Pleasant looking, light orange tinted, healthy, flavoury chutney! Tempting to try n taste? Don’t wait…just go ahead and make it. Gives cool company to hot steamed rice, crispy dosas, soft idlis and rotis. Spread for sandwich…why not? Carrot, an excellent source of beta-carotene, high on nutrition, low on cholesterol thanks to its fibres, fills your tummy even though you don’t eat too many.

Dish Type:  Side Dish

Preparation Time:  10 min

Cooking time:  10 min

Serves:  4 persons

Ingredients

For boiling/cooking:

Carrot                          2 nos. (medium size)

Tamarind paste           ¼ tsp

Salt to taste                 ½ tsp (approx..)

For dry frying:

Black gram                  2 tsps

Green chillies              2 nos.

For grinding:

(Dry fried) Black gram and green chillies

Raw coconut grated    ½ cup

(Boiled /cooked) grated carrot

For seasoning:

Oil                               1 tsp

Mustard seeds           ½ tsp

Black gram                  ½ tsp

Red chillies                  2 nos.

Curry leaves                ½ sprig

Asafoetida                   A pinch

Directions

Wash carrot, peel the skin and grate it.  Boil the grated carrot along with tamarind paste and salt for about 10 min. Drain out the water and let the vegetable cool. Store this drained nutritious water in a container and resuse some of it later for grinding. Rest of it can be used the same day for making soup, sambar, rasam etc.

While carrot is getting cooked, roast black gram and green chillies in a kadai till black gram turns golden brown.

Grind these coarsely with raw grated coconut and later again with boiled carrot to a coarse consistency. Transfer all of the contents to a bowl. Don’t forget to reuse the drained water at this stage.

For seasoning, heat oil in a small skillet. When oil is heated, add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add black gram, broken red chillies and curry leaves. Switch off the burner. Immediately add asafoetida and pour it over the chutney.

Carrot chutney is now ready.

Note:

Carrot is generally thought of as being orange in colour. But there are purple, red, white and yellow carrots too.

Orange carrot gets its colour from beta carotene, an organic compound. Human body converts this to vitamin A which is needed for healthy skin and mucous membranes, better immunity, healthy eyes and vision.

Tip:

Soak carrot sticks in hot water spiced with red chilly powder, coriander seeds and salt. Let it cool. Drain and serve. A striking change from the conventional salad!

No tomatoes, no coconut….wow thank these onions. This spicy red faced chutney loves to give company to idlis, dosas, chapathis and is an equally good friend of hot rice too!

Dish Type:  Side Dish

Preparation Time:  10 min

Cooking time:  10 min

Serves:  4 persons

Ingredients

For dry frying:

Roasted gram             1 tbsp

Red chillies                  10 nos.

For sauting:

Oil                               1 tsp

Onions                         5 nos. (medium size)

Turmeric                     A pinch

Tamarind paste           ¼ tsp

Salt to taste                 1 tsp (approx.)

For grinding:

All of the above

Jaggery                        1 tbsp

Raw grated coconut    1 tbsp (optional)

For seasoning:

Oil                               1 tsp

Mustard seeds            ½ tsp

Red chillies                 1 no.

Curry leaves               1 sprig

Directions

Peel the skin of onions, cut them into cubes and keep aside.

Heat a medium sized kadai. Dry fry roasted gram and red chillies for 2 to 3 min.

Transfer it to a plate. When it cools, grind it coarsely.

In the same kadai, heat a tsp of oil. Saute onions. While sauting, add turmeric, salt and tamarind paste. Continue to saute till the onions turn transparent and light brown in colour.

Switch off the burner. Let the onions cool. Add these shallow fried onions, raw coconut and jaggery to the roasted gram powder in the mixie and continue grinding till they blend well to a smooth mix.

For seasoning, heat oil in the same kadai. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add broken red chilly and curry leaves. Now add the ground chutney and saute for a while till the raw smell of onions disappear. Transfer them to a bowl.

Onion chutney is now ready.

Also view “Beetroot Chutney”, “Chayote Chutney”, “Palak (Spinach) Chutney”, “Ridge Gourd Chutney”, “Raw Banana Chutney”, “Carrot (Gajar) Chutney”

South Indians relish these chutneys traditionally mixing with steaming rice and ghee/coconut/til oil, but they can also be paired with dosas, idlis and starters too.

Dish Type: South Indian Side Dish 

Preparation Time: 10 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Serves: 5 persons

Ingredients

Ridge gourd                1 no. (about 10” long)

Black gram dhal          2 tsps

Green chillies              3 nos.

Tamarind paste           1 tsp

Raw coconut grated    ¼ of a coconut

Coriander leaves         1 cup

Salt to taste                 1 tsp (approx.)

