Gooseberry Cucumber Curd Pachidi / Nellikai Vellarikai Thayir Pachidi

In every meal of the day, I love to include one curd pachidi with either cucumber, carrot or any other suitable vegetable. Though we don't get fresh Gooseberries year round here, I bought a pack of frozen gooseberries from the Indian store.  Using those gooseberries, I made this fresh curd pachidi for our Saturday lunch thali. I make this pachidi whenever I buy frozen gooseberries. Gooseberry also called as "Nellikai" in Tamil is a good source of Vitamin C, boosts immunity in our system, good for diabetes and has numerous health benefits. I also added a small cucumber along with gooseberries while making this pachidi but its totally optional. Personally I like the blended mixture of cucumber with gooseberries and coconut.

Try to make this curd pachidi often in your kitchen and enjoy. Try to add tadka to your curd pachidi always, it definitely adds more flavor and enhances the taste of the curd pachidi. 

Ingredients

Gooseberries - 5 or 6 medium size
Cucumber - 1 Small

Green chillies - 3 

Fresh Coconut flakes - 1/2 cup

Cumin seeds / Jeera - 2 tsp

Ginger - 1 small piece

Salt - As required

Fresh Thick curd - 1 cup

Coriander leaves - To Garnish

For Tadka

Oil - 1 tsp

Hing - A Dash

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 2 or 3

Dry red chili - 1

Preparation

Grind gooseberries, shredded cucumber, coconut flakes, green chillies, jeera, ginger along with little curd in a blender. Add required amount of salt and grind again for few seconds. Transfer the mixture into a serving bowl. Add the remaining curd to the pachidi and mix it well. If its too thick, add little water to the pachidi and adjust the consistency. Prepare the tadka in a pan with little oil and pour the tadka over the curd pachidi. Garnish with few crushes coriander leaves and include this delicious curd pachidi in your thali / meal.

Gongura Pachadi / Gongura Pachidi / Gongura Thogayal - Andhra Style

Gongura ( Red Sorrel Leaves), a leafy green vegetable is very famous in Andhra cuisine. Its called as "Pulicha Keerai" in tamil. Red stemmed gongura is more sour than the green stemmed variety. Gongura is very rich in Iron, vitamins, folic acid and antioxidants that are required for nutrition. Gongura is widely used in many Andhra dishes. This version of the Gongura Pachidi was learnt in Bangalore couple of years ago from my daughter's nanny. It was very delicious and it had a nice punch in its taste and went along well with steamed white rice. I have been doing this pachidi ever since I learnt this from the nanny. This version also reminds me of the Gongura Pachidi that are served in many Andhra Restaurants in their special Andhra Thali Meals.

Try mixing few spoonful of this Pachidi in hot rice with few drops of ghee and enjoy with a side of fried Appalam.

Ingredients

Gongura Leaves - 1 Bunch

Red Onion - 2 Medium

Garlic Pods - 15.

Dry Red Chillies - 10

Coriander Seeds - 3 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Hing \ Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Gingelly Oil \ Nalla Yennai - 1 tbsp

Salt - To Taste

Procedure

• Wash and drain the Gongura leaves and keep them ready. Keep the garlic pods, red onion pieces ready for the process.
• On medium heat, add little oil into the kadai. Add dry red chillies,cumin seeds and coriander seeds first.  Roast them to golden brown and transfer it to the mixer grinder and grind them to a powder along with Hing / Asafoetida.
• Add red onion pieces and garlic pods to the remaining oil and fry them till they become translucent. Then, transfer the contents to the mixer grinder and grind them coarsely.
• Then, on the same kadai, add the washed gongura leaves with the remaining oil and fry the gongura leaves till they become soggy and mashy..After they get cooked, transfer them to the mixer grinder and grind them for just a round or two. That's it.  Add required amount of salt to the Pachidi and mix well.
• Gongura Pachidi is now ready to serve with hot white rice.

Variations

You can add more oil to the Gongura Pachidi if you want to keep it for more days.

You can add the shredded raw red onion pieces to the Gongura Pachidi. Some people like the taste of the crunchy raw red onion pieces in the gongura pachidi.
You can adjust the number of red chillies as per your taste buds.

