Green Tomato Pachadi Andhra Style

One of my friends suggested that I should try a chutney using green tomatoes. Until then I had never really used green tomatoes to cook and I wasnt sure of the taste either. But having once tried the chutney I promptly bought more of it and made it again the next week. Its going to be one of my go to chutneys since its easy to put together and less on fat.
Green tomatoes impart a very tangy flavour which needs to be balanced. I used fenugreek seeds for that reason.

Green Tomato Pachadi Andhra Style

Servings: 1 cup
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 30 mins (including cooling time)

Ingredients

1 Big sized Green tomato
1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds
2 tsp Urad dal
3 Green chillies
2 Red chillies
4 tsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
Few Curry leaves
Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Heat 3 tsp oil in a heavy bottomed vessel or wok. 
2. Add the fenugreek seeds and urad dal and fry till the urad dal gets lightly browned
3. To this add the cut tomatoes, salt, green chillies and red chillies and saute till the tomatoes turn mushy.
4. Once cooled, grind the cooked tomatoes but not to a fine paste. 
5. Temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Cranberry Spicy Chutney

This weekend we went to the Farmer's Market to get our weekly supply of veggies. It was a fun trip with the M-I-L who is visiting us but the scorching sun created a meltdown situation. I love the sights of a market but this year I thought we saw more plant saplings for sale than vegetables. I could be wrong but a lot of variety was missing. We got the usual beans, capsicum, tomato kind of stuff but nothing more spectacular. I started to load the fridge when we got back and thats when I discovered a quarter of a bag of cranberries lying there at the bottom, out of sight. Cranberries are strange things. I bought them with the fond hope of using them for baking but quickly developed a dislike for the sourness it brings to any dish. So I ate them with my cereal a few times and generally forgot about the few left over. To my surprise, 6 months after buying them and not freezing them, they were still fresh in the fridge! I decided to use it up the very next day and started to hunt out recipes.

I found one chutney recipe using the Microwave in Julie Sahni's Microwave Moghul but wasnt convinced that the sourness would be lost. So I decided to try my own method of making this chutney and it did turn out tasty. The only thing I would change would be to increase the green chillies and not use lime. The chutney is very slightly sour but nothing to turn away from. This chutney tastes good with Idlis and Dosas but comes out on top as a sandwich spread. I mixed it with plain white rice and thought it was very well suited for that too! So here is the recipe for it with the changes incorporated.

Cranberry Spicy Chutney

Servings: 1 cup of chutney
Prep Time: 10 mins   Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

1/2 cup Cranberries (I used fresh and am not sure about using frozen for this recipe)
1 Medium sized Onion
3-4 Garlic pods
1 inch piece Ginger
1 tsp Cumin seeds
10 green chillies (or more depending on how hot the chillies are)
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Red Chilli powder
Salt to taste (a little extra to beat the sourness)
Bunch of Coriander leaves
4 tsp Oil
1 cup Water

Instructions

1. Cut the onion into big pieces.
2. Wash the cranberries.
3. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the cumin seeds to it.
4. Add in green chillies when the cumin seeds start to sputter. Fry for half a minute.
5. Add the onions and fry till translucent and then add the ginger and garlic and fry for another minute.
6. Now put in the cumin powder, coriander powder and chilli powder and mix well in the pan.
7. Add in the cranberries and toss it with the rest of the ingredients.
8. As the cranberries start heating up they pop and start oozing the juice. Add 1/4 cup water into the pan to prevent over browning of the mixture.
9. Cook the contents over medium flame turning it once in a few minutes.
10. Add in chopped coriander leaves and continue to cook.
11. I cooked this mixture for around 30 minutes after adding the cranberries and made sure that there was water in the pan at all times.
12. Allow the mixture to cool and then grind it to a smooth paste.
13. Serve with idlis, dosas, sandwich, chapati or rice, garnished with coriander leaves.

