Pottukadalai, Dalia, Roasted Gram Chutney

          Though I haven't posted yet, the tomato chutney is one that I do most often as a side for idlis and dosas, since it's a favorite for both my husband and daughter. But sometimes, when I run out of tomatoes or I am running short of time, then it's this pottukadalai/ dalia or roasted gram chutney. No previous roasting or sauteing is required and you can do a couple of versions with it. Usually I do a combo of green chillies, ginger, roasted gram and a little coconut or dried red chillies, garlic, roasted gram and coconut. But for today's chutney I have used red chillies with ginger and have also added a couple of shallots. This chutney goes well with almost everything, both as a side to idlis and dosas and would also taste good if mixed with rice too..

Need To Have

• Roasted Gram - 4 tablespoons
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• Dried Red Chillies - 2
• Chopped Ginger - 1 tablespoon
• Shallots - 4
• Tamarind - a small marble size
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/ Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/8 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 5
• Salt to taste

Method

          Take the roasted gram, coconut, red chillies, ginger, shallots and tamarind and grind it all together along with the salt and some water, remove and keep.

          Heat some oil, add the urad dal and mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the asafoetida and curry leaves, mix for a couple of seconds, remove and add it to the ground roasted gram dal.

Note
You can add equal amounts of roasted gram and coconut, but I use less coconut to keep it healthy.
If you don't have shallots, use one small onion instead.
More or less chillies according to your tolerance level and also if you don't want, you can leave out the coconut completely.

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Kathrikkai Masial/ Mashed Eggplant

          For most of the dishes using eggplants/ brinjals I use only the baby eggplants, there are very few dishes that I make with the big eggplant. Today's kathrikkai masial/ mashed eggplant is one of them, it's very easy to prepare and both my husband and daughter love this. It goes very well as part of a South Indian Thali ( rice + sambar + vegetable ) or as a side dish with rotis/ chappatis and also with akki rotis/ flatbreads made with rice flour. The smoked flavor from roasting the eggplants and the tamarind juice added gives a unique taste to this dish..

Need To Have

• Big Eggplant - 1
• Thick Tamarind Extract - 2 tablespoons
• Urad Dal/ Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Onion - 1 small, chopped
• Green Chilly - 1, chopped
• Grated Ginger - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 5 - 10
• Salt - to taste

Method 

          Wash the eggplant and roast it on direct fire till the skin is completely charred. 

          Cool it, remove the skin and mash it ( I got 1 cup of pulp), add the tamarind extract and salt and mix it. 

          Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds and urad dal, when it starts spluttering, add the chopped onions, green chillies, asafoetida, ginger and curry leaves. 

          Saute it till the onions turn light pink in color, remove and add it to the mashed eggplant and give it a mix.

Note

You can use the Italian eggplants for doing this.

You can toast the eggplant in the oven ( cut into half and bake or grill ) if you don't like the smoked flavor.

If you can't find tamarind, you can add a big chopped tomato ( sauteed), though tamarind gives a different taste.

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Coconut Onion Chutney

          Once again it's been a busy weekend, so it's going to be a simple dish, a chutney. Most of the South Indian tiffins like idlis, dosas, vadais, adais, almost everything is served with some chutney, the most common being the coconut and tomato chutney. This Coconut Onion chutney is a slight variation from the regular one, I have used shallots ( sambar onions) and it tastes very good with almost everything..

Need To Have

• Grated Coconut - 2 tablespoons
• Chopped Shallots - 3 tablespoons
• Chana Dal/ Bengal Gram - 1 tablespoon
• Dried Red Chillies - 2
• Tamarind - small grape size
• Curry Leaves - 15
• Asafoetida - 1/8 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Heat a little oil, roast the chana dal, when it's half roasted, add the red chillies, saute and remove the chillies. Then add the chopped shallots and saute till they turn pink, add the curry leaves, mix for a minute and remove. Cool and grind it with the coconut, tamarind, salt, asafoetida and a little water. Remove and serve.

Note
You can also use regular big onions instead of shallots, but shallots are always more tastier.
I haven't seasoned this chutney, but you can season it with some mustard seeds and urad dal.