Tips

While adding the red onion pieces for frying, keep aside 3 tbsp of the shredded red onion pieces. This could be added to the grounded gongura pachidi either directly or added to the tempered oil later.Don't grind the pachidi too pasty. It should be grinded coarsely with all the onions, garlic, gongura leaves to retain a special punch and texture in it. 

Pudina Tomato Chutney / Mint Tomato Chutney - For Idly, Dosas

Mint / Pudina always sit in my refrigerator and comes as a handy ingredient at times. Today I made a spicy, flavourful and super tasty chutney for my golden crisp dosas in the morning. Freshness of the pudina makes the chutney so special and it is an excellent accompaniment to dosas. Try this chutney in your kitchen with fresh mint leaves and enjoy with any south indian tiffin varieties.   

"Adding Mint / Pudina in your daily cooking is a very healthy option. It has good antioxidant properties, prevents allergies, relieves cold symptoms, helps in indigestion. "

Ingredients

Fresh Mint leaves - 2 cups
Tomato - 2 Medium
Garlic Pods - 6 Big
Green Chillies - 2 Big
Dry Red Chili - 2
Sesame Oil - 2 tsp
Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu / Mina Pappu - 2 tsp
Channa Dal / Kadalai Paruppu / Senaga Pappu - 2 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Tamarind - 1 pinch
Jaggery - 1/2 tsp

Method

• In a frying pan, add sesame oil first. When its heated, add hing, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, channa dal in succession. When they turn golden yellow, add garlic pods, green chillies, dry red chillies into the pan and fry them for a minute. Add the tomato pieces next and fry them till they get mushy. Finally add the mint leaves and fry for another 2 minutes. Switch off the flame.
• After the contents cool down a bit, grind them along with other ingredients. Add salt while grinding the chutney in the blender.
• Transfer the chutney into a serving bowl and enjoy with your dosas, idlies or any other tiffin.

Apple Thokku / Apple Ginger Thokku / Inji Apple Thokku

An apple can be enjoyed in many different ways in Indian cooking. We can make apple jams, apple payasam, apple halwa, apple kesari, apple pickle, apple thokku, etc., I ventured again with apples and made apple thokku. Spicyness from the fresh ginger and the sweetness from the red delicious apple perfectly blend with the spices and yields a flavourful apple thokku. It can be a good accompaniment to adais, rotis or any tiffin varieties. 

Ingredients
Red Delicious Apple - 1 Big
Ginger - 1 Medium Size
Oil - 1 tbsp
Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 4 or 5
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt - As Required
Jaggery - 1 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp


Method

• Wash the apple thoroughly and grate it. Grate the ginger too and keep it ready.
• In the cooking pan, add oil first. When its heated, add hing and mustard seeds. After the mustard seeds sputter, add the fenugreek seeds, curry leaves into the pan.
• Add the grated apple and ginger into the pan. Stir them slowly and allow them to cook for 8-10 minutes. 
• Add red chili powder and required amount of salt into the pan.
• Allow the contents to get cooked on medium flame till the quantity gets reduced considerably. Stir occasionally to avoid the thokku turning black at the bottom.
• When the thokku consistency is reached, switch off the flame. Let the thokku cools down completely.
• After its cooled down, store it  in a glass container and enjoy.

Mango Salsa

Having Grown up with lots of good mango memories, I was quite interested in trying out the sweet, tangy also spicy Mango Salsa in my kitchen. Sweetness from the mangoes blends well with the spicy jalapenos and with the sourness from tomatoes and lime juice. Scoopful of this colourful salsa with a tortilla chip satisfies the tummy and its certainly not easy to resist the temptation of grabbing more and more...

Ingredients

Ripe Mango but firm diced into tiny squares - Between 1 cup to 1.5 cups depending upon its sweetness

Red Bell Pepper shredded - 1/4 cup

Yellow Bell Pepper shredded - 1/4 cup

Orange Bell Pepper shredded - 1/4 cup

Green Bell Pepper shredded - 1/4 cup

Jalapeno seeded and diced - 1/2 cup 

Coriander Leaves chopped - To Garnish 

Red Onion shredded - 1/4 cup

Lime Juice - 1 tbsp

Salt - To Taste

Spice Powder - 1/2 tbsp ( Dry roast 2 tsp of jeera( cumin seeds) and make a fine powder ) I like to add this in my mango salsa as it enhances the flavour and taste.

