Ginger Chutney

Ginger Chutney has an excellent sweet, spicy and tangy taste which goes great  with Idli, dosa, pesarattu or vada. 

What you need for Ginger Chutney:

• Ginger - 2 piece , peeled and chopped
• Urad Daal - 2 tbsp
• Chana daal -2 tbsp
• Green chilli -2
• Red Chillies - 2
• Tamarind - small piece
• Jaggery - small piece
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp
• Curry leaves - few
• salt to taste

Preparation Method:

•  Heat  oil in a pan . Add the urad daal ,chana daal, red chillies ,and green chilli. Saute for few minutes and then add ginger and roast on medium till golden. Add the tamarind towards the end and switch off the stove.
•  Allow this to cool a bit and grind along with salt and jaggery to a paste with water as required.
•  Heat  oil in a pan.Season with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour over the chutney and serve with any south Indian breakfast dishes.

Onion Urad Dal chutney

A simple chutney made with onion and lentils which goes great with dosa or idli.

What you need for Onion Urad Dal chutney :

• Onion - 2 chopped
• Ginger -1 piece
• Garlic - 4 pods
• Curry leaves -2 sprig
• Green chilli -2
• Urad dal / lentil - 1 handful
• Tomato -2 chopped
• Salt to taste

The preparation method:

• Heat oil in a pan.Fry urad dal till it slightly brown.
• Now add all other ingredients and fry till the raw smell goes.
• Grind all the ingredients together by adding little water if needed.
• Tasty Onion Urad Dal chutney is ready to be served with idli/dosa.

Pineapple Pachadi

Pineapple Pachadi is an essential part of the traditional Kerala Sadhya. This recipe is easy to make and a nice sweet and and tangy taste. 
What you need for pineapple pachadi:

• Grated Coconut -1/2 shell
• Ripe Pineapple -1 cup
• Shallot-2
• Cumin-1/2 tbsp
• Mustard seed -1 tbsp
• Green chilli -2
• Salt to taste

The preparation method:

• Grind all the ingredients together.
• Yummy pineapple pachadi is ready to serve with rice.

Beetroot Pachadi

Beetroot Pachadi  is a very tasty dish and very easy to prepare. This is traditionally part of Onam Sadya. 

What you need to Beetroot Pachadi:

• Beetroot - 2 grated
• Curd - 1/2 cup
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Grated coconut -1/2 shell
• Green chilli - 2
• Ginger - 1 piece
• Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbsp
• Red chillies - 2
• Curry leaves - few 
• Salt to taste

The preparation method:

• Grind coconut, green chilli, ginger,cumin seeds and mustard seeds to a smooth paste.
• Cook grated beetroot with little water adding salt and turmeric powder till soft.
• Add the ground paste and cook for few more minutes in low flame till the raw taste of the coconut goes. Allow it to cool.
• Add curd and mix well.Heat oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add red chillies, curry leaves and pour it over the pachadi.  
• Enjoy delicious beetroot pachadi as a side dish for rice.

Garlic chutney

The therapeutic qualities of garlic are well known.It's been credited with fighting heart disease, lowering blood pressure and helping to fight off colds. Garlic chutney is one of the easiest chtuney to make and goes well with Dosa and Idli.


What you need for Garlic chutney:

• Garlic pods – ½ cup
• Tomato – 2 no
• Red chilli – 4
• Tamarind – small ball
• mustard –½ tbsp
• Urad dal – 1 tbsp 
• Curry leaves – few
• Salt to taste

The preparation method:

• Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds and fry urad daal ,red chilli, salt, curry leaves, tamarind.
• Add garlic pods, fry for few seconds.For those who do not like much garlic flavor, fry till garlic turns to golden in colour.
• Add tomatoes. Saute well till the tomatoes are well cooked 
• Allow it to cool.
• Now all the ingredients are ready for grinding.
• Garlc chutney is ready to have with dosa/idli.

Chammanthi Podi / Roasted Coconut Chutney Powder

Chammanthi podi or Roasted Coconut Chutney Powder is a fine blend of roasted coconut and spices, and a common preserve in Keralite homes. This powder goes well with steamed rice (esp curd rice) , dosas and idlies.