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Coriander Chutney/ Green Chutney

          Chat Dishes are very popular in Indian Cuisine, it has it's origin in the northern states, but now popular throughout India and almost everywhere in the world. If you can find a Indian restaurant in your area, I am sure you'll find some kind of a chat in the menu. It's mostly served as a snack or an appetizer. Most often they are served with some chutneys, one of them is today's Coriander Chutney, this is also served as a side to the plain pappads. Can also use as a spread on sandwiches and keeps good for one week in the refrigerator..

Need To Have

• Chopped Coriander - 1 cup
• Chopped Ginger - 1 teaspoon
• Green Chilly - 1
• Capsicum Pieces - 1 tab
• Lemon Juice - 11/2 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Take all the ingredients in a blender and grind it adding a little water, well that's it.

Note
The lemon juice is added not only for tartness, but also to retain the rich green color, also I read that you can add a little oil to keep the color.
My friend makes it in bulk, stores in small containers in the freezer, the right amount for a meal, this way the chutney stays green and fresh.
For the above quantity, I got 1 small ramekin of chutney, which was more than enough for three of us for a meal.
Again the capsicum pieces is added for nice color, a tip from my friend.

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Mango Chunda/ Chutney

          Mango Chunda, a sweet and spicy chutney, I don't remember when I first tasted this, I think, I had it with some parathas at a friend's place. It's a Gujarati dish, traditionally served with theplas and parathas, and it's prepared with raw mangoes and has a sweet and spicy taste. While reading about it, I came to know, that the traditional way of making this, is really a lengthy process, where the grated mango is mixed with sugar and left to melt naturally under the sun, and then the spice powders are added. But I tried this easy version from Tarla Dalal's recipe collection, and the result was awesome. Now I have a small jar of it, which can be used for at least a year, that is, if it's not finished by then, a tasty accompaniment for any paratha or even as a spread on a slice of bread..

Need To Have

• Raw Mango -1 grated, came to 1 cup
• Sugar - 11/2 cups
• Red Chilly Powder - 2 teaspoons
• Roasted Cumin Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - 1 teaspoon

Method

          Add the turmeric powder and salt to the grated mango, mix well and leave it for 15 minutes.

          Then add the 11/2 cups of sugar, a little at a time, about 2 tablespoons, mix, leave for a minute or two and repeat, do this over a period of 30 to 35 minutes, till all the sugar is mixed with the grated mango.

          Heat a pan, add the mango mixture, keep stirring on low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, till the sugar is completely dissolved and it starts bubbling up. At this stage, switch off and cool it completely.

          Once it's cooled, add the chilly powder and roasted cumin powder and mix well. Store this in clean jars, in a cool dry place. We had it with some methi theplas.

Note
Don't dump all the sugar at once, doing it this way is supposed to replace the original method of leaving it in the sunlight to melt.
For roasted cumin powder, just roast some cumin seeds and crush it in a mortar or a blender.
The original recipe called for 3 teaspoons of chilly powder, I've reduced it to 2, since my chilly powder is very spicy, I would advise you to taste while mixing.
Though the chunda can be left outside in a cool, dry place, I have refrigerated it, can't trust the Chennai hot weather.

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Zucchini Chutney

          Hope everybody is having a relaxed weekend, of course many of us also have a lot of chores lined up for those two days. During the weekdays, most of the time we have some sandwich or cereal for breakfast, but on weekends I make something other than sandwich, today we had idlis for breakfast and I made this Zucchini Chutney to go with it. My daughter likes zucchini, especially she loves this chutney. If you leave out the seasonings, this chutney requires only three ingredients, and it goes very well with idlis, dosas or even with rotis..

Need To Have

• Zucchini - 2 cups, sliced
• Tomatoes - 1 cup, chopped
• Dried Red Chillies - 3
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/ Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/8 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 6 or 7
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Heat some oil, add the chillies, saute for a few seconds and remove them. Now add the zucchini pieces, keep sauteing till they start turning slightly brown on the edges.

