Amaranth Leaves Chutney, Mulai Keerai Thogayal

          Finally got to post after about 2 weeks, and today it's going to be a simple and delicious chutney using amaranth leaves, Mulai Keerai Thogayal. Till now, I have used these leaves only in a gravy and a masiyal, this is the first time I made this chutney or thogayal with it. We saute the leaves and grind them with some coconut and roasted spices, this tastes very good when mixed with some white rice and ghee..

Sorakkai Chutney, Bottle Gourd ( Lauki ) Chutney

          Today's post is going to be another healthy and delicious chutney with bottle gourd, Sorakkai Chutney, Bottle Gourd or Lauki Chutney. The first time I tasted it, I was even surprised to know that there was bottle gourd in the chutney, but now when I think about it, we make chutneys with almost all vegetables and greens. Though, basically this chutney is made to go with idlis and dosas, you can still have it with rotis or even have it with some plain rice..

Methi & Carrot Chutney, Fenugreek Leaves & Carrot Chutney, Vendiya Keerai Carrot Thogayal

          I get three types of organic greens, spinach, methi and amaranth every week and sometimes the methi leaves bunch turns out to be a really big one. After making the usual stuff with them, I had some more and I was looking out for something new to try with it. I looked up for some chutney recipes with fenugreek leaves and finally decided to make this one with methi/vendiya keerai and carrots. This chutney has a coarse texture and tastes best when mixed with some rice and ghee. This is the first time I made this and we loved it, it goes well with some curd rice too..

Kadamba Chutney, Mixed Chutney

          Kadamba Chutney, a chutney using a little of many ingredients, so we can call it as Mixed Chutney. I do this chutney when I have a little of this and that, I have used mint leaves, coriander leaves, carrot, curry leaves, small onions, some coconut and also some peanuts. Making the chutney is simple, we saute the different ingredients, grind them all together and finally do a seasoning with mustard seeds and urad dal. This chutney goes very well with idlis and dosas..

Radish Chutney, Mullangi ( Mooli ) Chutney

          Today's post on the blog is another side dish to go with idlis and dosas, Radish Chutney. At home, most of the time, radish gets used up in making sambar and in parathas, very rarely I have made anything else with the vegetable. Couple of days back, when I had to make a chutney for dosas, I wanted to try something new and after going through the vegetables in the fridge, I decided to make this Radish ( Mullangi, Mooli ) Chutney. This is also a nice way to sneak in some veggies, it looks and tastes ( to some extent ) like the coconut chutney, so we can have it with idlis, dosas, adais and upmas..

Mint Almond Pesto

          I had brought this huge bunch of mint leaves, I made a chutney with some of it, added some while making a rice dish, but still was left with more leaves and then I remembered this pesto. I usually make the classic Basil Pesto and I have also tried the pesto with Sun Dried Tomatoes, this is the first time I tried this Mint Almond Pesto. I have used almonds in the place of pine nuts and have added some garlic and lemon zest for flavor. The pesto came out perfectly and had a nice mint flavor and we can have this mixed with pasta or spread it on a piece of bread. top it with some cheese and tomatoes, grill and enjoy..

Rajasthani Garlic Chutney, Lahsun Ki Chutney

          When I saw a picture of this Rajasthani Garlic Chutney on pinterest, I had pinned it to my 'must try out' board, and unlike many dishes that are still waiting on the list, this one got done the very next week itself. The chutney needs very few basic ingredients and the recipe is very simple. The chutney goes very well with jowar rotis, bajra rotis, parathas or even with some rice and dal/lentils, do try this out if you like garlic..

Kathrikkai Thogayal, Eggplant (Brinjal) Chutney

          After all the sweets and snacks for Diwali, now we are back to some healthy day to day food, today's post is a simple and tasty thogayal/chutney with brinjals, Kathrikkai Thogayal. Thogayal is slightly thicker than a chutney and we have it mixed with some rice, but, of course we can also eat it with idlis and dosas. We can use the big eggplant for doing this, but that day, I had these medium sized eggplants and I made the thogayal with it. To give some taste and texture to the thogayal, I have added some roasted lentils/dal and coconut. The thogayal tastes very good when mixed with white rice and ghee or oil..

Capsicum Chutney, Red Bell Pepper Chutney

          Idlis and dosas appear in our breakfast or dinner menu, at least 2 to 4 times in a week, so I make a chutney for them at least 2 to 4 times in a week. Though the tomato chutney is a favorite at home, to keep us from getting bored of it, I try to make chutneys with other vegetables too, today's Capsicum/Bell Pepper Chutney is one such. Usually I add a capsicum along with the tomato and do it the same way as the Tomato chutney, but this time I left out the tomato and tried a slightly different version. The chutney came out very good and it goes very well with idlis, dosas and other South Indian breakfast dishes. If made a little thick like a thogayal, it would taste good with rice too..

Mangai Thogayal, Raw Mango Chutney

          Today's post is going to be a simple one, Mangai Thogayal/Mango Chutney. Though I make sambar or kootu or vegetable gravy to go with rice, we always love to have some kind of thogayal or chutney on the side. When we make thogayals, since we mix it with rice, we make it as thick as possible, without adding water ( or very little water ) and the texture is slightly coarse. I make the mango thogayal just like the coconut chutney, except here, for sourness I add the mango pieces instead of tamarind. This tastes very good when mixed with rice, or if you want to have it with idlis or dosas, make it slightly watery and season it with some mustard and urad dal..

