Coriander/Cilantro Coconut Chutney

Here is a simple recipe for a coconut based chutney from my day to day cooking. This chutney brings out the flavor of cilantro/coriander and is a great accompaniment for idli's and dosa's.

Ingredient:
1 bunch coriander (approximately 3 cups, loosely packed)
2 tblsp urad dhal
2 red chillies/green chillies
1 inch ginger
4 tblsp shredded coconut(fresh or frozen)
1 small marble size tamarind (1/2 tsp tamarind paste)
salt as required.
Tempering
1 tblsp sesame oil(or any oil)
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp urad dhal

Method
In a pan add 1 tsp of oil and fry the urad dhal till golden brown.Keep aside.
In the same pan slightly fry the red/green chillies and ginger.
Reduce the heat to low and the stir in the roughly chopped coriander/cilantro leaves for about a min or until wilted.
Grind everything along with coconut and tamarind to a smooth paste.

For tempering .
Add a tblsp of sesame oil in a pan.When its hot add the mustard and urad dhal.When the mustard pops switch off the stove and mix in with the chutney.

Notes:
If using frozen coconut, defrost in microwave for 2 mins and then grind using some luke warm water.
Equal parts of mint and coriander can also be added to make mint coriander chutney.
Do not cook the coriander leaves for more time, stir in low heat just until they are wilted ( just a minute or less).I usually do this after switching off the stove.

Linking this chutney to Julie's " Herbs and spices event " at Erivum puliyum where this months theme is coriander - cumin .

Cilantro Yoghurt Dip

I started using this dip as a basic sauce for my pita bread sandwich.We liked it so much that nowadays I prepare this as a dip for any type of North Indian (Samosa, Aloo tikki, Pakora...) or South Indian snacks( Bhajji, Pakoda, Chilli gobi...). Its also a great way to finish off any leftover sour cream in the refrigerator, which is a nice alternative to yoghurt.

Ingredients:
2 cups Cilantro/Coriander leaves tightly packed.
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup of thick yogurt/sour cream
1 green chilli *
1 tsp Jeera/cumin seeds.
1 tblsp lemon juice.

*Increase or decrease the amount of green chillies as per your spice level.

Method:
Add all the ingredients to the blender and grind it to a smooth sauce.
Serve with your favorite snack.

Sending this delicious dip over to The Big Chutney Chow Down At  Priya's Now Serving and
The Ep- series : Herbs and Spices at Erivum Puliyum where this months theme is Cilantro and cumin.


Before ending this post I want to thank Asiya Omar for passing on this beautiful award to me
I love both her blogs in tamil and in english full of authentic recipes.

Thanks Asiya for thinking about my blog :)
I would like to pass it on some of the other wonderful bloggers that I recently came across..

Shobha Shyam of  Good Food 
Maha of  Maha's lovely home
Anu of Hot Pot Cooking
The South Indian Home
Suja Manoj at Kitchen corner 

Instant Idli Milagai podi / Chutney powder.

It started raining here today, but a little warmer than usual.Weather prediction says it even more warmer in the weekend 8C or 9C quite unuusal for this time of the year. But its really good to go shopping as January is the official sale month over here at Brussels :)

I was little bit down  this morning  partly because of the dark , no sunshine weather and also because of my new 'trying to peek out ' wisdom tooth. Have been having a hard time with that and on antibiotics and pain killer for the past few days. Since Iam taking all these medicines I wanted to have good breakfast not the usual bread and stuff. I had a few laddles of left ove Idlibatter ,but was too lazy and tired to make a chutney, and ironically I ran out of Idli podi.  Then this method of making simple Idli podi , that Amma makes often whenever she faces the same situation came to my mind.  During schooldays I used to just make this for mysellf even if there is sambhar or chutney on the table. 

Its a tip rather than a recipe. Even my husband who does'nt like the regular Idli podi (can you beleive it !!)  loves this version.

Here you go.

Ingredients:

Sambhar powder 2 tblsp

3 pods of Garlic

salt 

Gingelly/sesame oil

Home made Sambhar powder like the one here at Cilantro's works best. I think almost all South Indian home will have a jar of this. I get a big bag of this from Amma whenever I travel abroad.

Take 2 tblsp of sambhar powder in a small  bowl.

To this add 2 -3 pods of Smashed Garlic.

Add 1/2 tsp of salt. Add 2 table spoon of Gingelly oil (must).

Mix well, Let it sit for about 5 mins.

Note:

Do not chop or grind the garlic, it gives a bitter taste.

Do not dip the Idli /Dosai into it, unless you like it very very hot. Just a touch of it is enough to enjoy the goodness.

Let me know what you think .

Red Bell Pepper Chutney with Peanuts and Idli's with Black Urad dhal

Well, Spring has officially started this month over here. Along with blooming flowers it has brought pollen allergies and some typical spring viruses causing the seasonal flu. My home has been hit with them all one after another and we all are recovering in a slow pace. While there is regular cooking and experimenting with food done in my kitchen as always, there's not much time to relax and take a few pictures to blog about it.
Today I realised that its been almost two weeks since I made a post and decided to get to it. So here's the most famous breakfast of all time - 'Idli' with a twist to give an extra dose of fibre and a fiery red chutney to go with it.
Couple of weeks back when I was cleaning my kitchen shelves, I saw a packet of long forgotten black urad dhal. I remember buying them during my first visit to the Indian stores over here. Since I could not find any white urad dhal there, I grabbed a packet of these in a desperate mode to make Idli's that weekend. But later that week I somehow got the Urad dhal from an other store and these black ones were moved back to the far corner of the shelf. This time when I found them, I decided to try Idli's with it. Unlike the regular ones, this has to be soaked for a longer time, atleast over night to get a smooth consistency of the batter.
There is not much difference in taste and obviously it becomes more healthy and rich in fiber.

