PEANUT SESAME CHUTNEY POWDER

 PEANUT SESAME CHUTNEY POWDER

When we were young, in India "groundnuts" was more commonly used to identify this popular legume, called Moongphalli in Hindi, Verkadalai in Tamil and Kadalekayi in Kannada. Probably because of the American influence over the last few decades, they are being more commonly called peanuts in India as well. Technically, peanuts are part of the larger groundnut family. 

In my house, peanuts are always welcome. I use them often in my cooking as they are rich in protein and fat and have numerous health benefits as well. 

Elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes for dishes made with peanuts, such as:-

• Congress Kadalekayi (Roasted and Spiced Peanuts) 
• Tilli Phalli Shimla Mirch
• Verkadalai (Peanut) Sundal

Today's recipe is for an easy to make yet yummy dry chutney powder made with peanuts and sesame seeds. I have adapted this from Peanuts and Sesame Dry Chutney from Vinaya's Culinary Delights.

This goes great with bhakris, chapatis, etc 

Ingredients:-

• Peanuts, 1 cup
• Sesame Seeds (Til), 1/2 cup
• Garlic Cloves, 8-10
• Cumin Seeds,(Jeera),  1/4 tsp
• Chilli Powder, 1 and 1/2 tbsp
• Tamarind, pellet-sized, 
• Salt, to taste

Method:-

Dry roast the peanuts in a kadhai on medium/low flame till the peanuts pop and change colour
Allow it to cool and de-skin the peanuts. Keep aside.
Dry roast the sesame seeds till they splutter. Keep aside. 

Peel and lightly dry roast the garlic cloves. Keep aside.

Dry roast the cumin seeds for a few seconds

In a mixer jar, grind together the roasted ingredients: deskinned peanuts, sesame, garlic cloves, cumin seeds along with chilli powder, tamarind and salt to a coarse powder

Blend them well, using the mixer in short bursts in pulse mode. 

Please note that running it for long will result in the peanuts and sesame seeds giving off oil

Serve this chutney powder as accompaniment to bhakri, rotis, chapatis, etc 

Hints: 

• Don't blend the mixture to too fine a powder. It should preferably be slightly coarse
• You can vary the extent of red chilli powder depending on how hot or otherwise you like your chutney powder to be
• Dry roasting the garlic cloves before use is optional 

IDLI-DOSA CHUTNEY POWDER

 IDLI-DOSA CHUTNEY POWDER

With idli and dosa being perennial favorites in South Indian homes, there is always the need to have freshly made chutney and or chutney powder as accompaniments for them. 

There are many methods of making chutney powder at home. The ingredients vary from recipe to recipe.  Today's recipe is for an easy-to-make Chutney Powder using Urad Dal and Chana Dal. I normally use the less spiced Byadgi Red Chillies in all my cooking. I mention this because the number of red chillies we use for this Chutney Powder will depend on the type of chillies used, apart from your taste, of course. 

This Chutney Powder goes great with both idlis and dosas..

Please do try it out and I am sure you will like it as much as we do. 

Ingredients:-

• Urad Dal ( Black Gram Dal) , 3/4 cup
• Chana Dal ( Bengal Gram), 1/4 cup
• Byadgi Red Chillies, 12
• White Sesame Seeds , (Til) 2 tbsp
• Hing ( Asafoetida), pea-sized ball or Hing Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, 1 tsp

Method:-

 In a thick bottomed kadhai, heat 1 tsp of oil and on medium heat add the asafoetida and sauté till it becomes fragrant. Keep aside

In the same kadhai, roast the Byadgi Red Chillies till they become crisp. Keep aside.

Next roast the white sesame seeds till they change colour. Keep aside. 

Now roast the Urad Dal and Chana Dal separately till they turn slightly golden

Allow the roasted ingredients to cool

In a mixer jar, grind together the roasted red chillies, asafoetida, white sesame seeds and the roasted dals along with salt to taste to a coarse powder

Once the Chutney Powder cools completely transfer it to an airtight jar/container

Serve with idl-dosa with a dash of ghee or oil of your choice. I usually serve this with coconut oil.

CHUTNEY PUDI

CHUTNEY PUDI

In the South of India where we make idlis and dosas frequently for breakfast the use of Chutney Powders or Chutney Pudis (as they are locally called) as accompaniments for them is very common.

These days the modern consumer, at least in the urban areas, more often than not buys off the shelf Chutney Powders available in all department stores. I assume they do this mainly to save time and effort. However, there was a time when in most houses people made these Chutney Pudis themselves at home. The houses wafted with the aroma of the pudis being made. I remember we as children used to hang around the kitchen to grab a sample while the Pudi was being made.

