Coconut Chutney – Side dish for Idli, dosa, pongal

Serves – 4 to 6
Preparation time – 5 mins
Cooking time – 10 mins
Ingredients : 

• Shredded coconut – 1 cup
• Roasted Chanadal – 1/2 cup
• Cashews – 1/2 cup
• Green Chillies – 10
• Tamarind – 1 inch piece
• Salt – 1 tsp or to taste

Seasoning

• Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
• Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
• Dry Red Chilli – 2
• Urid dal – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – pinch
• Curry leaves – few
• Oil – 1/2 Tbsp

Procedure :

Step 1 : Blend all the ingredients, except the one under seasoning using a blender.
Step 2 : Use sufficient water to make a smooth paste.
Step 3 : Take this paste into a bowl and keep it aside.
Step 4 : For seasoning, heat oil, when the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilli, urid dal, curry leaves, turmeric powder and saute till urid dal chages its color slightly.
Step 5 : Turn off the heat and add this seasoning into the bowl with chutney.
Step 6 : Serve it with dosa, idli, upma or any south indian dish.

Tomato Chutney (Pickle)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of tomatoes cubed into about one inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons tamarind pulp
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
• 1 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (til)
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds (sabut dhania)
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (mathi dana)
• 10 whole red chilies
• 1/4 cup sliced ginger, optional
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Method

1. In a small frying pan dry roast red chilies, over low medium heat, stirring continuously to cook evenly till they are darker in color, this should take about 2 minutes. Remove from the frying pan.
2. In the same pan, dry roast sesame seeds, coriander seeds, and fenugreek seeds over low medium heat individually stirring continuously to cook evenly for about less than a minutes. Don’t over roast.
3. In a same pan add 2 teaspoons of oil when oil is moderately hot add ginger and stir-fry on low medium heat for about 3 minutes until ginger start catching the light brown color from the sides. Set aside.
4. After spices cool of grind them into the powder. Set aside.
5. In a blender crush the tomatoes do not make a paste. Set aside.
6. In a pan heat remaining oil over medium high heat, oil should be moderately hot add mustard seeds, after they crack add asafetida. Now add tomatoes, and tamarind paste. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes semi covered (after tomato comes to boil start splattering) or until oil start separating.
7. Add the roasted spice powder, ginger, turmeric, salt and sugar, reduce the heat to low medium and cook for about another 8 minutes or until chutney is thick and oil is separated.