Method

In a big mixing bowl, add all the veggies, lime juice, spice powder and salt and mix them well. Add mango pieces at the end and mix once again. Leave the salsa to stay for few hours before serving for the real taste to set. Enjoy this salsa on a sunny day with a full bag of tortilla corn chips.!!

Kobbari Mamidikaya Pachi Pachidi / Mamidikaya Kobbari Pachi Pachidi - Andhra Summer Delight

Kobbari Mamidikaya Pachi Pachidi is truly an Andhra Summer Delight. Flavoured with garlic and spices, its definitely a kick start in any meal. With hot rice and a drop of ghee, it tastes heavenly with few padads and fryums. We love to enjoy this spicy, tangy pachidi during our lunch menu whenever we have raw green mangoes. Sourness of the raw mango is the key factor here. If the mango is not that sour, then the pachidi will taste more like a normal kobbari pachidi.!!! I know few versions of making pachidi with raw mangoes and this version is purely using raw mango, fresh coconut and raw garlic. Later I will post the other versions in the blog. 

Ingredients

Grinding 

Raw Mango grated -- 1 cup

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1 cup

Raw Garlic - 5-6

Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Coriander Seeds - 2 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 7 to 8

Salt - As Required

Tempering / Tadka 

Oil - 3 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Channa Dal - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 1 Stem

Dry Red Chillies - 2 Small

Method

Wash the mango and peel the skin off. Grate the mango and shred the coconut as required. Grind all the ingredients into a coarse paste in a blender and transfer them into a serving bowl. Just before serving, do the tempering process by putting all the ingredients into a small tadka pan with few drops of oil. When they turn golden brown, pour them over the top of the Pachidi and serve.

Kandi Pachidi / Andhra style Kandi Pachidi / Toor Dal Chutney

In Tamilnadu, they make Paruppu Thogayal out of toor dal ( Thuvaram Paruppu ) and the regular combo my mom made generally at home was Paruppu Thogayal with Jeera Rasam and a curry. Especially when we take head bath with Sesame Oil, we were given this combo with a side small potato golden curry. Only to enjoy this combo, many days I agreed to take oil bath.!!! 

In Andhra, they call this thogayal as "Kandhi Pachidi" with a small twist in its flavours. My husband used to talk more about this Kandhi Pachidi and its his alltime favourite pachidi. Well, its a typical andhra delight loaded with tons of Protein. I made this Kandhi Pachidi by following his Mom's recipe. With a dash of melted ghee in hot rice and few urad dal appalams/papads, its a divine combination to taste on a cold rainy day!!! Only the texture determines the exact taste of this Pachidi, which should be coarsely grounded but not a fine smooth paste.

Ingredients

Toor Dal ( Kandhi Pappu / Thuvaram Paruppu ) - 1 Cup
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Dry Red Chilies - 4 to 5
Garlic Pods - 4
Tamarind - Tiny Pinch ( Blueberry Size )
Oil - 3 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Jaggery - A tiny piece.
Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash
For Tadka / Seasoning
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 stem
Oil - 1 tsp

Method 

• Roast the toor dal in a frying pan with no oil until you notice an excellent aroma. Toor dal would turn into a light golden colour after roasting.
• Wash the toor dal in running water and immediately drain them and keep aside.
• In the pan, add oil first. When its heated, add the crushed garlic pods, cumin seeds, urad dal, dry red chillies and fry them for 2 minutes.
• Grind them together along with the drained toor dal along with required amount of salt, Hing, Jaggery and tamarind and make a coarse paste. 
• In the tempering / tadka pan, add mustard seeds and curry leaves into the heated oil. When they start sputtering, pour the tempered mix over the coarsely grounded Kandi Pachidi. 
• Enjoy this delightful pachidi with hot rice and papads.

