Showing posts with label condiments. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Kothamalli Thokku | Coriander Leaves Pickle

Kothamalli Thokku, a delicious and flavorful condiment made from the fresh coriander leaves and some Indian spices. This thokku tastes great with tiffin items like idli, dosai or as condiments for south indian meals especially it tastes amazing with curd rice and sambar rice.

Last year, when i had kothamalli/ coriander leaves in our garden, i started to make this thokku with the abundant coriander leaves harvested during the season. As of now, I have been making this thokku for almost a year repeatedly. It's such a hit at my home !

If you like coriander flavor a lot then i would highly recommend to give this thokku a try and i'm sure that you will simply love it and it's going to be a staple in your house just like ours.

Now let's check out how to make Kothamalli Thokku/ Coriander Pickle.

Kothamalli Thokku | Coriander leaves pickle

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 4
Recipe Category: Condiments | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

Coriander leaves - 1 small bunch

Fenugreek seed - 1/4 tsp

Red chili - 4

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Tamarind - 1/2 inch piece

Jaggery - a small piece

Salt - to taste

Oil - 1 tsp

To Temper

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard & urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Procedure

Heat the pan with 1 tsp of oil and then add the red chili, fenugreek seed and ginger slices.

Roast till the red chilies are brown. Add the tamarind and let it sit in the heat for a couple of mins and then transfer into the mixie jar. In the same pan, add the coriander leaves(don't discard all the stems, thin stems are okay for this recipe and it gives a nice texture to the thokku).

Saute till the coriander leaves shrinks. Switch off the flame and let it cool down.

Once the roasted mixture is cooled down, add a piece of jaggery into mixture and grind into coarse. Then add the coriander leaves and salt.

Grind them into coarse paste. Now for the tempering, heat the oil in a pan and then add the mustard and urad dal, once the mustard starts to crackle add the kothamalli thokku and saute for a couple of mins.

That's it, Delicious Kothamalli Thokku is ready. Cool down completely and then store it in airtight container.

Notes:

It stays well for upto 10 days in the refrigerator.
If you add more oil, then you can store it at room temperature as well.
When you make this thokku in smaller quantities , you don't need to add a lot of oil for tempering.
Adding more oil helps to preserve the thokku for a longer time.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Inji Puli | Ginger Pickle | Onam Sadya Recipe

Inji Puli, a delicious,tangy and spicy pickle made from ginger. It's one of the must dish in the sadya menu of onam festival.

Two years back, when we were in Houston, one of our friend invite us for onam feast at their home. That was my first onam feast, i was literally mind blown by the varieties of food that they offered on that day. From her only i came to know about this puli inji and beetroot pachadi.

Both are my absolute favorite and often make them at home as the accompaniment of our meal.

In our home, we make inji pachadi as the side dish of sothi kulambu, for me, this inji puli sounds so similar to that pachadi. Elders in our family always recommend to make and serve inji pachadi with sothi kulambu,since sothi kulambu has lot of coconut in it, the inji pachadi helps to aid digestion well.

Guess in sadya menu also, this inji puli is served for the same reason since sadya menu has so many varieties. Always wonder about how wise our ancestors are, the food and the combinations are not only tasty, they act as medicine for many times. Ok, with that thought, will check out the recipe for inji puli.

Inji Puli | Ginger Pickle

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 4
Recipe Category: Condiments | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Ginger - 1/4 cup
Tamarind - a lemon size
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Green chili - 4
Jaggery - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
To Temper
Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 spring
Red chili - 1

Procedure

First peel the ginger and cut into small pieces.

Next cut the green chili into small pieces.

Soak the tamarind in water for 20 mins. Heat the pan with coconut oil.

Add the ingredients listed under "To Temper" one by one, let the mustard splutter, then add the ginger and green chili.

Saute in the oil for 5 mins, then extract the tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind and add into the pan. Add turmeric and chili powder.

Next add the salt, mix it well and let it bring into boil. Once it starts to boil, lower the flame and let it simmer for 10-15 mins.

Finally add the jaggery and keep it in the flame for few more mins. Once the oil separates on the sides and the pickle thickens, switch off the flame.

Tasty Puli Inji is ready.

Related: How to make Inji Pachadi

Notes:

Adjust the chili powder and chilies as per your preferred taste. The given quantity has mild spice level
My green chili has very mild spice level.
Using coconut oil gives great flavor to this recipe. But you can also use sesame seed oil.
Like hot spices, you can add more or less of jaggery as per your liking. Adding jaggery helps to balance the tanginess and hotness of the pickle.

Tamarind Dates Chutney | Sweet Chutney | Chaat Chutney

Tamarind Dates Chutney, a sweet & sour chutney that goes well with many Indian Chaat items. Already i have one recipe for sweet chutney here in my blog, but the recipe that i'm sharing today is quite different in making from the previous one, even though the ingredients are almost same. The consistency of the chutney is thick and can be diluted with water if needed for the recipe. If you're chaat lover and would love to make them often, then make this chutney in bulk and store in refrigerator, it comes handy while making any chaat items. The biggest advantage of making this kind of chutney at home is that you can season the chutney as per your liking. More sour or more sweet, whatever it is, make as you wish !!!

