Chow Chow (Vegetable Pear/Bengaluru Brinjal/Chayote/ Alligator Pear) Chutney

This chutney is an alternate to our regular coconut white chutney. I am person who gets very conscious while eating coconut chutney, because too much coconut is not good for health. But the fact is most of the south Indian items like idly, dosa, pongal go well with coconut chutney. I always wished we had some alternative which would just taste the same as coconut chutney but doesn’t have coconut. Wow that sounds nice but I did realize that in fact we can make something like that with our Chow Chow. This chutney has the same ingredients as the coconut chutney but minus coconut and add Chow Chow. Please try it and you too will realize like I did and love this one. In the picture the chutney looks a little pale because I didn't have green chilles so I added red ones.

Ingredients:

Chow Chow – 1 medium
Green chillies – 2
Tamarind – 1 very small ball
Roasted Channa Dhal – 3 tbsp
Ginger – 1 inch
Curry leaves – 1 strand
Oil – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
For Seasoning:
Mustad seeds – ½ tsp
Urad dal – ½ tsp
Channa Dhal – 1 tsp
Red chillies – 1
Gingely Oil- 1 tbsp
Curry leaves – 1 strand

Preparation:




Peel the skin from the Chow Chow and cut into small cubes. Add 1 tsp oil to a pan and fry the chow chow for a 5 minutes. Add all the mentioned ingredients and the chow chow to the mixer and blend them to a smooth paste. Next heat oil in a pan and get the seasoning ready and add it to the chutney. Mix well and serve with hot idly, dosa, pongal etc

Tomato Channa Dhal Chutney

This recipe is from my mother-in-law. Simple to prepare. The best combination for this chutney is Kuzhi paniyaram or plain dosa. I generally do not add any seasoning for this chutney, as its taste fine just like that. I don’t grind this chutney to a smooth paste, rather leave it a little coarse.

Ingredients:

Tomato – 4
Red chillies – 3
Cilantro (coriander leaves) – 4 - 5 strands
Tamarind – a little
Channa dhal – 2 - 3 tbsp
Curry leaves – 1 strand
Asofoetida - ½ tsp
Gingely Oil – 1 - 2 tbsp
Salt as per taste

Method:

First cut the tomatoes into cubes. Heat oil in a pan, add the red chillies, channa dhal and fry them till the dhal becomes light golden brown. Next add asofoetida, curry leaves, tomato and salt. Allow the tomato to cook for 4 – 5 minutes so that the raw smell leaves and tomato becomes soft. When done add the cilantro and allow it to cool. Blend the mixture to a slightly coarse paste. Serve it with hot kuzhi paniyaram, idly or dosa.

Thenga Thogayal/ Spicy Coconut lentil chutney

Thengai thogayal is a kind of chutney made with cocoonut and urad dal from Tamil Nadu(South India) cuisine. Coconut thogayal mixed with hot rice and ghee/ gingely oil along with roasted papad makes a great combination although this can be used as side dish for idlis and dosas. I learnt this recipe from my mother-in-law. She is expert in making all south Indian dishes. The recipe is very simple and it just takes five minutes to get it done.
 Now lets take a look at the ingretients.

Ingredients:
Shreded coconut- 1 cup
Tamarind- a goose berry size
Urad dal- 1 tbsp
Hing- 1/4 tsp
Red chillies- 4 (adjust according to your spice level)
curry leaves- one string
salt to taste
oil- 1 tsp

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add urad dal, red chillies, hing and fry it until the urad dal turns golden brown. Add the shredded coconut and curry leaves and fry them for 1 minute. Transfer the contents to a blending jar and allow it to cool. Remove the seeds from tamarind and add them. Add the required amount of salt. Grind them into a coarse paste with 1/2 a cup of water. Make sure the paste is thick. Do not add too much of water.

Tomato Red Capsicum( Bell pepper) chutney

Chutney is a class of spicy preparation which is usually served as an accompaniment with the main course. Its usually wet have a coarse to fine texture. There are a wide varieties of chutney available in Indian cusine. I tried making chutney with tomatoes and red bell pepper (capsicum).
Ingredients:
Tomatoes- 4
Red capsicum( bell pepper)- 1/2
ginder- 1 inch
green chillies- 2
peanusts- 1 tbsp
cilantro (coriander leaves)- 3 tbsp
cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
oil- 1 tsp
hing/ asafoetida- a pinch
salt to taste

Preparation:
Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan. add cumin sedds. when it cracks add a pinch of hing and peanusts and fry them. then add chopped ginger and green chillies and fry them for a minute. Then add chopped tomatoes and red capsicum( bell pepper). Add salt. Fry them until they become tender. Turn of the heat and allow it to cool. Blend them and serve with Buckwheat dosa.

Note: Since I made this chutney on ekadhasi I have not done the seasoning. On non ekadhasi days I used to tamper the chutney with mustad seeds, urad dal a pinch of hing (asafoetida) and curry leaves. This chutney goes well with any kind of dosas or idly.