There are many types of Chutney Pudis; the one made with Peanuts, Curry Leaves come most readily to mind but we also make using Garlic, Fenugreek etc etc. Elsewhere in this blog, you can find the recipes for Karibeva Chutney or Chutney Pudi made with Curry Leaves and Peanut & Garlic Chutney.

Today's recipe is for Chutney Pudi made with Dried Coconut or Copra, Chana Dal, Urad Dal, and spices. The measurements given yielded me with 2 cups of Chutney Pudi.

We usually have this Chutney Pudi along with ghee/oil as an accompaniment for idli/dosa etc.

Ingredients:-

• Copra or Dried Coconut, grated, 3/4 cup
• Byadgi Dried Red Chillies, 12-14, or to taste
• Chana Dal, (Bengal Gram), 1/2 cup
• Urad Dal, ( Black Gram Dal), 1/4 cup
• Mustard Seeds, 1/4 tsp
• Hing, (Asafoetida Powder), 1/2 tsp
• Tamarind, 1/4 cup, torn into pieces
• Curry Leaves, 1/4 cup
• Haldi (Turmeric) Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Jaggery, grated, 1 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, 1/2 tbsp

Method:-

Firstly, in a thick-bottomed kadhai dry roast the chana dal on medium flame for about 6-8 minutes stirring continuously till it changes colour and becomes slightly golden. Keep aside

Separately, in the same kadhai dry roast the urad dal on medium flame for about 5-6 minutes stirring continuously till it changes colour and becomes slightly golden. Keep aside.
Allow the dry roasted dals to cool, then grind them together in the pulse mode in a mixer jar to a coarse powder. Keep aside
Next, dry roast the copra or grated dry coconut lightly for a couple of minutes stirring continuously and keep aside
Heat oil in the kadhai and on medium heat add the mustard seeds

When the mustard seeds splutter add the asafoetida powder, saute for a few seconds then add the Byadgi Red Chillies, tamarind pieces, curry leaves and turmeric powder
Saute this for about 3 minutes stirring continuously
Allow this to cool and transfer to mixer jar and grind this to a fine powder
To this, add the coarsely powdered dals; grated jaggery; salt to taste, and roasted dry coconut and once again grind to blend them well
Allow the Chutney Pudi to cool and store it in air tight containers

DOSAI MILAGAI PODI

DOSAI MILAGAI PODI

This is adapted from the recipe by Chandra Padmanabhan whose cookery books I bought with interest years ago. She specialised in South Indian cuisine and I have tried out many of her recipes over time.  I am so proud that we are friends on Facebook and she has commented and liked some of my posts despite her busy schedule.

Since we often make idlis and dosas for breakfast, I found her "Dosai Milagai Podi" to be of much use. "Milagi Podi " (you may also hear this called "Molaga Podi") comes from Tamil and refers to this kind of chutney powder. This accompaniment for idlis and dosas is typically served with a dash of oil or ghee.

This recipe is from " Dakshin: Vegetarian Cuisine from South India."  It isn't difficult to make and it tastes great as well. This recipe makes about 2 cups of Milagai Podi.

Though many such powders are available from stores these days, I like to make them in my own kitchen. There's nothing like having your own home made chutney powder. Besides, the aroma in your kitchen as you make this will, I think, prove me right.

When stored in an air tight container and used with a dry spoon, this Podi can last for at least 1 month.

Ingredients:

• Peanuts, 1/4 cup
• Urad Dal, ( split black gram), 1/2 cup
• Chana Dal, ( split Bengal gram), 1/2 cup
• Asafoetida Powder, (Hing), 1/2 tsp
• White Sesame Seeds, (Til), 1/4 cup
• Grated Dry Coconut, (Copra), 1/2 cup.
• Oil, 2 tsp
• Dried Red Chillies, 1 cup * I used Byadgi chillies
• Salt, to taste
• Powdered Jaggery, 2 tbsp

Method:

In a pan, dry roast the peanuts and let it cool and then remove the skin. Keep aside.

In the same pan, first roast the urad dal and chana dals, stirring continuously till they become golden. Keep aside.

Next, roast the asafoetida powder, sesame seeds and the dry coconut separately, stirring continuously till they become fragrant

Now heat oil in the same pan and fry the red chillies over low heat tossing gently till they become crisp.
Allow the roasted/fried ingredients to cool . 

In a mixer, put together the roasted dals, asafoetida powder, sesame seeds and dry coconut along with the fried red chillies, roasted peanuts, salt, and powdered jaggery and grind to a coarse powder.
While grinding, use the mixer in short pulses so that the peanuts don't get overly crushed and you get a dry, coarse texture for the chutney powder
The dosai milagai podi is now ready. Allow this to cool and store in an air-tight container.