          At this stage add the tomatoes and the  salt and keep cooking till the tomatoes turn mushy.

          Cool this and grind it with some water, but don't make it into a smooth paste, it should have some texture. Heat some oil, add the urad dal and mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering add the asafoetida and the curry leaves and switch off. Mix and add this to the chutney and serve.

Note
Always taste a small piece of each zucchini used, some of them taste very bitter and will spoil the entire dish.
The red chillies that I use are less spicy, use yours accordingly.

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Pudina Thogayal (Mint Chutney)

         There are days when you don't feel like eating anything heavy, you crave for something tangy and refreshing, this mint chutney here, is ideal for those days. Also pudina or mint is well known for its many benefits, good source of important minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous and also the vitamin C. Everybody has their own version of this chutney, I also add some ginger to this chutney which nicely compliments the flavor of mint..

Need To Have

• Fresh Mint Leaves - 2 cups
• Dried Red Chillies - 5
• Urad Or Black Gram Dal - 2 tablespoons
• Shallots - 5 chopped
• Chopped Ginger - 1 tablespoon
• Chopped Coriander - 1/4 cup
• Jaggery - 1/2 teaspoon
• Tamarind - small marble size

Method
          Heat a little oil, roast the urad dal and the red chillies, remove and keep. Add a little more oil, add the chopped shallots, saute till it turns transparent, then add the ginger, saute for a minute. Now add the mint leaves, saute till it wilts and the moisture from the leaves evaporates, finally add the coriander leaves, mix and switch off. Cool this and grind it with the roasted chillies, urad dal, jaggery, tamarind and salt. Goes well with plain rice and some sesame oil or ghee. Also tastes great with idlis, dosas and even rotis.

Sending it to Erivum Puliyum for Sangee's Show Me Your "Hits" - Iron Rich Foods event and
                to Simply.Food for Sara's Cooking With Love - Dad event.


Note
Don't grind it to a smooth paste, it should be slightly coarse.
The urad dal that we use in this chutney is without the skin.
Soak the tamarind in little warm water, this way it's easy to grind.

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Basil Pesto With Walnuts

       
          Basil is one of my favorite herbs, I just love it, be it fresh or dry. Like it as a topping on pizzas, or in a sandwich with cheese and tomatoes or in pasta and of course in the most delicious pesto. If you are not able to finish the fresh basil, the best way to use it is making a pesto with it. Pesto can be refrigerated safely at least for 2 to 3 weeks and can be used in the same way as fresh basil. You can use any nut of your choice like pine nuts, cashews, almonds or walnuts in it and the whole process takes about 10 mins..

Need To Have

• Fresh Basil - 1 cup (liquid measuring cup)
• Walnuts - 1/2 cup
• Garlic - 2 cloves chopped
• Olive Oil - 4 tablespoons
• Parmesan Cheese - 2 tablespoons grated

Method 
          In a food processor, first crush the nuts, then add the garlic and basil. Blend it for a few seconds, then add the oil and the cheese, blend for some more time till everything comes together. Remove and store it in the refrigerator. Use it as a spread on bread, or on pizza and in your pasta.

Note
I used only the leaves of the basil.
Adding salt is totally up to you, keeping it in mind that the cheese has salt in it.
Do not make a smooth paste, I used Kraft Parmesan Cheese Powder (reduced fat).

         Now for the awards that was passed on to me by my fellow bloggers, I should have done this long time back, but got postponed because of my laziness, but today I made up my mind to do this.



The Versatile Blogger Award has been passed to me again by Hemavathi, Chandrani, Viya, Lavanya and  Siris Food and Anjana.
The Leibster Blog Award from Chitra and Reshmi.

The Happy Blogger Award from Lavanya and the Inspirational Blog Award by Anjana.
     Thank you girls, please do visit their lovely spaces.
I've been tagged by Gayathri Anand of Kavithavin Kaivannam, thanks dear, the rules are as follows:
RULES:
1. Post the rules.
2. Answer the questions set for you in the tagger's post and create new set of eleven questions.
3. Tag eleven people and link to them on your post.
4. Let them know you have tagged them.