Tomato Chutney Without Coconut

A Tamilian friend of mine makes the most amazing idlis in the world. I havent eaten better idlis in restaurants or even at home (hope the mother and the in-law dont see this). Dinner in her house is anything but rice and usually it would be what I would consider breakfast. With idli being a staple there, many of our casual visits in the evening would progress into an offer to feast on them. With the matter of what-will-they-think having been let go of, it would be promptly agreed to. The hubby is a die-hard idli fanatic. The idlis from her kitchen are always accompanied by chutney and sambhar. On one such an occasion I chanced upon a chutney which would go on to become a mainstay in my kitchen. The tomato and onion chutney is one of the healthiest chutneys that you could make. And the taste is pure bliss but what else can one expect with tomatoes and onions in it. Plus it has the advantages of minimal oil and no coconut! The only drawback I see with it is that it does require some time to cool before grind as you will read later. But that's only because the blades of the blender would spoil if blending hot stuff. If you can manage those 10-15 minutes of time then you have a winner.
I love this chutney and can eat it with anything. Try it and you will not regret!

Tomato Chutney without Cococnut

Serving: 3/4 cup
Prep Time: 10 mins  Cook Time: 30 mins (which includes 15 minutes for cooling)

Ingredients

2 Tomatoes (medium sized)
1 Onion (medium sized)
3 tsp Coriander seeds
2 Green chillies
2 tsp Oil

For Seasoning

2 tsp Oil
5-6 Curry leaves
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal

Instructions

1. Chop the onions and tomatoes rough since they would be ground later. No need to cut the chillies. 
2. Heat 2 tsp of oil in a heavy bottommed pan on medium-high heat. 
3. Add onions, green chillies and coriander seeds and saute till the onion turns transluscent.
4. Now add in the tomatoes and saute till they are tender but not fully cooked.
5. Allow the mix to cool completely before grinding it. 
6. In the same heavy bottomed pan heat 1 tsp of oil on medium-high heat and add the mustard seeds.
7. Once the seeds splutter, add in the urad dal and curry leaves and let fry for 10 seconds. 
8. Add the ground mix into the pan and sautee for another 6-8 minutes.
9. Serve with idlis, dosas, chapathi or any kind of Rotti. Rice mixed with this chutney and eaten is also yummy. 

Groundnut Chutney

This is another type of chutney which is again not low calorie. It uses ground nuts!

What you need to make Groundnut chutney

• Groundnuts - 1 small cup
• Red chillies - 4
• Tamarind - a very small ball
• Coriander - 2-3 strands
• Salt
• Mustard - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch

Preparation for making Groundnut Chutney

• Dry roast the groundnuts till they turn a little browner than they are. You might also want to get rid of the skin if you like.

Method to make Groundnut Chutney

• Put groundnuts, red chillies, tamarind, coriander and salt into a mixer/grinder and make it into a fine paste.
• Take oil in a pan, add mustard seeds to this and the asafoetida. After the mustard seeds splutter and split, season the ground paste with this.

My fundas

• Some people don't like to season chutneys. This is optional and you dont lose out on much taste if you just put the mustard with the rest of the ingredients while making the paste.

Coconut Chutney (1)

You might be intrigued by the 1 in braces/brackets. Well, honestly whoever knows of one way of making any chutney. Everyone from my grandma to my mom and my grandmom-in-law to mom-in-law have their own tips and tricks to make Chutney. Chutney is the most preferred side dish for any snack in South India. Its easy to make and can kindle your taste buds because each is different from the other. The versatality also ensures that you can make it low calorie by not even putting coconut. (Will give you one such recipe soon). But today its going to be Coconut chutney the way my mom-in-law (aunty to me) makes it.

What you need to make Cocunut Chutney

• Coconut - 1/2
• Red Chillies - 4
• Tamarind - A very small ball
• Coriander - 2-3 strands
• Mustard - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch

Preparation for making Coconut chutney

• Grate the coconut

Method to make Coconut chutney

• Put grated coconut, red chillies, tamarind and coriander into a mixer/grinder and make it into a fine paste.
• Take oil in a pan, add mustard seeds to this and the asafoetida. After the mustard seeds splutter and split, season the ground paste with this.

My fundas

• Some people don't like to season chutneys. This is optional and you dont lose out on much taste if you just put the mustard with the rest of the ingredients while making the paste.

Regular chutney

You know when you go into a South Indian restaurant and you order Dosa or Idli and it is accompanied by all the colourful paste-like stuff. Thats what is Chutney! Chutney is a Robin to every dish thats Batman :). It accompanies many snacks and savouries and makes a meal more delightful. To top it all, it is one of the easiest Indian dippings to make.

Here I will give you the recipe for a regular all purpose chutney

What you need to make Chutney
Hurugadle 100 gms
1 small ball of tamarind
1/4 coconut
1 string of coriander
salt to taste
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp of asafoetida (optional)
1 tsp of oil