Peanut Coriander Chutney, Verkadalai Kothamalli Chutney

          The other chutney that I make more often, other than the tomato or coconut chutney, for idlis and dosas is the peanut chutney. I have already posted one Peanut Chutney and another Tomato Peanut Chutney in the blog, and today's chutney is a slight variation to that. I have added some sauteed coriander leaves and green chillies to the peanuts and this gives a nice color and a different flavor to the chutney. This chutney would go well with all types of idlis, dosas, adais and paniyarams..

Mangai Pachadi, Raw Mango Sweet Chutney

          When raw mangoes are in season, this is one dish that I never miss to make, Mangai Pachadi ( Mango Sweet Chutney ). This is a simple dish where raw mango pieces are cooked and jaggery and other seasonings are added to it. They also add a little dried neem flowers ( toasted in ghee ) at the end, till now I have never added it, but this time I asked the maid to collect some flowers for me, washed and dried them completely and then used it in the Pachadi. This is traditionally made on the Tamil New Year, the sourness from the mangoes, sweetness from the jaggery and the bitterness from the neem flowers balance each other and the Pachadi tastes great..

Carrot Chutney, How To Make Carrot Chutney for Idlis/Dosas

          In a South Indian home, idlis and dosas are made at least a couple of times in a week, and to serve as a side to them, we make sambar or some kind of chutney. Though the coconut chutney and tomato chutney are the most common, we make a variety of other chutneys too, Carrot Chutney being one of them. Grated carrot is sauteed and ground with roasted dal/lentils, chillies and coconut. The carrot gives a beautiful color to the chutney and it's a nice way to sneak in the vegetable, kids will not be able to find it. Usually when making a chutney with roasted dal, we add a lot of coconut to make it, but by adding carrots we can reduce the quantity of coconut and still the chutney would taste great. It goes very well with both idlis and dosas, you can blend it to a thick and coarse mixture and have it with plain white rice too..

Ginger Chutney, Inji Chutney

          Ginger is one thing that I always have in the refrigerator, something that I use almost everyday in my cooking. Though I always add a small piece of it to many of my chutneys and pachadis, this is the first time I made a chutney with ginger as the main ingredient. We also add coconut and other ingredients to balance the spiciness from the ginger. This chutney goes very well with idlis and dosas and it's a perfect side dish for pesarattu ( moong dal dosas ), but if you make this chutney slightly thick like a thogayal, we can have it with rice too..

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

          Basil Pesto is an all time favorite at home, we just love it with bread along with some tomato slices and cheese. We can make pesto with basil, coriander, parsley and even spinach, I am yet to try out these other varieties. Today's pesto is with sun dried tomatoes, we can use both the dry variety or the ones packed in olive oil. The pesto turned out really good, you can use it as a spread on bread slices or with pasta or even as a topping on pizza, so simple to make and yet so delicious..

Dates And Tamarind Chutney, Sweet Chutney For Chats

          Some of you might not like Sweet Chutney with chats or samosas, but at home, we all like both the green chutney and sweet chutney with our chats. We use soft dates ( I had some imported ones ) and tamarind for making this chutney and it's an easy recipe. It's a must for most chat dishes and can be served with cutlets, samosas and savory rolls too and keeps well in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks or can be stored in the freezer for a couple of months..

Dry Garlic Chutney For Vada Pav

          I had first tasted Vada Pav in the US only, the vada was served between the bun with some sweet chutney and spicy green chutney. Only later, did I come to know that it's served traditionally with this dry garlic chutney and fried green chilly. Now in Bangalore, I see so many versions of the Vada Pav, but I still prefer the classic one, with just the garlic chutney and green chilly, of course I don't mind the sweet chutney and spicy green chutney, but the garlic chutney is a must. So when I made Vada Pav ( will be posting it soon ) at home, I made this Dry Garlic Chutney, it's very easy to make, the main ingredients are garlic, coconut and peanuts and it gives a wonderful flavor and taste to the Vada Pav..

Paruppu Thogayal, Lentil Chutney

          As I had mentioned in my last post, today's dish is the simple and tasty Paruppu Thogayal or Lentil Chutney. When I say Paruppu/Lentils, I mean tuvar dal or arhar dal or split pigeon pea and the thogayal needs just 3 more ingredients along with the dal. An easy and flavorful chutney that makes a perfect combination with the Sundakkai Vathal kuzhambu, serve it with some hot white rice, drizzled with ghee or sesame oil and some sutta appalam ( pappads ) for a simple and delicious lunch..

Puli Chutney, Tomato-Tamarind Chutney

          As I had mentioned in my previous post ' Vendiya Paniyarams ', this is the chutney that I served them with. Those paniyarams would go well even with coconut chutney, but I personally felt that this chutney was the best combination with them. As we add some tamarind to the chutney, it's more tangy and the coriander and cumin seeds give a nice flavor too and of course, this chutney would go well with idlis and dosas too..

Peanut Tomato Chutney, Verkadalai Thakkali Chutney

          It's almost every other day or at least 3 times a week that I make some kind of chutney at home, mostly to go with idlis, dosas and adais and sometimes, to be mixed with plain rice. Since the tomato onion chutney is the family's favorite, I make it more times than the other chutneys. Today's post is Peanut Tomato Chutney, already, I have a simple peanut chutney in my blog using just peanuts and a little tamarind, but this one, as the name itself says, has peanuts, tomatoes, onions and garlic. It's kind of a mixture of peanut and tomato chutney and it goes very well with all the South Indian tiffin varieties (idlis, dosas, adais, vadais)..