November 30, 2006

ALLAM PACHCHADI/GINGER CHUTNEY



Ginger is a very good digestive.Ayurveda prescribes ginger to fire up a sluggish digestive system.It is soothing for colds and sore throat as well.It is the most commonly used spice in most Indian as well as south asian households.

My post for today is the ubiquitous Allam Pachchadi.It is a common condiment in most Andhra households.It goes very well with dosa,idli,even upma, and is best when mixed with hot rice and a dollop of ghee.I learnt this from my friend's mother when she had come over to visit her .This is also my entry for JFI-Jaggery which is being hosted by Kay of Towards a better tomorrow.So,without further ado,here is the recipe as I learnt from Aunty:

Ingredients:200 gms(about 1 cup)tamarind

Boiling water,to soak the tamarind

For Popu/Tadka/Tempering:

2 Tbsp split Urad dal

2 Tbsp Chanadal

5 gms block hing/asafoetida(Or,4-6 pinches asafoetida powder)

1 tsp methi/fenugreek seeds

1 tsp Mustards seeds

6-8 dry red chillies

75 gms(about 1/3 cup) Ginger,peeled and grated/chopped into small pieces

3/4 cup grated jaggery(about 100 gms)

Salt to taste


Method: Soak the tamarind in boiling water for 30 mins.

Extract the juice by squeezing the pulp with your hands.This method helps the chutney stay longer outside the fridge.Take out the pips from the pulp.Keep aside.Grate the jaggery now.

Heat 5 Tbsp oil in a pan.Add the urad dal,chanadal,muustard seeds and methi.Let it fry until the seeds turn brown and the mustard has popped.This needs to be done on a medium heat.

Take it out into a plate and let cool.Now,fry the red chillies and hing in oil.Once the chillies puff up,take them out and add to the urad-chana mix.

Once the mix is warm,put it into a grinder(I sed my coffee grinder attachment that came with my blender) and grind till coarse.If you like the chutney fine,then you can also grind the seeds till they are almost a fine powder consistency.

Now,add the ginger,tamarind and salt.Grind once more,till all the ingredients are mixed and ginger is minced thoroughly.


Add the grated jaggery and run the mixer once more,till the jaggery is all blended and the chutney is a homogenous mixture.Take out into a dry bowl and keep it covered.Serve with idli,dosa,or hot rice.

This stores well for atleast 1 week outside the fridge in good conditions.In the refigerator,it will keep atleast 15-20 days,though mine is always over long before that.

Note:I used ready made tamarind paste as I find that the tamarind available in London has a sweet after taste,and does not really go well with chutneys.


27 comments:

Ashwini said...

That must have one gingery punch!!! Sounds great Vini

FH said...

Beautiful!! More Jaggery recipes:))

Looks delicious as chatpatah condiment,I am salivating:))

swapna susarla said...

Wow vini...

mouthwatering....u know seeing this i want to do it imm. nad to have it with dosa.thanku.

Vini K said...

Ashwini,

Thanks for dropping by.This is a great chutney.Try it.

Vini K said...

Hey Asha,this is great.Try it.,I am sure you will be hooked on to it.:-)

Vini K said...

Hi swapna,what are you waiting for?just come over,I will give you hot dosa and allam chutney:-)

Lakshmi said...

a very nice entry Vini, for jhiva. my husband's most fav. chutney.

Menu Today said...

Hi Vini,
Great looking Ginger Chutney.I like to have this chutney with pesarattu..Thanks for sharing.

Bong Mom said...

hi Vini,
First time to your blog. You know what we have in common ? We both have li'l princesses turning 3 soon :)
Did yours turn 3 already ?

Thanks for sharing this Ginger chutney. Something very new for me

Mandira said...

Ginger and tamarind chutney! That sounds delicious...

Anonymous said...

That looks so good, Vini! And a nice spicy entry for jaggery jihva :)

Vini K said...

Lakshmi,Thanks dear.It is one of my favs too!

Hi MT,yes,this chutnye goes well with pesarattu too.

Hi sandeepa,Ki Khobor?that is great to know that you hav a 3 yr old too.Mine will turn 3 in jan 2007.Her name is Ananya.

Hi Mandira,welcome to my blog and thanks for visiting.This is indeed very tasty...try it once.I am sure you will like it too.

Seema Bhat said...

vini:
Now did i mention that i loveeeeeee andhra food i know i did and can never get over the taste of allam pachadi and gongra pachadi( i hope i spelled it right) and i have had pickle version of allam pachadi and will try this one too
Thanx buddy
Seema

indosungod said...

Vini, that is one wonderful ginger chutney you have there, I have never tasted this before. Will try it out soon.

Shah cooks said...

seems so similar to our Puliyinji yet different. nice entry.

Anonymous said...

Hi Vini: I adore the taste of allam pacchadi! Actually I am planning it to prepare it for todays Pesarattu lunch. Classic entry with jaggery and thanks for sharing it for Jihva-Jaggery.

Vini K said...

Hi Indira,thanks for visiting my blog.I sent this entry for Jihva because most of the things that can be made with jaggery are sweets,and I wanted to present a spicy twist to it.Keep in touch.:)

Vini K said...

Hi Seema,you MUST try this one!It is an authentic andhra chutney.And that is Gongura...the pickle versions(I think you mean priya pickles) taste a lot more different than this home made one.You will positively be hooked on to it.:)


Hi Indosungod(very unusual name!),thanks for visiting and welcome to my blog.You should try it out.And do tell me how you liked it.:)



Hi Shaheen,thanks for visiting and welcome to my space on the world wide web..I never tried making puliinji before,although I have heard of it.Will try it sometime..

Pooja said...

hey Vini ,
Suach a nice entery for Jihva for Jaggery !
I make ti the same way some time, it si good and helathy too.
thanks for sharing .
-Pooja

Vini K said...

Hi Pooja,thanks.Yes,it is good, and healthy too.:-)

Anonymous said...

Hi Vini..how are you..lovely recipe, never tried it before...maybe i should move into a Andhra household...~grin~..thanks for sharing...

Vini K said...

Hello Dilip Ji,I am fine.Well,you are always welcome to MY household!how about that?but this is very tasty.I am sure you will like it too.Do give it a try.

I read about you offering to be the virtual project manager of the FAHC campaign.Great work,Dilipji.I shall also be sending in my contributions soon.:)

Anonymous said...

Hi Vini
Allam pachadi is very tempting. My grandmother used to prepare it for pongali back home in India. Your post made me home-sick-:)
Bye

Vini K said...

Hi Vani,thanks dear.I sent it this one because most will be desserts with jaggery,so something to spice up the tongue would be good!


Hi Anuradha,welcome to my blog.Glad to know that you are from London too..(I read it another comment you posted).Keep visiting.and keep in touch.:)

remya said...

Nice dish....i love all ginger dishes...i havent tasted chutney yet...like to try it out ....

Anonymous said...

Vini:)

I hardly thought that i could ever have the home made ginger chutney in london

My roomie has made it all the ingredients that you have listed,, the result..i'm munching on it with vedi vedi wada::)))


Thankyou for this recipe:)

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