Inji Puli(Ginger Tamarind Chutney)

A long pending post and the most asked recipe.I very often make this inji puli at home and stock it in fridge.It is basically a recipe from the Palakkad Brahmin cuisine and a common one in their weddings.I look forward to it whenever I get to attend their weddings!They chop the ginger and green chillies into small pieces and add it to the recipe but this recipe varies slightly in texture as I prefer to grind the ginger and green chillies to a fine paste before adding it to the recipe.Enough of blah blah blah...Here is the recipe...

Makes a small jar(around 60-70 gms)

preparation time:20 minutes

Ingredients:

Peeled ginger-50 gms

Green chillies(medium spicy)-5

Tamarind extract- from Big gooseberry  size or 35 g

Sesame oil or gingelly oil-5 tbsp

mustard seeds-1 tsp

Asafoetida or hing-1 tsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Jaggery-2 tbsp

salt-  as required

Procedure:

1. Peel the ginger and cut in to cubes.Soak the tamarind in 1/4 cup of water.

2. Grind the green chillies and the ginger in to a fine paste by adding a little water.

3.Heat a wok and add the oil and mustard seeds.Once it splutters add the ginger and chilli paste.Mix well .

4. Add asafoetida ,salt,turmeric powder and the tamarind extract.Mix it well and simmer the flame.
Close the wok with a lid and cook till the oil separates from the mixture.

5.Add the jaggery to the thokku and mix weel.Remove from the heat and once it cools down, store it in a clean and dry glass jar. Refrigerate and usea dry spoon.Yummy Inji Puli Thokku is ready to be served with curd rice. 

Tips:

*Increase or decrease the green chillies based on your spice level.
*Add more jaggery if you are sweet toothed.
*If the mixtures is not sauteed till the oil separates then you might get the raw smell of ginger and is not good for your tummy.

Beetroot Chutney/Beetroot Thogaiyal

Beetroot chutney is something new to me.My mom never used to make it as she is not a great fan of beetroot but she used to say that my paternal grand mom used to make chutney in beetroot as well as in carrot.It took me till now to even ask for this recipe.I had just one beetroot left in my fridge and could not make a stir fry or dal so ask my mom for the recipe and tried it . It came out quite yummy and is a great accompaniment for rotis or crispy dosas or plain hot rice.My son loved it as it had a pinch of sweetness from beetroot,tangy from the tamarind and a mild heat from the chillies.

Preparation time:20 mins

Serves:3

Ingredients:

Chopped beetroot-150 gms

Small onions/Pearl onions-12-15 no

Grated coconut -4 tbsp

Urad dal-1 tbsp

Toor dal/pigeon peas-1 tbsp

Dry red chillies-6 or 7( depending on your spice level)

Tamarind paste-1 tsp

Asafetida or Hing -1 tsp

Oil-1 tsp(optional)

Procedure:

1.Dry roast urad dal,toor dal,red chillies and tamarind(if not paste) till the lentils turn golden brown.

2.Heat a tsp of oil in a wok and saute the small onions and once they are transparent add the beetroots and a little water and cook the beetroot till its 3/4 th done.

3.Once the beetroot is cooked switch off the flame and add coconut to it and stir well.

4.After all the roasted ingredients have cooled down,add asafetida and salt to this beetroot mixture and  grind it in a mixer coarsely or finely based on your choice.Beetroot chutney is ready to be served with chappathi or idli/dosa or plain rice.

Tips:

* You can avoid onion if you wish.

* Grind the vegetables first and add the dal in the end of the grinding process to get a coarse chutney .

Inji Thogaiyal(Ginger Chutney)

Inji thogaiyal or Ginger chutney is one of my favorites.Everytime my mom makes I make sure I get a bigger portion of the Ginger chutney than everybody else because its spicy,tangy and ends with a mild sweet note. Ginger is very good for health and aids in digestion and even cures cold .It is essential to add ginger in our meal plan and is perfect for winter when there is a high possibility of catching cold.In our house we make Inji thogaiyal either as a sidedish for Andhra Pesarattu(green lentil dosa) or for rice along with coriander and small onion porichakootu.

Preparation time:20 mins

Serves:2

Ingredients:

Ginger -100 gms

Red chillies-1 or 2

Tamarind -one small gooseberry size

Toor dal/pigeon peas-1 tbsp

Urad dal/de skinned black lentil-1tbsp

Curry leaves-10 leaves

Hing/asafetida-1 tsp

Grated coconut-5 tbsp

Jaggery-2 tsp

Salt-to taste

Oil-1 tsp

Procedure :

1.Dry roast Toor dal,Urad dal,tamarind and red chillies till the dals turn light golden brown.