What you need for Chammanthi podi:

• Grated Coconut  - 1 cup
• Shallot - 2 nos 
• Ginger - 1 small piece  
• Garlic - 1 pod
• Red Chilli-  4  or Red Chilli Powder- 1 1/2 tbsp 
• Black Pepper  -  1 tbsp
• Tamarind - small lemon sized ball
• Curry Leaves - 2 sprig
• Asfoetida - a pinch
• Urad daal - 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

The preparation method:

• Heat a non stick pan .
• Dry roast all the ingredients in medium heat (add no oil at all)
• Fry until the coconut gets a deep brown colour, keep on stirring constantly, so that it is evenly roasted. 
• Once browned, remove from gas and let it cool.
• Grind it into a coarse powder in a mixie or blender.
• After cooling you can  store the chammanthi podi in an airtight container.
• Serve with rice, or serve as a side for  idli/ dosa

Idli Podi

After Sambar , the best combination for Idli or Dosa is Idli podi or Idli Milagai podi -  made from a perfect blend of spices. You can make this and store it in your pantry for a long duration. When you are in a hurry or if your chutney or sambar is over, this always helps.


What you need for Idli Podi :

• Urad dal - 1/4 cup
• Split peas(Kadalai paruppu/Channa dal) - 1/4 cup
• Fried split peas(Pottukadalai) - 1 tablespoon
• Lentils (Toor dal) - 2 tablespoons
• Red Chillies - 6-7 per as spice level
• Asafoetida - a small piece
• Salt to taste

The Preparation Method :

• Heat a wok and dry roast the Channa dal and the Urad dal separately until deep brown.Keep the flame'medium',taking care not to over or under fry.The frying part is the most important slot as this decides the quality of the powder.  
• Now add oil in the same wok and roast the piece of asafoetida.Remove soon and keep aside.
• Using the same oil fry the red chillies,taking care not to burn them,in a low flame till the colour changes and its aroma comes out at this stage).Add salt and mix.Remove the chillies from the wok. 
• Cool the roasted ingredients and powder altogether in a blender.You can make it a little coarse or powdery as per your preference.
• Idli Podi is ready to served with Idli or Dosa.

Mango Flower chutney

Now this is a truly different chutney - made from Mango Flowers ! This is a rare chutney. The mango fruit takes three to six months to ripen from the flowers.

What you need for mango flower chutney: 

• Mango flower - 2 strips
• Coconut - 1 cup
• Green chilli - 3
• Mustard seed-1/2 tbsp
• Small onion - 4
• Cumin - 1/4 tbsp
• Salt to taste

The preparation method:

• Remove the flowers from the stem
• Grind mango flower,coconut,green chilli,small onion,cumin and salt together with little water.
• Add tadka made by spluttering mustard seeds and curry leaves. 
• Yummy and a different tasting chutney is ready to be served with rice or roti.

Mango-Ginger chutney

Mango-Ginger is called manga inji in Tamil and Malayalam.Mango-ginger is used for preparing pickles, chutney, preserve, candy, sauce and salad and in meat and other culinary preparations.Mango-ginger is botanically related to neither mango nor ginger, but to turmeric (Curcuma longa). Morphologically mango-ginger plant is similar to turmeric.

Like a few of you have rightly guessed, the pic above is of Mango-ginger/ Mavadi-allam/ InjiManga. It belongs to the Ginger family and has the smell and taste of a raw mango. I must say its a terrific combo of flavors.


What you need for Mango ginger chutney:

• Mango ginger - 2 piece
• Coconut - 1 cup 
• Red chilli - 3
• Curry leaves - few
• Tamarind - 1 small piece
• Salt to taste

The preparation method:

• Peel the mango-ginger skin.
• Grind the chopped mango-ginger, coconut pieces,red chilli,tamarind and salt together.
• If you want you can put tadka of mustard and curry leaves also.
• Yummy mango ginger chutney is ready to serve with rice,roti or dosa.

Spicy Carrot Chutney

Carrot chutney is a unique type of chutney where the sweet, salt and hot blends and gives a 'different taste'. Try it out to believe :-)

What you need to prepare Spicy Carrot Chutney:

• Carrot - 1 medium - grated
• Onion - 1 medium
• Tomato - 1 large
• Garlic Clove - 1 no.
• Ginger Root - 1/2 inch
• Channa Dhal - 1 tbsp
• Red Chillies - 2 nos.
• Salt to taste
• Urad Dhal - 1 tbsp
• Asafoetida a pinch
• Curry Leaves a few

The preparation method:

• Dry fry Channa Dhal, Red Chillies separately and set aside.
• Saute Onions, Garlic and Ginger till onions turn translucent. Add chopped Tomato and grated Carrots. Cook until the raw smell leaves.Let it cool.
• Once cool grind all the fried ingredients with Salt.
• Temper with Asafoetida, Mustard Seeds, Red Chillies, Curry Leaves and Urad Dhal.
• Spicy Carrot Chutney is ready to be served with Idli or Dosa.