For seasoning

Mustard seeds                        1/2 tsp

Asafoetida                   A pinch

Curry leaves                Few

Directions

Wash ridge gourd. Peel the skin and chop the gourd into small pieces.

Transfer this to a vessel. Add tamarind, slit geen chillies, salt and little water to this. Let it boil for 5 to 7 min. till the gourd pieces turn soft.

Drain the water and let the contents cool. Keep the water for later use.

Now grind the above contents in a mixie together with raw grated coconut and coriander leaves to a not so smooth consistency.

Transfer it to a bowl. The drained water can now be used to remove the remaining contents in the mixie jar.

For seasoning, heat a tsp of oil in a kadai on low flame. When heated add mustard seeds. When it crackles, add curry leaves. Switch off the burner.

Now add asafoetida immediately and pour this seasoning over the ground mixture in the bowl.

Ridge gourd chutney is now ready.

Note: Chutney can also be prepared using the skin of ridge gourd. So, preserve the peels and try doing it following the same procedure as mentioned above.

This is a very simple recipe, colourful, yummy side dish and an ideal accompaniment with hot rice, dosas and rotis.

Dish Type:  Side Dish

Preparation Time:  10 min

Cooking time:  10 min

Serves:  4 persons

Ingredients

Beetroot                      1 no. (small size)

Green chillies              2 nos.

Black gram                  2 tsps

Red chillies                  2 nos.

Tamarind paste           ¼ tsp

Raw coconut grated    ½ cup

Salt to taste                 ½ tsp (approx..)

Directions

Wash beetroot, peel the skin and grate it.  Boil the grated beetroot along with tamarind paste and salt for about 10 min. Drain out the water and let the vegetable cool. Store the drained water in a container and resuse it the same day for making soup, sambar, rasam etc.

Roast black gram and green chillies in a kadai till black gram turns golden brown. Grind these coarsely with raw grated coconut and then again with boiled beetroot to a coarse consistency.

For seasoning, heat oil in a small skillet. When oil is heated, add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add broken red chillies. Switch off the burner. Immediately add asafetida and pour it over the chutney.

Beetroot chutney is now ready.

Also view in this blog “Beetroot Sambar“

Palak Chutney is a Side Dish that is generally used along with Starters as well as Main Course.

 Dish type: Side Dish

Preparation time: 15 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Serves: 4 persons

Ingredients

Spinach                       2 bunches

Green chillies              2 nos.

Raw grated coconut    2 tbsp

Tamarind paste           ½ tsp

Salt to taste                 ½ tsp approx.

Water                          250 ml.

For seasoning

Ghee/Clarified Butter  1 tsp

Red chilly powder       A pinch

Directions

Separate palak leaves from the sticks. Wash them thoroughly.

Boil water and into the boiling water put palak leaves, green chillies, salt, tamarind paste and sticks of coriander leaves. Cover with a lid and leave it for 5 mts. Switch off the burner. Drain out the water on to another vessel and let the vegetables cool.

(Do not waste the boiled and drained water. It is nutritious and can be reused the same day for cooking soup, rasam, sambar etc)

Grind the boiled vegetables with grated raw coconut and salt. Now transfer this to a bowl.

Heat ghee in a small skillet.Switch off the burner. Immediately put red chilly powder and pour this seasoning on to the bowl.

Palak/Spinach chutney is now ready.

Note:

Tomatoes (2 nos. can be used instead of tamarind paste)

 

While Palak Chutney is getting ready, try this Scrambled Word Game. Rearrange the letters of the following Jumbled Words to form meaningful words: A P K L A W R E T A R E G N E Answers to the above are hidden within the recipe!

Chayote or Chow Chow Chutney (also known as Bees Gojju or Sauce) is a Side Dish that is generally used along with Starters as well as Main Course.

Dish type: Side Dish (South Indian)

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: 10 min

Serves: 4 persons

Ingredients

Chayote                       1 no.

Green chilly                 1 no.

Coriander sticks          Few (for flavour)

Raw grated coconut    ½ cup

Tamarind paste           ½ tsp

Salt to taste                 ½ tsp approx.

Water                          50 ml.

For seasoning

Oil                               1 tsp

Mustard seeds           ½ tsp

Red chilly                    1 no.

Asafoetida                   A pinch

Directions

Wash Chayote. Peel the skin and chop it into pieces.

Boil it for 5 min. along with green chilly, salt, tamarind paste, sticks of coriander leaves and water. Switch off the burner and let it cool.

Grind it with raw grated coconut. Now transfer this to a bowl.

Heat oil in a small skillet. Put mustard seeds. When it crackles, put red chilly pieces and finally a pinch of asafoetidabefore pouring it on to the ground mixture in the bowl.

Chow Chow Gojju is now ready.