Amla Mint Chutney - Gooseberry Mint Chutney - Nellikkai Chutney - Easy No Cook Chutney

Today morning when I had plans of preparing dosa for breakfast, I felt so lazy and bored to prepare the usual accompaniments and my taste buds craved for something super tasty. When I digged in my refrigerator, found two amla's lying seeking attention. Needless to say that the green fruit  can protect us against countless ailments,. And instantly I remembered a chutney recipe which I read in a tamil magazine somewhere. It was an instant hit and my 8 year old loved the tangy, spicy, sweet amla chutney. This chutney needs no cooking or no pre-preparations.

 

 Here comes the recipe

Ingredients:

Amla - 2
Mint leaves - 10 to 15 nos
Coriander leaves - a fistful
Green chillies - 4 (adjust as per your taste)
Ginger - 2 inch slice
Garlic - 1 (optional)
Curry leaves - few
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Coconut oil - 1 tsp (for flavor)
Salt as per taste

Tempering 
Coconut oil, mustard seeds and curry leaves

Method

Deseed the amla. Add all the ingredients mentioned above in a mixer and grind to the chutney consistency. Do the tempering and enjoy with hot idli or dosa.

Note : The right amount of spice, tangy and sweetness gives the actual taste to this chutney. So adjust the ingredients accordingly. My family prefers a mildly hot version, my green chillies were not very spicy, 4 nos were apt for us.

Ridge Gourd Skin Thuvayal - Peerkangai Thol Thuvayal

Ridge gourd peel thuvayal or Peerkangai Thol thuvayal is an easy thuvayal recipe made with ridge gourd peel or skin and other minimal ingredients.  Never let your ridge gourd peel go waste and try this easy thuvaiyal recipe which works as great side dish with dosa, idli and steamed rice. Rice mixed with this thuvayal and ghee along with some papad or potato chips is great combination to relish. 

 

Ingredients
 
Ridge gourd (peerkangai) skin - 1 cup  (or skin from 1 or 2 ridge gourds)
Tamarind - small marble sized ball
Grated coconut -2 tbsp
Hing and salt as per taste
 
For Seasoning
 
Oil -2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Channa dal - 2tsps
Whole black pepper -1/4 tsp
Red chillies - 2 or 3

Method

Wash the ridge gourd well, peel the skin and chop it into small pieces.You can use the flesh for preparing kootu or chutney or poriyal. 

Heat oil in a pan and do the seasoning with the ingredients mentioned under "For Seasoning". Then add the chopped ridge gourd skin, hing, salt and tamarind and fry until the skin turns tender. Turn off the flame, add grated coconut, mix well and allow to cool down completely. 

Then transfer to a mixer and grind to coarse paste. This thuvayal can be served with rasam sadam or curd rice or even can be mixed with hot rice along with a tsp of ghee or oil.

Tomato Peanuts Chutney

Tomato Peanut Chutney is easy delicious chutney for idli, dosa or for any South Indian tiffin/snacks items. The peanutty flavor is just delightful. Here comes the recipe!

Ingredients

Ripe tomatoes - 3
Peanuts - 2 tbsps
Dry red chillies - 2
Salt as per taste

To temper

Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Method

1. Fry peanuts in a pan until they turn golden brown. Set aside
2. In a pan, add a little bit of oil, add red chillies and fry. Then add chopped tomatoes  and salt and saute until it turns mushy. Allow it to cool down. 
3. Add the peanuts in a mixer and grind to a coarse powder. Now add the cooked tomatoes and grind to a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl and do the tempering. Enjoy with idly/any dosa recipes.

Red Bell Pepper Tomato Chutney

Red Bell Peppers/Capsicum is one vegetable which is rich in vitamins and nutrients.  Red bell peppers are the ripe version of green bell peppers and hence they have a sweet taste. They have double the amount of vitamin C and are 10 times rich in Vitamin A. They are rich source of anti-oxidants. They are a great source of Vitamin B6 and minerals. They grow in different colors varying from green, red, yellow, orange etc. Making a chutney out of this versatile veggie is a good way to start a day with. This  chutney is a nice accompaniment for idly, dosa, adai or pongal. Now to the recipe!!

Ingredients

Red Bell Pepper - 1, chopped into 1" pieces
Tomatoes - 2, chopped
Onion - 1, chopped
Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp

Salt and Oil as required

Dry roast

Channa dal - 1 tbsp
Urad dal - 1 tbsp
Dry red chillies - 2 (adjust as per taste)
Cumin - 1 tsp

For Tempering

Oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry red chillies and hing

Method

1. Heat a pan, dry roast the ingredients mentioned under "Dry roast" and set aside.
2. Add oil in the heated pan, add garlic and saute for a minute. Then add the onions and saute until they turn transparent. Now add the tomatoes and fry until they turn mushy. After that add the red bell pepper and coriander leaves. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the red bell pepper is half cooked. Allow to cool down.
3. Blend the dry fried ingredients to a coarse powder and then add the bell pepper, tomatoes mixture along with salt and grind to a fine paste
4. Do the tempering and add to the chutney. Serve with any kind of idly or dosa.