2.Then add a tsp of oil to these dal and add the chopped ginger and curry leaves .Saute till the ginger gets roasted well.

3.Once the ginger is done ,switch off the heat and add the coconut .Once all the ingredients cool down add salt,jaggery and asafoetida to this mixture and grind coarsely in a mixer.

4.Serve with green lentil Dosa or with plain rice and coriander small onion porichakootu or any kootu of your choice.

Tips:

*Roasting ginger well in oil (low flame)is necessary otherwise the raw spice was of ginger will be there in the chutney.

*You can roast dals and ginger separately if you wish.

* For thogaiyal, bring coarsely and if you want to serve with dosa as a chutney then grind finely.

Pudina thogaiyal/chutney (Mint chutney-I)

Mint Chutney with Upma Kuzhakattai

A mint chutney is always a yes at my home.Be it for idli or dosa or Pidi kuzhakattai or rice ,it goes really well and gives a refreshing taste.When the mixture is grinded coarsely it is called thogaiyal and when it is ground to a fine paste it is called chutney.Generally thogaiyal is had with plain rice and chutney is used with tiffen items.Whenever I recover from any illness and my tongue tastes bitter due to antibiotics ,my mom used to make this mint thogaiyal or chutney for me as it tastes good for that bitter tongue and you will be able to relish it.

Preparation time:20 mins 

Serves :2

Ingredients:

Mint leaves-1 small bunch

Tamarind - 1 small gooseberry size(I soak it before grinding so that it is made in to a fine paste in the mixer)

Urad dhal-1 1/2 tsp

Toor dhal-1 1/2 tsp

Red chillies -3(adjust according to your spice level)

Curry leaves-few

Hing- 1 tsp

Grated coconut-4 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Oil- 2 tsp

Procedure:

1.In a pan,heat a tsp of oil and roast urad dhal,toor dhal,red chillies and curry leaves till the dhals turn golden brown.keep it separately on a plate for it to cool down.

2.In the same pan add another tsp of oil and sauté the mint leaves(wash the mint leaves well and strain before sautéing).after it is sautéed add the grated coconut and hing and mix well and switch off the flame.

3.After all the roasted ingredients cool down add salt and soaked tamarind and grind them in a mixer to a fine paste for mint chutney .

4.For thogaiyal ,first grind the mint leaves,coconut ,red chillies,salt,tamarind to a fine paste.Add the roasted dhals finally and grind the mixer in pulse mode so that the dhals are grounded coarsely.

Mint Thogaiyal

Chatpata Green Chutney

Well,I like this green chutney for it tastes really chatpata and has a shelf life of one week when stored in fridge. Also it has multipurpose use in my kitchen. I used to love the sandwiches with green chutney which one of classmate bought for lunch at college. When asked for the recipe , she told me roughly that it has mint, coriander leaves, green chillies, onion and lemon juice.

A few years later, when I tried this at home, it was a real flop as it had some bitterness and no one liked it. So I dropped the idea of making these chutney sandwiches at home and ate it outside at food joints.

Few months ago, a neighbor of mine told that the chutney has more of coriander and only a few leaves of mint and then it striked me that I added more mint and less coriander when I tried for the first time. I had finally found the reason for its bitterness and raw taste. Once i corrected my ingredients the green chutney came awesome and everyone liked it a lot. Now, I make it often and store in the refrigerator. It is easy to prepare too. 

I make green chutney sandwiches. I also use this chutney as a side dish for idli or as a dip for chaat items (like cutlets,samosa, bhelpuri etc.) I also make instant coriander rice out of it. A spoon of this chutney when added to the white vegetable kurma also tastes heavenly. Here goes the recipe for my green chutney. Soon in the following week I will post how this green chutney can be used for lot of recipes mentioned above. 

Preparation time:5 mins

serves:2

Ingredients:

Fresh coriander leaves-1 small bunch

Green Chillies-3(my green chillies were super hot so i added 3,increase or decrease based on your need and chilli's heat)

Mint leaves-10 to 12 leaves

Tamarind -1 small gooseberry sized ball

Jaggery-1/2 tsp

Salt-to taste

Procedure:

1.Clean the fresh coriander and mint leaves and grind all the above mentioned ingredients in to a fine paste.

2.Store it in an air tight container and refrigerate for up to 5-7 days and use as needed.

3.Always use a clean and dry spoon to take the chutney.Otherwise the shelf life will be less.

4.Have it in a veg sandwich or as a dip or as a side dish for Idli/Dosa.