Small Onion Chutney

This cutney goes excellent with any kind of dosa. I first had it at my friend S’s place and it was just awesome, got hooked to it.

Ingredients:

10 small red onions
1 tsp chilli powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil

Method:

1. Peel and chop the onions very finely.
2. Add salt and chilli powder.
3. Heat the oil and pour it over, mix thouroughly, slightly crushing with a spoon.
4. Serve with any dosa.

Iyengar Sambar Powder

My mom makes the absolutely best and delicious sambars and rasams! As in most Iyengar households, I grew up eating sambar almost everyday of my life! Ask any Iyengar, or even any Tamilian for that matter, they will tell you that sambar is not a single dish, but, every sambar is different depending upon the vegetables used, the way it is made, etc, etc. For us, Vendakkai sambar, Kathrikkai sambar, murungakkai sambar, vengaya sambar, aracha kuzhambu (kuzhambu = sambar), poricha kuzhambu, podi kuzhambu, vagera, vagera, each one of them is unique and different from the other! Such being the importance given to sambar in an Iyengar household, the best sambar recipes naturally come from there. Here I proudly present my mom’s sambar powder recipe. So far, I have not come across even a single person who did not love this sambar and have not asked for the recipe! So, here goes a family secret ;-)!

Ingredients:

1 cup dhaniya(coriander seeds)
2 cups dried red chillies
1/4 cup kadale paruppu (Channa dal)
1/4 cup Uzhutham paruppu (Urad dal)
1/4 cup venthyam (methi seeds)

Method:

1.Dry roast all the ingredients separately until they give a nice aroma. (The dals should just about start turning to a pale brown)
2.Let cool and dry grind everything together and store in an air tight container.
3.Stores well for a couple of months.

Coconut Chutney

Coconut chutney needs no intro. Its a very common accompaniment for most south Indian breakfast and snack dishes. But, dont underestimate the power of the chutney. Without the famous chutney, the dish to whose side it takes the place, wouldnt be the same anymore! Here’s an age old recipe from my kitchen to yours! Oh! yeah! I do watch Paula Deen!!

Ingredients:

Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
Geen chillies - 6 to 7 (for spicy chutney)
Hurigadale/Dahlia - 2 tbsp
Ginger - 1/4 inch piece
Tamarind paste - 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Salt to taste
Oil - 1/2 tsp

For seasoning:
Oil
Mustard
Jeera
2 Red chillies
Curry leaves

Method:

1. Heat half tsp oil, add green chillies and saute for a few seconds.
2. Add ginger, coriander and curry leaves and switch off heat.
(This is done just to take the raw smell out)
Add the above along with grated coconut and hurigadale/pottukadale/Dahlia, tamarind paste and salt and wet grind to desired consistency in grinder. (It is not very watery, but slightly thick like dosa or pancake consistency)
3. Take out, season and its ready to serve with any dish of choice.

Thothapuri Mavinakai/Mango Pickles

This is one of my favorite, mouthwatering Thothapuri Mavinakai Pickle!!! Thothapuri, also called as KiLi Mooku manga (’Cos, one end of the mango looks like parrot’s nose) in Tamil, is a kind of mango you get in Bangalore, probably in the neighboring places too, which kinda tastes a little sour and a little sweet and hence needs no marinating when used in dishes. Mavinakai , in Kannada simply means “Raw Mango”.

 Here in the US, ofcourse, there is no Thothapuri :-(, but, most varieties we get here, are not too sour, thereby can be a good substitute for the great Thothapuri!!! I live in a place where it is really hard to see some nice raw mangoes. But, last week, it was a pleasant surprise when I walked into my local Indian grocery shop to find some good ones. So, here goes my first recipe - Thothapuri Mavinakai Pickle!

Ingredients

1 Big Raw Mango
4 tsps chilli powder
1/4 tsp dry roasted methi powder
Salt to taste
1 cup water
4 tbsp Oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Pinch of Asafoetida (hing)

Method

1.Wash the mango and wipe it dry.
2.Chop the mango into smal,thin pieces.

3. Sprinkle salt.
4. Boil the water, add chilli powder, boil for a minute more and switch off. (This should be a soupy consistency, not watery, if its too watery, feel free to add some more chilli powder).Pour it over the chopped mango.

5. Sprinkle the methi powder on top.
6. Heat the oil, splutter mustard seeds, finally add asafoetida(hing) and pour over the mango.
7. Mix everything, adjust salt and spice, and its ready to eat.

Keep refrigerated. Actually, tastes more divine after a couple of hours of refrigeration.

If the mango is absolutely not sour, you can add some vinegar to this, gives the much needed sourness as well as helps to preserve longer!