated coconut on medium flame till evenly brown.
Add the sliced small onions, chopped ginger, chopped garlic, peppercorns, few curry leaves and sauté till onions are translucent. Now u can either add whole dry red chilies along with these or right at the end add crushed chili flakes.
Cool the whole mixture and roughly grind it along with tamarind paste without adding water or at the most a couple of tbsp of water. Adjust the salt at the end according to taste.
This is traditionally pounded in a stone mortar and the consistency can vary from finely ground to this coarse texture. A few recipes I looked up said to add coriander and cumin seeds too. This is how my mom makes it at home. It is usually kept in clean containers and can be stored for a long time. Just this and plain rice or rice gruel/kanji is awesome!
Namita Tickare: Gural/Karal Chutney powder (Niger/ Thistel seeds chutney powder) the famous dry chutney powder from North Karnataka and Maharashtra. It is usually served with Jowar roti’s mixed with curds, eaten mixed with vegetable oil or ghee and also extensively used in making vegetables as a spice. The chutney powder remains good for 15-20 days.
Ingredients:
100 gms Gural/karal seeds
8-10 Garlic cloves
1 tbsp Red chilli powder (or to taste)
Salt to taste
Method:
Clean the Gural/Karal seeds for any impurities.Roast them lightly for about 3-4 minutes on a medium flame (do not let it change colour) , when it starts to crackle a bit remove and keep aside to cool off completely.
In a mixer jar put the roasted Gural seeds, garlic cloves, red chilli powder and salt to taste and grind it off to a semi coarse powder.
Your chutney powder is ready. Store it in air tight container and use as required.
Sandhya Nag: Andhra Kandhi Podi popularly known as Gun Powder. Despite its divine taste and a lot of innocence in its character, it has been named after this deadly material!! It is the soul of all Andhra meals.
Ingredients: (all quantities to taste)
Tuar dal, Moong dal and Chana dal, in a ratio of 1:1:1/2
Garlic, to taste
Cumin seeds
Whole Dried Red chilies
Salt
Method:
Dry roast all dals individually till uniformly brown. Grind into a fine powder together.
Dry roast red chilies and cumin seeds. Add garlic cloves and grind together
Mix both the mixtures well and add salt to taste.
Typically for 1:1:1/2 cup of dals, add at least 1 cup of red chilies and 1 tbsp cumin seeds.
Namita Tickare: Peanut Chutney Powder
Ingredients:
1 cup Peanuts
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Red chili powder
Salt to taste.
Method:
Dry roast the peanuts and keep it to cool. After cooling remove the outer covering of the groundnuts.
Grind the peanuts, red chili powder, cumin seeds and salt to taste in a mixer grinder till the groundnuts leave a little bit of oil. Remove and store in an air tight container and use as and when required.
This can be stored for up to 15 days and can eaten by mixing with curds with roti.
Annie Alexander : Dry Fish Chamanthi
Ingredients: ( all quantities to taste)
Dried fish
Whole dried Red Chilies or Crushed chili flakes
Small onions
Salt
Ginger (optional)
Curry leaves (optional)
Tamarind paste (optional)
Fresh grated coconut, lightly roasted (optional)
Method:
Clean the dry fish and soak it so that the excess salt is washed off. Cut into smaller pieces and fry it till it is crispy. Remove it into another dish.
In the same pan on low flame, lightly roast dried red chilies or crushed chili flakes, taking care not to burn.
My mom just pounds the fried fish, the chilies, about 3-4 small onions and adjusts the salt and the Chamnathi is done.
I tried a few additions based on what I saw on the net for this one :Here when I roasted the chili, I added a little ginger, onions, curry leaves and lightly roasted fresh grated coconut. After roughly crushing all together, I also added a little tamarind paste at the end. Tasted different from my Mom’s but was good.