For the Idli's:
Ingredients:
4 cups of Boiled rice/Idli rice
1 cup Whole black urad dha;
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
salt as required


Method:
Soak rice and whole Bback urad dhal along with fenugreek seeds , seperatly over night.
Grind the urad dhal first to smooth consistency, and then grind the rice in three batches.
Mix them well in a vessel, along with required salt and allow it to ferment for 8 - 10 hrs.
It took 16 hrs for me, here, to get the batter right.
Pour the batter to the Idli trya and steam in the pressure cooker (without weight) for 10 mins in medium heat.

Red Bell Pepper Chutney


Ingredients:
 1 Red Bell Pepper
2 tblsp split urad dhal
3 red chillies
1 inch piece of tamarind
handful of roasted peanuts


Method:
Dry roast the urad dhal and red chillies.
Add a tsp of oil to the pan and stir fry the chopped bell pepers for about 4 mins.
Add all ingredients to the mixer and grind till smooth.


Seasoning:
Add a tsp of mustard ,1 tsp of urad dhal and curry leaves to a tsp of hot oil and pour it over the Chutney. Serve with Idli/Dosai.

The chutney is not as fiery as it looks but it sure tasted heavenly. Adjust the amount of redchillies as per the variety and taste.

Kodhumai/Wheat Rava/Cracked wheat Uppuma and Coriander-Peanut Chutney

This is a very simple and filling meal which makes its way in to my kichen atleast once a week. Usually I make this uppuma for dinner whenever I make sambhar for lunch, so that I need not put extra effort for making any chutneys.Sambhar and wheat rava uppuma are a classic combo. But yesterday for a change I made this coriander - peanut chutney to go with this delicious uppuma, which equally tasted good.
Change is always good right..

Wheat Rava Uppuma

Ingredients:

Wheat rava/cracked wheat - 2 cups

water - 4 cups

1 tsp mustard seeds

1tsp urad dhal

1 tsp channa dhal

1 tsp chopped ginger

2 green chillies, slit

1 medium onion chopped

few curry leaves

Method

Dry roast the Rava in a pan without oil i medium flame for atleast 10 mins

(Do not avoid this step , as it reduces the raw smell of the wheat a lot)

Heat a tblsp of oil in a non stick pan/kadai.

Add the tempering ingredients mustard, urad dhal, channa dhal and curry leaves when the oil is hot.

When the mustard pops add the onion , chillies and ginger, fry till onion turns translucent

Now add the water and salt to taste.Close with a lid and allow it to boil.

When the water is boiling, slowly add the wheat rava and stir well. Reduce the flame to medium , close with a tight lid and cook for 10 mins.

Stir well, reduce the flame to very low, close with a lid and cook for another 10 mins.

Coriander peanut chutney:

Ingredients:

1 bunch of coriander leaves

1 handful of mint leaves(optional)

1/2 cup of roasted peanuts

2 green chillies

1/2 tsp tamarind paste

1 garlic pod

Method:

Grind all the above ingredients with the required amount of salt

Make the tempering with mustard , urad dhal, curry leaves and pour over the chutney.

Stir well and serve.

Pudina Thogaiyal / Mint Chutney

This is one of my all time favorite from my mothers chutney list. Though I have tried many a number of times to make this, the taste is nowhere close to what she makes. She used to make this and bottle it for my father who travels often.The surprising part is that even though the recipe calls for a piece of coconut, the chutney will not go bad for about 8 hours (without refrigeration) which makes it an excellent partner for Idlies during day time travel. But the secret involved here is never use your hand whatsoever at any stage of preparation.

Since this months Jhiva an event started by Indira of Mahanadi is for 'Mint' what better than this delicious Mint chutney.

This months Jhiva is hosted by Ashwini of 'Spicy Cuisine'

Ingredients:

1 bunch of mint.

1/2 bunch of coriander leaves.

1/2 cup of urad dhal.

3- 4 green chillies.

1 small ball(marble size) of tamarind or 1 tsp of paste.

1 inch piece if ginger.

2 strips of coconut / 5 tblsp of shredded coconut.

Method.

Heat up a pan and fry the urad dhal.(do not add oil).

Once the dhal turns brown, add the chillies, ginger and tamarind and fry for few seconds( If using tamarind paste do not add at this stage).

Switch of the stove and add the mint and coriander leaves to the pan and give it a stir till the leaves shrinks.

Allow it to cool and grind it coarsely along with coconut by adding little water .

Tempering:

Normally for all chutneys , the tempering is added to the chutney.But in this case its the reverse.

In a pan do the tempering with mustard and urad dhal, and add the chutney to it.

Switch off the stove once the chutney starts giving out bubbles and ready to boil.

Serve it with Idlis, dosas, adai or puri's