Now to my answers
1. Introduce yourself
   I am Hema, currently staying in the United States with my wonderful husband and lovely daughter, I am from Pondicherry in India.
2. What's your favorite hobby or how do you love to enjoy your time?
   I love reading.
3. When it come to blogging, how supportive are your family members?
   As supportive as they can be, lettting me to sit long hours with my laptop, and of course waiting for the food till I finishing clicking my pictures.
4. What's is your fav. food?
   That'll be a long list, nothing pops in my mind, it's like a whole cloud of things, so let me say it as, anything vegetarian, I am game for it.
5. What inspired you to create a blog?
   If I say browsing other blogs, I should have started at least 5 years back, but to tell you the truth, this blog got started in the spur of a moment, nothing was planned, but now it has become an integral part of me.
6. How do u feel while u get an award /Tags from other blogger friends?
   Of course, very happy.
7. Talk about food photography..do you judge a recipe by the photo posted by the bloggers? and when searching for a recipe in a search engine like Google, do you look for just recipe or look by images?
    A good photo is a feast for the eyes, but I never judge a recipe by the photo. When searching for a recipe, I would like to see a picture, because it would be nice to see how the final product looks.
8. Have you tried recipes from other bloggers? What's the result?
    Yes, and till now no regrets.
9. How happy you will be in getting a comment for your recipe?
    As anybody else, very very happy, the comments are what keeps me going.
10. How about taking part in events hosted by other bloggers?
    I love to, and have been taking part as much as I could.

Now I would love to tag the following friends, Julie, Lavanya, Sojo, Reshmi, Reena Vimesh, Srimathi, Rasi, Swathi Iyer, Menaga, Rosh, Radha.
Since I loved answering Gayathri's questions, I am going to pass on the same set of questions, I hope it's not a problem.

Now for the awards that I got for participating in events.

Got this lovely E- book from Teenz' Yummy Delights and Good Food's Favorite Award for the Just '4' Fun event.
And also participation awards from Preeti for her Color N Sweet - Holi Fest event and also featured once at Food Corner for the Midweek Fiesta event.


             
             This post has become way too long, but it has been pending for a long time, and I have to thank all my friends for showering me with these awards, I hope I have not missed any. Thank You All So Much!

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Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney And Awards

          The first time, I tasted chutneys using vegetable peels was at my friend's place, she usually makes this thogayal with the chow-chow (chayote) peels and I liked it very much. But for some reason, have never tried to make it at home, this is the first time ever, I made a chutney using the peeled skins of a vegetable. I had made a pachadi using the ridge gourd and suddenly it struck me that I should do a chutney with the peels. I added some peanuts for taste, and voilà, it was one yummy thogayal that tasted very delicious with rice and some gingelly oil..

Need To Have

• Ridge Gourd Peel - from one very long ridge gourd
• Peanuts - 1 tablespoon
• Chopped Coriander - 1/2 cup
• Urad Dal - 1 tablespoon
• Chana Dal - 1/2 tablespoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chilli - 1
• Green Chillies - 2
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Tamarind - a small marble size

Method
          Dry roast the peanuts and remove the skin and keep. In a little oil, roast the urad and chana dal, mustard seeds, red chilli and green chillies, remove and keep. Now add a little more oil, add the ridge gourd peels and saute for 10 mins, till the skin gets nicely toasted, finally add the coriander leaves, saute for a couple of more minutes, remove and cool. Grind this with all the roasted dals, peanuts, asafoetida and tamarind. Do not make a very smooth paste and add as very little as possible during grinding. Remove and serve as such.
Sending this to Now Serving for the Big Chutney Chow Down event and
                   to Spicy Treats for the Show Me Your Hits - Healthy Delights.

Note
Please use chillies according to your spice level.
If you want to have this with idlis and dosas, then make it slightly watery and season with some mustard seeds and urad dal and curry leaves.
For my Non-Indian readers, thogayal is a thick and slightly coarse version of a chutney.