Apple Jam / Sweet Apple Jam

Since few weeks, bowls and bowls of fresh juicy red delicious apples showered by our neighbour were decorating our counter top beautifully. We have been eating those apples almost daily. But I really wish to make something out of those sweet apples like spicy thokku or Sweet Jam. I tried both and presenting you friends both the recipes.

Natural sweetness of the red delicious apples was quite enough for this jam. I added 2 cups of Sugar for almost 7 cups of crushed apple. Though the process got over after an hour, its much much simpler and does not need any high end efforts except grinding. Friends, i just grounded the apple pieces in my blender without any water than grating them. But its choice to make the jam with grated apples. Also, i did not peel the apple skin at all as it contains many nutrients.

Sweet Apple Jam 

Ingredients

Red Apples -- Around 10 Medium which could yield 7 cups of grated apples or crushed apples.
Sugar - 2 Cups
Lemon Juice - 1/4 cup
Nutmeg Powder - 1 tsp
Cinnamon Powder - 1/2 tsp ( Optional , I did not add )

Method 

• Wash all the apples thoroughly and cut them into medium squares. Carefully take out the middle part which contains the apple seeds.
• In the grinder, grind them coarsely or to a fine paste ( as you wish ) and keep it ready.
• In a thick bottomed vessel / pan, add all the ingredients and mix them well. Cook the jam on medium heat for about an hour.
• Stir the cooking jam inside the vessel at intervals. When it comes to a thick jam consistency, switch off the flame.
• Allow the jam to cool completely. Once its cooled, store the jam in an air tight container.
• Enjoy the apple jam with fresh baked sandwich breads.

Ginger Chutney / Allam Chutney / Allam Pachidi / Inji Chutney

Ginger Chutney is a very good accompaniment for Idly, Dosas and Adais. As its very good for the stomach, its wise to have a teaspoon of this chutney in our meal plate all the time. I lick this chutney even for my curd rice.

Ingredients

Ginger - 2 Big Ones
Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu / Minna Pappu - 2 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind - 1 square inch
Dry Red Chillies - 2 Medium ( According to your taste buds. )
Jaggery - 1 tiny cube
Salt - To Taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Pinch
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 3 or 4

Method

• Peel the skin and cut the ginger into small pieces and keep ready.
• In the frying pan, add 1 tsp of oil. When its heated, add urad dal, cumin seeds,coriander seeds and saute them till golden brown on medium heat.
• Add the dry red chillies, tamarind and ginger pieces next and saute them till you get a nice aroma of Ginger.
• Switch off the flame and grind them together with required amount of salt, jaggery after the contents get cooled.
• In the same frying pan, add the remaining oil and finish the tempering process with mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves. Pour them over the ginger chutney.
• Include this healthy chutney / dip in your plate along with any meal.

Small Onion Red Capsicum Chutney / Spicy Red Chutney

Using the small red onions and red capsicum, I tried to make a spicy chutney for my Vendhaya Dosai and the chutney was a very good accompaniment to the Dosas. I should definitely say that this chutney triggered my nerves and woke me up mentally!!!! It was a sleepy, cold morning and I started doing the chores physically with half sleep.  Try this spicy red chutney and start your morning with more briskness !!! Due to the addition of small pearl onions, the taste was amazing too..

Ingredients

For Grinding :

Small Red Onions / pearl onions - 10 to 13

Red Capsicum - 1 Medium ( cut into small pieces )

Oil - 1/2 tbsp ( Enough to fry the onions and capsicum )

Salt - To Taste

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 3 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 7 Medium

Green Chili - 1 Small

Tamarind - 1 pinch

Jeera /Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Ground nuts / Peanuts - 1 tbsp

Channa Dal / Kadalai Paruppu -  2 tsp

Jaggery - 1 small pinch or 1/2 tsp

 

For Tadka / Thalimpu :

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 1 tsp

 

Method

• In the frying pan, add oil first. When its heated, fry all the ingredients for grinding on medium heat except small onions and red capsicum. Do not add salt and jaggery piece at this point.
• When they turn golden brown, transfer them into the mixer grinder. In the same pan, add the peeled small onions, red capsicum pieces and fry them till they become translucent. While frying them, cover the lid and allow them to cook for 1-2 minutes and fry in the middle.
• When they are cooked and fried enough, transfer them too into the mixer grinder. After the contents are cooled, grind them nicely. Add salt and jaggery piece while grinding and transfer the chutney into the serving bowl.
• In the frying pan, add the contents for making the thalimpu and pour the contents over the chutney. Enjoy with your hot idlies, dosas or any other tiffin...