Nellikka Chammanthi / Gooseberry Chutney

Nellikka Chammanthi / Gooseberry Chutney is a very healthy side dish with your rice. This is a healthy way to have raw gooseberries, without losing its vitamin C content. Gooseberry is very good to have in summers as it cools the body.


What you need to prepare Nellikka Chammanthi / Gooseberry Chutney :

• Gooseberry - 6 chopped with seed discarded 
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
• Garlic - 1 clove optional
• Small onions - 6
• Curry leaves -  few 
• Green chillies 2 or 3 
• Coconut - a few pieces
• Salt - as desired

The preparation method:

• Grind all the above ingredients together with little water.
• Healthy Nellikka Chammanthi / Gooseberry Chutney is ready to be served with rice.

Coconut Peanut chutney

Coconut Peanut chutney has a unique taste and this chutney is favorite for south Indians for dishes like Idli , vada, pongal, Dosa etc.
What you need for Coconut Peanut chutney:

• Coconut-1/4th of shell
• Peanut-1 cup(roasted)
• Green chilli-2 or 3 according to spice
• Ginger-1 piece
• Garlic-2 pods
• Salt to taste
• Urad daal-1 tbsp
• Curry leaves-few
• Mustard seed-1 tbsp
• Red chilli-1

The preparation method:

• Grind the coconut,peanut ,ginger ,garlic and salt with little water.
• heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds,urad daal,curry leaves and red chilli.
• Put this seasoning in to the chutney.
• Serve with idli,or dosa.

Beetroot Raita

Beetroot Raita is an easy to prepare and a nutritious recipe. You can eat it as a side dish with rice or hot chappathis.


What you need for Beetroot Raita:

• Beetroot - 2 peeled and grated
• Yoghurt - 1 cup
• Cumin Powder - 1/2 tbsp
• Salt - to taste

The Preparation Method:

• Peel the beetroot and grate it fine.
• Add cumin powder,yoghurt and salt.Mix well
• Tasty Beetroot Raita is ready to be served with hot rice or chappathis.

Onion Chutney – Ulli Chammanthi

Another easy recipe which goes great with with Dosa, Idli etc. Adjust the red chilli according to your spice tolerance. This kind of chutney is best made spicy.

What you need for Onion chutney:

• Small onion-12
• Tomato-1
• Ginger-1 small piece
• Garlic-2 pods
• Coriander leaves-few
• Curry leaves-few
• Red chilli or chilli powder -3 nos or 1tbsp
• Salt to taste

The preparation method:

• Heat oil in a pan and add onions,ginger,garlic and red chilli or chilli powder.
• Sauté till the onions turn slightly brown then add tomato,curry leaves ,coriander leaves and salt.
• Switch of the gas when tomato is well cooked.
• Allow it to cool then grind well.
• Yummy and tasty onion chutney is ready to be served with idli or dosa.

Mint - Coconut Chutney

Apart from adding the lovely green color to the chutney, the mint or pudina it makes you feel fresh and helps digestion.This Mint-Coconut chutney recipe is a very quick and easy recipe which goes excellent with dosa and idli.


What you need for Mint-Coconut Chutney:

• Pudina (mint) - 1 big bunch
• Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
• Tamarind extract - 1/2 tbsp
• Green chillies - 5 nos
• Ginger - 1 short piece (about 5 gms)
• Salt to taste
• Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Red chilly - 2 
• Curry leaves - a few

The preparation method:

• Place all ingredients , except salt in a pan and fry for 2 minutes.
• Cool and grind to smooth paste in a mixer bowl. Add salt to taste. Check for tanginess, if less add a teaspoon of lemon juice.
• Heat a teaspoon of oil and crackle mustard seeds,red chillies and curry leaves. Add in.
• This tasty Pudina-Coconut chutney goes great hot dosas and idlis.

Coriander Coconut chutney

Coriander coconut chutney is a good classic example of an irresistible chutney that is easy to prepare, nutritious and flavourful. This chutney goes great with Idli or Kozhukattai.