          Coming to the awards, I got the Leibster Blog Award one more time, it was so nice of Julie to give me this one. She is one great fellow blogger who has never missed to encourage me with her wonderful comments. Do visit her blog Erivum Puliyum for some lip smacking recipes.

       
          The next one comes from Maha of Maha's Lovely Home, she has given me the Versatile Blogger award. I am always amazed at her stamina, she blogs almost every day, do check her blog for some great dishes.

The rules for accepting this award are:
1. Add the Versatile Blogger Award.
2. Thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
3. Share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
4. Include this set of rules.
5. Forward this award to 15 fellow bloggers, and inform them with a comment on each of their blogs.


Now, coming to seven random things about me:
1. I am a very straight forward person, it's really very hard for me to be otherwise, when the situation demands so.
2. I love reading books, it started with Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew and went on to John Grisham, Ken Follet, the list goes on.
3. Other than food blogs, I love to read about interior decoration and travelling.
4. I like visiting new places but I hate flying.
5. When I visit water parks and see others enjoying, I come out thinking, I am going to learn swimming soon, but that has never materialized.
6. I am a person of habit, prefer to start my day with my oatmeal (what I eat after that does not matter) and to sleep on my side of the bed.
7. My latest fascination is for cake decoration, I am amazed at what some of my blogger friends can do.


          And now, it's my turn to pass this award to 15 other fellow bloggers:
1. Sangee Vijay of Spicy Treats
2. Julie of Erivum Puliyum
3. Sobha Shyam of Good Food
4. Suchi of Kitchen Karma
5. Anu of Hot Pot Cooking
6. Poonam of Kande Pohe
7. Rasi of Vegetarian Food & Me
8. Vimitha Anand of My Culinary Trial Room
9. Reena Vimesh of Achu's Amma's Kitchen
10. Kalpana Sareesh of Life With Spices
11. Hemalata of Hema's Food
12. Chandarani of Cuisine Delights
13. Princy Vinoth of Spicy Food
14. Rekha Shobhan of Rekha's Recipe
15. Jeyashri of Jeyashri's Kitchen


         All of them are such excellent bloggers, they amaze me with their creativeness and versatility. Thank you guys for all those encouraging comments, which are my boosters to keep going. 





         

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Chow-chow Chutney

          When I make idlis, dosas or adais, I serve it with sambar, kurma or some kind of a chutney. Most of the times, I make the tomato chutney, it being the family's favorite. But in between, to break the monotony, I do try other kind of chutneys, made with different vegetables, chow-chow being one of them. For a change, I also added some sesame seeds, which really gave a nice taste to the chutney, try for yourself..

Need To Have

• Chow-chow Or Chayote - 1 
• Chana Dal - 2 tablespoons
• Urad Dal - 1 + 2 teaspoons
• Sesame Seeds - 1 + 1/2 teaspoons
• Dried Red Chillies - 2
• Curry Leaves - 15
• Tamarind - 1 small marble size
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon

Roasted Ingredients to Grind

Method
          Chop the chow-chow (it came to 1 cup ), soak the tamarind in little hot water to make it soft. Heat oil fry the chana dal, 1 teaspoon urad dal, dried red chillies and at the end add the sesame seeds, roast till they turn     golden, remove and cool. In the same kadai, add some more oil, add the chow-chow, saute at least for 7 to 10 mins, till it is cooked and changes color, add the curry leaves and saute for a couple of more mins. Grind this with the roasted dals, sesame seeds, chillies and tamarind. Finally, season the mustard seeds and the remaining
2 teaspoons urad dal and asafoetida in a teaspoon of oil and pour over the chutney. We had the chutney with some dosas, I think it would taste great mixed with rice too.

Sending it to Priya's Now Serving for the Big Chutney Chow Down event and
                to Sangee's Spicy Treats for the Show Me Your Hits - Healthy Delights event.

Note
Depending on how much chow-chow you get after chopping use more or less of the other ingredients.
By adding curry leaves while grinding makes sure that it's not thrown away which happens when you season with it, and also gives a nice flavor to the chutney.

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