Green Capsicum Chutney

Green Pepper / Capsicum is one of my favourite vegetables which has numerous medicinal and health benefits. So, i love to make use of this green pepper / capsicum in my cooking as much as possible. When I tasted the green capsicum chutney with Idlies at my friend Preetha's house, I really got so impressed with this combo and especially this spicy chutney. Needless to say the taste of her softer idlies with a dip of this flavourful chutney was divine....So I got the recipe of this green capsicum chutney from her. Earlier, I got the recipe of Red Capsicum Chutney from her and posted before. Thanks Preetha for sharing this healthy recipe with us...

Ingredients

Green Pepper / Capsicum - 1 Big

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 2 tbsp

Urad Dal / Minna Pappu / Ulutham Paruppu - 2 tsp

Channa Dal / Kadalai Paruppu / Senaga Pappu - 2 tsp

Groundnuts / Peanuts - 2 tsp

White Sesame Seeds - 1 tsp

Tamarind - 1 tiny pinch

Dry red chillies - 3 Medium

Salt - To Taste

Sugar - 1 pinch

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Oil - 3 to 4 tsp ( Depending upon the size of Capsicum for frying )

For Tempering

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 3 or 4

Oil - 1 tsp

Method

• Wash and cut the green pepper into small pieces and keep them aside.
• In a frying pan, add oil first. When its heated, roast the urad dal, channa dal, groundnuts, dry red chillies, sesame seeds, tamarind to golden brown and transfer them to the mixer grinder.  In the same pan, add the green pepper pieces and fry them with a pinch of salt for 3-4 minutes till they get cooked and fried.
• Transfer them to the mixer grinder and grind them along with coconut flakes coarsely.
• Transfer the chutney into a bowl. Add required amount of salt and a pinch of sugar to the chutney and mix well.
• Do the tempering process in the pan and pour them over the chutney and mix well...
• Good to serve with idlies, dosas and even with rotis / chappathis or any upma.

Tips / Variations

You can omit the sesame seeds if you wish.. I added it as we like the taste of the addition of few sesame seeds in this chutney.

Likewise, you can increase / decrease the number of red chillies while making..

Coarse paste gives the right taste than the smooth paste.

Mint Chutney / Pudina Chutney

I  always love Pudina / Mint due to its unique flavour and refreshing taste and I never fail to keep at least one Pudina / Mint bunch in the refrigerator.  Also, the Mint Leaves have abundant health benefits. For our breakfast, I decided to make this fresh Pudina Chutney yesterday. It was very tasty and tempted us to eat more idlies.

Ingredients

Mint / Pudina Leaves - 1 Big Bunch

Coriander Leaves / Stem - 2 stems

Green Chillies - 3 Big

Ginger - 1 small square

Fresh Coconut Flakes - 1 Cup

Pottu Kadalai / Putnalu Pappu / Roasted Gram - 1 Handful

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Channa Dal / Kadalai Paruppu - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 2 or 3

Red Chili - 1

Salt - To Taste

Oil - 2 to 3 tsp

Method

1. Wash the Mint Leaves, Coriander Stem and grind them along with Coriander Stem, Pottu kadalai, Coconut Flakes, green chillies, ginger and salt.
2. Then, do the tempering using Mustard seeds, Hing, Urad Dal and Channa Dal, dry red chilli and curry leaves and pour them over the Chutney.
3. If you want this to be little watery, you can add some water. And you can enjoy this healthy chutney in any consistency you like for any South Indian tiffin varieties like Idly, Dosa, Pongal, etc.,

