chutney

Pirandai Thogayal/Adamant creeper Chutney:

August 6, 2019

Pirandai is a creeper. It is called as Adamant Creeper / Devils Back Bone / Veldt Grape “ in English. Botanically known as Cissus Quadrangularis. Which refers to plants quadrangular sectioned branches with internodes of 8 to 10 cm in length and 1.5 cm wide.

It has many names in different parts of our country. In Sanskrit: Asthisamhari, Vajravalli, Asthishrinkhala ,Kandavalli ,Vajrangi . In Hindi: Hadjod ,Hadjora ,Hadsankari Kandvel. In Kannada: Mangarahalli . In Tamil: Pirandai ,Vajravalli . In Malayalam: Peranta ,Cannalamparanta. In Telugu: Vajravalli ,Nalleru. In Gujrati: Chodhari , Hadsankal.

Adamant Creeper is a very well-known traditional herb in ancient ayurvedic medicine. which was used in setting bones/ bone fracture healing , gastric ulcer , piles ,anaemia ,menstrual problems as well as in de worming. It is a good source of Vitamin C and Calcium. Usage of the herb is usually by making Chutney or Kolambu or sundried and in powdered form.

If person wants to take it as a healing food, one should consume it weekly twice and mix with a little ghee either with hot rice or with Roti.

Till two years back, I had no idea regarding this plant or its usage. Due to our Foodie Facebook page, got to know about it. My Foodie friend Ashwini shared the plant cutting with me and guided me through. From then on, my experiments went on and I tried out many recipes. The chutney that I make and like is without coconut, mainly because it stays longer and can enjoy for many days. Here I will share both the version.

Pirandai has to be treated like Colocasia leaves and Yam. It is itchy in nature even while cutting as well as till the last stage of its cooking. So, quantity of tamarind plays a major role while cooking and application of oil to your hand will avoid itching while cleaning and chopping. One more thing what I have observed is, before using keep it for one day ,after harvesting. This also helps in reducing the itchiness.

Now we will see the Thogayal/Chutney preparation:

Ingredients:

Pirandai – one bowl

Tamarind – lemon sized ball

Gingelly oil – 1 tablespoon

Urad dal – 1 tablespoon

Hing – ¼ tsp

Dried red chillies – 3 to 4

Salt

Jaggery – 1tsp

For Seasoning:

Gingelly oil or any refined oil – 3 to 4tablespoons

Mustard – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Method:

-Apply oil to your hand, cut every node and take out internal sticks, peel outer 4 corners and remove all the fibres.

-Take diluted buttermilk water (add little curd to water and make) and wash these cleaned Pirandai nicely.

-Chop these sticks into tiny bits and immerse in diluted buttermilk or tamarind water.

-Soak tamarind in a little water.

-Now drain the water from chopped Pirandai and keep it ready for the seasoning.

-Now take 1 tbl spoon of oil, fry urad dal ,hing and red chillies. Add Pirandai choppings, fry until it is soft and turns pale in colour.

-Add tamarind water, salt, jaggery and cook until it is soft.

-Cool the mixture and grind into smooth paste by adding required amount of water. If you want to add coconut ,you can add coconut as well, while grinding .

-Now prepare seasoning , take 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil , splutter mustard, curry leaves, add ground paste and boil until oil oozes out at the sides.

-Serve with hot rice , dosa or idlies. It can be stored for many days under refrigeration.

Note: Main picture is (with added coconut)

Mavinakai Chutney/ Raw Mango and Coconut chutney:

April 24, 2018

There are so many ways to make lip smacking good Mango chutney. This is traditional mango chutney from Mangalore, South of Karnataka and it is mostly ground to a thicker consistency and is also called as Gatti chutney, which means thick raw mango chutney and is served with Kanji (Brown rice gruel) and ghee. It is our comfort food. DSC_0037_Fotor

Ingredients:

Grated Fresh coconut – 1 cup

Grated fresh green mango – ¼ cup

Green chillies – 2 to 3

Salt

Seasoning: Coconut oil, mustard, curry leaves.

Method:

-Put freshly grated coconut, grated green mango, green chillies and salt in a mixer grinder.

-Instead of green chillies, traditionally people use small bird eye chillies too. If you have that, you can use those chillies as well.

– Now blend the mixture in the mixer grinder coarsely, without adding any water. If juice from the raw mango is not sufficient, then add 1 to 2 tsp of water and grind to get this thick consistency.

-Prepare the seasoning and serve with Brown rice kanji and ghee.