What you need to prepare Coriander Coconut chutney:

• Coconut - 1 cup chopped
• Chana dal - 1 tbsp
• Coriander leaves - a bunch
• Green Chilli - 2 slit
• Red Chilli - 1 broken
• Garlic - 1 pod
• Ginger - a small piece - chopped fine
• Curry Leaves - a few
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

The preparation method:

• Grind the chopped coconut,ginger,garlic,chilli,chana dal,coriander leaves and salt in a blender till it turns into a fine paste. Keep aside.
• Add some oil to a pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the red chilli and curry leaves. Fry for half a minute and switch off the gas.
• Add this to the grinded chutney and mix well.
• Spicy and tasty Coriander Coconut chutney is ready to be served with Idli,dosa or Kozhukattai. 

Peanut chutney

Peanut Chutney tastes great with Idlis and Dosas. You can have it dry or add some tamarind juice to make a delicious tangy-hot dip too!

What you need for peanut chutney:

• 1 cup plain peanuts (with or without skin, as preferred)
• 5 dry red chillies
• Salt to taste
• lemon-sized ball of tamarind (to make tamarind juice if you want a wet chutney)
•  Mustard seed-1 tbsp
• Chana dal-1 tbsp

The preparation method:

• Heat a pan till it is very hot, on a medium flame. Roast the peanuts and dry red chillies (stirring frequently) on this pan till they give off a gentle cooked aroma.
• Allow to cool completely and then grind the peanuts and chillies to a coarse powder with a mortar and pestle. You can also use a clean, dry blender.Add salt to taste.
• If you want a wet chutney, soak the tamarind in a bowl just covered with hot water. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes or till soft. Then squeeze the tamarind (while still in the water) with your fingers, to release the pulp from it. Squeeze till you get most of the pulp off and into the water. Now strain the liquid to remove pith and any seeds. Tamarind juice is now ready to use. Add enough tamarind juice or paste to your previously prepared Chutney to get a thick consistency. 
• In another pan,splutter mustard seeds and channa dal. Add this to the chutney.
  
• Serve with anything! Spicy Peanut Chutney tastes especially good with idlis and dosas.

Tomato Thokku

 This Thakkali Thokku is very very simple to make and excellent with idli or dosa or even with roti.

What you need for Tomato Thokku:

•  Red chilli - 4
•  Garlic - 3 to 5 cloves(medium-size)
•  Tomato - 2
•  Curry leaves - a sprig
•  Coriander leaves - 2 to 3 sprigs
•  Salt - to taste

For tempering:

• Mustard seeds 
• Urad dal - 1/2 tspn
• Curry leaves - a sprig

The preparation method:

•  Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan. Add red chilies and fry for a minute 
•  Add tomato pieces and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add garlic, curry leaves, coriander leaves and salt, then remove from heat.
• Let this mix cool for 5 minutes. Then grind this mix without adding water.
• Heat 1 or 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and urad dal, once it splutters add curry leaves and ground chutney, fry this for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove from heat and serve this with 1/2 tsbp of oil on top. 
• Yummy Tomato Thokku is ready to be served with idly or dosa.

Mango chutney

Mango Chutney is a easy to make chutney which goes great with any rice dish. This chutney can be made under 5 minutes.
What you need for Mango Chutney:

• Raw green mangoes – 1 sliced
• Green chillies – 2(according to spice level)
• Shallots – 2
• Ginger – 1/2 inch piece
• Grated coconut- 1 cup
• Salt – to taste

The preparation method:

• Grind all the ingredients together in a wet grinder/small jar in the Indian mixer.
• If your mangoes are not sour enough add 1 tsp vinegar/lime juice while grinding.
• Thats it ! sour and tasty Mango Chutney is ready to be served with any rice dish.

Red Chilli Chutney

Red Chilli Chutney is a popular Kerala chutney that goes best with Dosa and Idli. This is a chutney for the spice lovers. Not for the faint-hearted....


What you need for Red chilli chutney:

• Coconut-1/2 chopped
• Ginger-1 piece
• Small onion-2 peeled
• Red Chilli / Chilli powder-3 or 1 1/2 tbsp ( according to spice level )
• Mustard seeds-1/2 tbsp
• Red chilli-1
• Curry leaves-few
• Salt to taste

The preparation method:

• Grind the coconut with red chilli or chilli powder,ginger,small onion and salt.
• For the seasoning,splutter mustard seeds,curry leaves and red chilli and add it to the chutney.
• Spicy Red Chilli chutney is ready to be served with dosa or idli.