Celery Thogayal / Celery Pachidi / Celery Chutney

Celery Chutney/Thogayal/Pachidi was made only due to the unavailability of my regular chutney items like coconut, tomato, groundnuts, onion..at home. .All I had was only few bunches of Celery and Coriander stems which i stored in the refrigerator..And I very badly need to make some good healthy chutney for my Pongal and Dosa for the day..So, I decided to make use of  these Celery Sticks which have very less calories and more dietary fiber and they are highly recommended for weight loss. Though its best to eat raw Celery Sticks, this time I used them in our regular cuisine. The Chutney was really tasty but it would be an excellent side for our Idlies. Try to substitute this chutney during breakfast time with your regular chutney and enjoy this healthy chutney with any South Indian Tiffin items. Your comments and suggestions are welcome.

Ingredients

Celery Sticks - 1 Full Bunch ( Cut Celery Sticks come up to 3-4 Cups )

Coriander Stems - 1 Cup

Green Chillies - 2

Ginger - 1 Small Square

Red Chilli - 1

Tamarind - 1 small square

Jaggery - 1 tsp

Salt - To Taste

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Powder - 2 tsp

Gingelly Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 4 or 5.

Method

1. Wash the coriander stem, celery sticks and cut them into pieces.
2. Grind them raw with green chillies, red chilli, ginger, tamarind and make a coarse paste.
3. In the frying pan, add oil first. Finish the tempering by adding little Hing,Mustard seeds and Urad dal.
4. Pour the grounded paste and add required amount of salt to the chutney.
5. Fry them in the pan till it becomes little thicker and comes to the chutney consistency.
6. Good to enjoy with hot idlies, dosa, Pongal or even with Hot rice alone.

Tips/Variations

1. As its my first trial on Celery, I don't find any tips or any variations which I could suggest at this time.You can customize in your style and try this out...But Celery is definitely an ideal choice for any cooking.

Thengai Thogayal / Kobbari Pachidi / Spicy Coconut Hummus

Thengai Thogayal / Kobbari Pachidi is one of the most common item in the festival menu. Also, we could see this item along with some spicy vegetable fry during normal days. Fresh coconuts are always tastier and they taste better if its made with a good punch. Even today, I like to scrap the coconut flakes instead of cutting them across and grinding them with spices.

Ingredients

Fresh Coconut shredded - 1 Cup

Oil - 1 tbsp

Hing /Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Urad Dal / Minna Pappu / Ulutham Paruppu - 1 tbsp

Dry Red Chillies - 6 -7

Tamarind - 1 small piece

Curry Leaves - 5 or 6

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp

Salt - To Taste

Jaggery - 1 tiny piece

Method

• Using a proper shredder, take out the fresh coconut flakes and keep them ready.
• In the pan, add oil first. When its heated, add Hing, Urad Dal , dry red chillies and roast them slightly on medium flame.
• When they turn golden brown, add the tamarind, jaggery and mix them well. Switch off the flame.
• Add the coconut flakes into the pan and mix them very well and transfer them to the grinder jar.
• Grind them coarsely and add required amount of salt and keep the thogayal ready.
• In a separate tempering pan, add oil and when its heated, add Mustard Seeds, Cumin Seeds, little urad dal, curry leaves and fry them for few seconds.
• Pour the tadka over the Thogayal/Pachidi and serve with hot rice.

Tips

Dont reduce the spice level. If the coconut is sweeter, it might reduce the spicyness of the Thogayal.

Pudina Thogayal \ Pudina Pachadi \ Mint Thogayal

Fragrance of fresh Pudina leaves always tempt us to use them immediately in our cooking.  One of my favourite combo is the Pudina Thogayal rice with any Mor Kootu or Mor Kuzhambu. Its a wise idea to use Pudina leaves in regular cooking as its known for its medicinal effects. Though we use Pudina leaves in many of the dishes we make, this Thogayal variety is unique and goes well with white rice, as a good side for Idly, Dosa too..