Ash gourd peel chutney:

October 20, 2017

In our native, we get very good, thick fleshed Ash gourd and usually outer skin (we call it as Odu) will be hard and usually remove ¼ an inch thick. After this we usually scrape the outer green part and use it in a dry curry/Subzi/palya. But what I get it in Bangalore has very thin outer skin and I usually peel only outer green part and use it in a really tasty chutney and it is very healthy as well as pairs very well with hot rice or Dosa or idly.

Ingredient:

Ash gourd peel – Whatever is available.

Green chillies – 2 to 3

Salt

Tamarind – ½ tea spoon

Coconut – ¼ cup to ½ cup

Method:

-Chop the peels and cook this with green chillies, tamarind and salt by adding very little water.

-When it is cooked, switch off the gas and cool the mixture.

-Grind with coconut by adding little water.

-Add seasoning as you wish.

-Serve either with rice or Dosa.

Breadfruit Peel Chutney:

October 10, 2017

Yes!!! You heard it right. In our household we never throw out nutritionally filled outer peel of the veggie or the seeds. I normally make it a point to use as frequently as possible in one form or the other. Normally vegetable stock is an easy option. If only one variety is available, chutney or relish is an alternative tasty option too.

Don’t throw away organically grown or home-grown veggie skins. These are a real treasure of flavour and vitamins. Normally breadfruit is grown without any pesticide.

This chutney can be relished with hot plain rice with ghee or with any flat breads.

chutney main

Ingredients:

Breadfruit peel – From one fruit

Coconut – ½ cup

Urad dal – 1 tea spoon

Cumin – ½ tea spoon

Dried red chilli – 2

Green chilli – 1 or 2

Garlic – 3 to 4 cloves

Tamarind – ½ tea spoon

Coconut oil – 1 table spoon

Salt

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 tea spoon

Mustard – ½ tea spoon

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Wash bread fruit peel before peeling. Once again wash and remove white latex, which oozed out while peeling.

-Take one small kadai, pour oil, when it is hot add urad dal fry until it is light brown.

Ribbet collage 1

-Next add cumin, red chilli, and fry until chilli puffs and becomes crisp.

– Now add peels, garlic, green chilli and fry until outer peel changes its colour and wilts a little.

-Next you can add coconut, tamarind and salt, switch off the gas. Toss for one minute and cool this mixture.

-Grind this cooled mixture in a mixer grinder with enough water.

– Do seasoning by heating oil, splutter mustard and add curry leaves and pour it over the chutney.

Peanut chutney:

October 4, 2017

Peanut or Ground nut is considered as a power house of nutrients and known as the poor man’s cashew. In our family everyone loves peanuts as a munching snack and not in a curry. As a Mangalorean, our taste buds were accustomed to coconut based curries from childhood days and we never prepared peanut based curries until my hubby introduced me to this super delicious recipe of his friend’s family. Thanks to our friend Seetha who obliged to pass on this recipe of her mother in law. This is an Andhra household’s day to day chutney recipe. We love this Spicy, tangy and creamy chutney or dip with anything and everything. It is a deadly combination with Sago and Rice Rotti too.

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Ingredients:

Peanuts – ¾ cup (roasted)

Oil – 1 tea spoon

Onion – 1 (chopped)

Green chillies – 3 to4 (chopped)

Coriander leaves – 4 strings (chopped)

Garlic – 1 whole bulb

Salt

Tamarind – peanut size.

Method:

–I take roasted peanuts with skin intact. If you want to remove the skin, you can do that and use.

Ribbet collage

– Now take one tawa, put oil. When it is hot, add chopped onion, garlic, green chillies and fry till it becomes translucent. (Onion Should be transparent and glossy)

– Switch off the gas and mix in chopped coriander leaves, roasted peanuts and tamarind.

– Cool this mixture and grind this mixture by adding salt and required amount of water.

– I normally don’t add any seasoning to this chutney. If you want you can add or serve as it is.

– It goes very well with any south Indian Breakfast dishes.

Onion Chutney with Coconut:

September 14, 2017

We normally refer to this as Neerulli Chutney in Mangalore. Here Neerulli is Onion.Coconut is an integral part of our cooking. This is how we prepare onion chutney traditionally in our households. It can be paired with anything and everything from our breakfast list.

Ingredient:

Grated Coconut – 1cup

Red chillies – 2 (Byadagi variety)

Salt – as required

Tamarind – ¼ tsp

Onion – ½ of medium size.

For seasoning-

Coconut oil – 1 tsp

Mustard – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 1spring

Method:

-Roast the red chillies by putting 2 drops of oil.

-Chop onion

-Grind Coconut, roasted red chillies, tamarind, onion by adding required amount of water and salt into smooth paste.

– Empty out this paste to one small bowl.

-Do seasoning by heating oil, add mustard. When mustard starts to splutter, add curry leaves and pour this over the chutney.

