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

Minty Couscous

Posting the recipe for the minty couscous that I made the other day along with stuffed tomatoes.This is my first attempt on couscous. I prepared it just like rava kichadi using bell peppers, except that I used olive oil instead of ghee. The result was not disappointing.
I think it goes along great with coconut chutney, but I was already tired preparing and clicking my tomatoes, we decided to just have it on its own, with stuffed tomatoes on the side.

Ingredients:
1 cup couscous
1 medium onion sliced
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 medium bellpepper sliced
1 green chilli slit
1 cup chopped olives(optional)
a hand full of mint leaves

Method. In a pot, add the olive oil. When its hot add the garlic, onion and gren chili.Fry till opaque. Add the bellpeppers ,salt and fry well. Add 2 cups of water, throw in the mint and olives, close and allow it to boil. When the water is boiling , add the couscous and stir well. Close with a lid , simmer and cook for 10 minutes


Note

• We can also add some tomatoes and peas and other vegetables as per taste
• It does not stick like Rava, so need not worry about lumps.
• Amount of water may differ depending on the brand of couscous we use.

Off this goes to Ammalu's kitchen for the Herb Mania - Mint