Ingredients

Fresh Pudina Leaves -- 1 Bunch

Urad dal \ Mina Pappu \ Ulutham Paruppu -- 3 tsp

Hing \ Asafoetida -- 1 Dash

Dry red chillies -- 3

Green chilli -- 1

Tamarind -- 1 small pinch
Jaggery - 1 small pinch

Salt -- To Taste

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Method

In a Kadai, add the oil first. When its heated up, add all the ingredients as mentioned above into the oil except Pudina Leaves. Fry them well and transfer them to a mixer grinder. Fry the Pudina Leaves in the same kadai with the remaining oil for few minutes till they get fried properly. Transfer them too to the mixer grinder. Grind them well to a coarse paste. Add required amount of salt to the Thogayal. Transfer the Mint \ Pudina Thogayal to a small bowl and its ready to eat. I don't add tadka to this Thogayal at all. If you wish, you can add some tadka to the Thogayal.

Peerkangai Thogayal \ Beerakaya Pachadi\ Ridgegourd Thogayal

In this version, the thogayal is made with the inner flesh of the vegetable not with its skin. Mostly we make this Thogayal when we really bored of the regular Sambar, Rasam varieties. With a side of some papads, this thogayal rice is very tasty.

Ingredients

Fresh Ridge Gourd -  1 Big

Urad Dal \ Mina Pappu -  21\2 tsp

Tamarind -- 1 small pinch

Dry Red Chilli --- 4

Cumin Seeds --- 1 tsp

Hing \ Asafoetida -- 1 Dash

Salt - To Taste

Oil -- 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 2 tsp

Curry Leaves -- 3

Method

• Peel the skin of the Ridge Gourd and cut the flesh of the vegetable into smaller pieces and keep them ready.
• In a kadai, add half a tbsp of oil and add Hing, 2 tsp of Urad Dal, tamarind, dry red chillies and fry them well first. When it turns into golden brown, transfer them to a mixer grinder.
• In the same kadai, fry the Ridge Gourd pieces for few minutes and transfer them to the mixer grinder.
• When the Ridge Gourd pieces reduce in size and becomes little soggy, its mostly well fried and cooked.
• Grind the contents in the mixer grinder with required amount of salt. When its done, transfer the Thogayal into a small bowl.
• In the same kadai, add little bit of oil. When it gets heated, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, half tsp of Urad Dal and 3 or 4 curry leaves and finish the tempering process.
• Pour them over the Thogayal and mix it well. Now the Peerkangai Thogayal is ready to eat.

Tips

Try to taste a small pinch of  raw Ridge Gourd before actually making the Thogayal. If its bitter, then it will totally spoil the Thogayal taste. So, don't proceed in this case.

Beerakaya Thokku Pachidi \ Ridgegourd Skin Pachidi \ Peerkangai Tholi Thogayal

Ridge gourd ( Peerkangai in Tamil and Beerakaya in Telugu ) is very low in saturated fat and cholesterol and has very high fiber content in it..Its an ideal vegetable for optimum health and weight loss. It has excellent cooling properties and good for all ages.  Ridge gourd as a whole is used in Indian Cuisine in many different ways. We can make currys, Kootu, Bajjis, Thogayal or pachidi, a simple dal or in any other forms. This Ridge gourd skin Pachidi is also one of the tastiest dishes made with less ingredients and Ridge gourd skin. If the skin is fresh, it enhances the taste of the Pachidi as well....

Ingredients

Ridge gourd Skin -  1 full cup

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Hing \ Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Urad Dal \ Ulutham Paruppu - 1 tbsp

Coriander Seeds - 2 tsp

Jeera \ Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 5 or 6 based on your spice level

Garlic Pods - 2 or 3 big ones

Salt - To Taste

Method

• In the kadai, add Olive oil and add all the ingredients except the Ridge gourd Skin and roast them well to golden brown but not black.
• Transfer them to the mixer grinder and fry the Ridge gourd skin in the remaining oil thoroughly. Cover it while frying for a minute in order to cook them well too...
• Then transfer the fried Ridge gourd skin too to the mixer grinder and grind everything in the mixer grinder together along with some salt.
• Grind them coarsely and not to a fine paste. Now the pachidi \ Thogayal is ready to be eaten with hot white rice, rotis, chappathis.