Neeru Mavinakayi/ Brined mango chutney:

August 27, 2017

The word “Neeru Mavinakayi” makes me nostalgic and my mouth water. I am sure that is the case with every Mangalorean. We grew up with very basic comfort food during monsoons. Which consists of kucchilakki (Red rice) ganji accompanied with ghee and this chutney, which is made by using coconut and dried red chillies.

Raw mango in brine is known as Neeru Mavinakayi. During its season we normally preserve raw, firm mangoes by putting it in brine solution. This way, the mangoes can be enjoyed throughout the year. We do make varieties of recipes and this chutney is one of them.

Ingredients:

Brined mango – 1

Fresh Coconut – 1 cup

Dried red chillies – 3 to 4

Hing – ¼ tsp

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 tsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – 1 string

Method:

– Take out one mango from the brine, wash properly and peel outer skin and chop.

-Roast red chillies and hing in a drop of coconut oil.

collage 1

– Grind chopped mango, roasted items and coconut into coarse paste by adding very minimal water.

-It usually doesn’t require salt, if needed you can check the taste and add accordingly.

-Add seasoning by heating oil, when mustard splutters add curry leaves and add this to the chutney.

-Enjoy either with white rice or like us with boiled rice (red rice) ganji and ghee.

Zucchini Chutney:

June 28, 2017

Zucchini, a member of gourd family is a popular summer squash, also known as courgette. Personally I like this spongy veggie and include this in so many Indian recipes.

Zucchini chutney is one of them and it is an excellent side dish for any Indian flat breads, Dosa, idly or Paddu.

Ingredients:

Zucchini – 1

Garlic – 8 – 10 cloves

Green chilies – 3 -4

Salt

Oil – 1 tbl spoon.

Coconut – 1 small cup

Raw mango or tamarind –If mango (2 “small piece) If tamarind (½ tsp).

Seasoning: Oil – 1 tsp, mustard – ½ tsp and curry leaves.

Method:

Wash, chop zucchini into pieces.

Take one small kadai; fry these pieces, garlic and green chillies by putting little oil until it wilts.
Switch off the gas, leave this for cooling.

When it cools down, add coconut, salt, either mango pieces or tamarind. Grind all this into a smooth paste by putting required amount of water.
If you want, add seasoning with mustard and curry leaves.

Basale chutney / Malabar Spinach chutney:

March 25, 2017

Malabar spinach is commonly known as Basale in our coastal area. It is a common creeping vein in the backyard of every household.

Its leaf is very rich in iron, fibre, antioxidants and vitamins and low in calorie. This chutney that I prepare is very delicious and finger licking good!! One can enjoy this as a side dish with hot rice or roti. Here I have used bird eye chilles which is commonly known as gandhari chillies. These are tiny, very hot chillies of our region.

Ingredients:

Basale leaves – 1 bowl (chopped)

Onion – 1 (chopped)

Garlic cloves – 4

Green chillies or bird eye chillies – 2 (as required)

Salt

Jaggery – 1tsp

Tamarind – ½ tsp

Oil – 1 tbl sp

Seasoning: Oil – 1 Tsp, mustard – ½ tsp, cumin – ¼ tsp and curry leaves.

Method:

Take little oil in a pan, add chillies, chopped onions,garlic and fry for a while.
When onion becomes light brown, add chopped basale leaves and fry until it wilts.

Add salt, jaggery, tamarind and cook for a while.
When it is done, switch off the gas.
Cool the mixture and grind this into smooth paste. If required add very little water.

Season with oil, mustard, cumin and curry leaves.

Mint- Coconut chutney:

February 12, 2017

In Mangalore, we have one very famous ice cream parlour called Pabba’s and they serve not only ice creams, but also really tasty snacks as well. Beauty of the Cutlet that they serve is mainly because of this coconut chutney which goes really well with their mixed vegetable cutlet, this recipe which I have posted earlier.

chutney3

Ingredients:

Coconut – 1 cup

Green chillies – 3to 4

Pudina/mint leaves – little

Coriander leaves – little

Garlic – 4 to 5 cloves

Salt

Oil – 1 table spoon

Tamarind – peanut size

Seasoning: – oil – 1 teaspoon, mustard – ½ Tsp, curry leaves – 1spring.

Method:

-Wash; chop Pudina, coriander and chillies.

-Take one small kadai; fry these chopped items and garlic, by putting a little oil until it wilts, put grated coconut and fry for 2 minutes. Then switch off the gas.

-When it cools down, add tamarind, salt and grind this into a smooth paste by putting required amount of water.

-If you want, add seasoning with mustard and curry leaves.

cutlet10

-Serve this with mix vegetable cutlet and enjoy your snack.