Mullangi Pachidi \ Mullangi Thogayal \ Radish Pachidi

Due to the strong and pungent taste of radish, many people do not like to see radish in their plates. But due to its high nutritional value, its wiser to include radish in our regular cooking. This mullangi thogayal \ mullangi pachidi is very tasty and made with fresh, juicy radish and other spices.

Ingredients

Fresh juicy Radish \ Mullangi - 1 Big one

Urad Dal \ Ulutham Paruppu \ Minna Pappu - 2 tsp

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Hing \ Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Dry Red Chillies - 4 or 5

Fenugreek seeds \ Menthilu \ Vendhayam - 5 or 6 seeds

Salt - To Taste

Tamarind - 1 small pinch

Jaggery - 1 tsp

For Tempering

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Urad Dal \ Ulutham Paruppu \ Minna Pappu - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 4 or 5.

Method

Peel the mullangi skin and grate the Mullangi or cut it into small thin pieces. On a kadai, add oil first. When its heated, add Hing, urad dal, dry red chillies, tamarind, fenugreek seeds and fry them slightly on low heat till they get roasted. Take it out and transfer the contents into a mixer grinder. On the kadai, now add the mullangi pieces or grated mullangi and fry them in the same oil for few minutes till the mullangi cooks completely. After that, transfer them too to the mixer grinder. Add required amount of salt and little jaggery to the grinder and grind everything together to a coarse paste. After its done, transfer the Mullangi Chutney \ pachidi to a bowl. Finish the tempering process by adding the ingredients as mentioned. Pour the tempered oil and its contents over the chutney. Serve it with hot white rice with ghee or as a side for any south indian tiffin.

Simple Tomato Chutney \ Thakkali Chutney

With tomatoes, we can try out different varieties of chutney. One of the simplest variety of tomato chutney or pachidi is made only with the mix of tomatoes and green chillies. It goes very well with pongal, idly, dosa.. Its very easier to make with very less ingredients and the process is also quicker.

Ingredients

Tomatoes - 3 Big one

Green chillies - 2 Big or 3 Medium

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Olive Oil - 2 tsp

Hing \ Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal \ Ulutham paruppu\Minna Pappu - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - 2 or 3

Salt - To Taste

Nalla yennai \ Thill Oil \ Gingelly Oil - 1 tsp

Method

Wash and cut the tomatoes and green chillies. Grind them to a coarse paste in a mixer grinder. On a thick medium sized kadai, add olive oil first. When it gets heated, add Hing, mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves for tempering. Add a tsp of turmeric powder to the oil. Finally add the grounded paste and required amount of salt to the contents in the vessel. Mix them well and fry them on a low heat till the tomato chutney reduces to one third in its quantity. Then add the gingelly oil to the tomato chutney \ pachidi and mix it well. Switch off the heat. Serve this tangy and tasty tomato chutney for any south indian tiffin variety.

Groundnut Chutney / Peanut Chutney / Verusenaga Pachidi

Peanut Chutney is a good substitute for Coconut Chutney.  Any south indian tiffin varieties can be nicely accompanied by this creamy, spicy groundnut chutney.   As its one of my daughter's favourite, I make this chutney more often at home. Very easy to make with minimal ingredients.
Ingredients
Groundnuts - 1 Cup
Dry Red Chillies - 6 or 7
Jeera - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Tamarind - 1 small pinch
Salt - To Taste
For tempering
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Urad Dal / Minna Pappu / Ulutham Paruppu - 1 tsp
Red Chillies - 1 big
Curry Leaves - 3 or 4 crushed
Method

1. Roast the groundnuts, dry red chillies, jeera, urad dal, tamarind with a tsp of Olive Oil till the groundnuts turn golden brown. But don't roast them to black. Keep it aside.
2. On the same pan, add Olive oil and add the ingredients in order for tempering.
3. Grind the groundnut mix in a mixer grinder and add required amount of salt into it.
4. Pour the tempered oil and its contents over the chutney. Mix it well and serve with idli, doasa, pongal or any other south indian tiffin.

Variations
You can add more red chillies to the chutney to make it more spicy. Spicyness totally depends on the type of red chillies too.