Tamarind Dates Chutney

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Makes : 1&1/2 cup
Recipe Category: Condiments | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Tamarind - 1/4 cup
Dates - 1/2 cup
Red chili - 2
Salt - to taste
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Water - 1 & 1/4 cup

Procedure

Take the tamarind, dates & red chili in a sauce pan, add the water and bring into boil.

Let it simmer for 5 mins, then switch off the flame and let it cool completely. Then transfer the whole into mixie jar and add salt & cumin powder into it and grind into smooth paste.

Tada, Tamarind Dates Chutney is ready.Store it in air tight bottle and keep it in refrigerator for long life.

Notes:

Add more or less water as per the consistency you want.
Instead of red chili, you can use the red chili powder also.
If the tamarind has more fibre in it, strain the chutney once.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Srilankan Curry Powder | Curry Powder | Spice Powder

Srilankan Curry Powder, a flavorful mix of spices grinds together into powder and it's the key spice in many of Srilankan dishes. I guess that this curry powder is almost similar to the curry powder that are available in India.

Though i haven't tried any curry powder so far, by seen the ingredients list in the curry powder pack, i came to that assumption. If you have tried both the curry powder let me know how it differs in taste.

While searching for the recipe of this curry powder, I noticed that there are quite a few variations in the making, i guess it's like our sambar powder, every household has their own recipe.

I personally prefer the spice powder without chili, so I can adjust the flavor and spice level according to my taste later in the curries, hence I referred to the recipe from here and here.

The curry powder turned out so flavorful and it has very less spice from the peppercorns, so in the curry, you can add more or less chili powder as per your spice level.

Sri lankan Curry Powder

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Makes : 1/2 cup
Recipe Category: Spice Powder | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Coriander seed - 1/4 cup
Cumin seed - 3 tbsp
Pepper corns - 2 tbsp
Rice - 2 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tbsp
Fennel seed - 1 tbsp
Cinnamon - 2 inch piece
Cloves -10
Cardamom -10
Fenugreek seed - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 spring

Procedure

Measure and take all the ingredients. Heat the pan in medium flame and add all the ingredients, start roasting in the medium flame.

Roast till nice aroma comes from all the spices and it slightly starts to change its color. Remove from the flame and let it cool. Put it in the mixie jar and grind into powder.

Let it cool completely and store it in air tight container.

Related: How to make Srilankan Chicken Curry

Notes:

While roasting the spices, add all the bigger ones first like coriander seeds, peppercorns, when it's half done, add all other ingredients, it helps to avoid burning of smaller spices
Or roast each spices separately, choose the method that you're convenient .
Don't let the spices cool completely, grind when it's hand bearable temperature. It helps to grind quickly.
If you want some color, add a inch of turmeric stick or 1 tsp of turmeric powder along with all other spices.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Dry Coconut Garlic Chutney for Vada Pav | Dry Coconut Chutney Powder | Chat Chutney

Dry Coconut Chutney/Dry Coconut garlic chutney is one of the chutney that you needed to make vada pav. This chutney is so easy to make if you have desiccated coconut. All you need to do is put everything in blender and grind,voila!,your chutney is ready to serve. It stays well for more than 10 days in refrigerator,so you can make them ahead of time & store in refrigerator and it comes handy when you're making vada pav.

I have seen many different ways of making this chutney and also the preparation of this chutney varies from regions to regions in India. In some recipe, peanut was used along with coconut and in some other recipe,sesame seed was used,but in this recipe i haven't use any nuts as i simply love the coconut flavor,i skipped all of it. But if you want your chutney as sticky, then you need to add either peanut or sesame seed. Again if you want the chutney as sticky with only coconut flavor,then add a tsp of coconut oil while grinding.So there is no rule here, it's purely up to your preference, play with your ingredients and make as per your liking.

Dry Coconut Garlic Chutney

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 0 mins | Makes : 1/4 cup
Recipe Category: Chutney | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Unsweetened Coconut flakes - 1/2 cup
Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 1 pod
Salt - to taste

Procedure

Measure and take all the ingredients and put in mixie/blender jar and grind into coarse powder.

That's it, Dry Coconut Garlic Chutney is ready.

Notes:

Instead of coconut flakes, you can use desiccated coconut.
Adjust the chili powder as per your taste.
If the garlic pod is small, add one or two more.

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Chili Garlic Sauce | Sweet and Sour Chili Garlic Sauce | Sauces

Chili Garlic sauce, the most versatile sauce that you can use it as dip sauce for your appetizers or you can use it in your pasta or noodles for that extra zing.

Chili Garlic sauce is the one sauce that i always stock up in my refrigerator. We both have some mild allergy to the vinegar, so i always try my best to avoid vinegar based sauces from the store and make my own.

The original recipe for this chili garlic calls for vinegar, but i have used equal amount of lemon juice and it tastes equally good.

But you can use any type vinegar in this recipe.Then coming to red chilies, mine was too hot, with just 10 number of it gives super hot sauce. If the chili has mild hotness, you can use up to 15 numbers of chilies.

Check out the video and share your thoughts.

Chili Garlic Sauce

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Makes : 1 cup
Recipe Category: Sauces | Recipe Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients
Red Chili - 10
Garlic - 7 to 8 pods
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Lemon - 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Corn flour - 1 tsp

Procedure

Heat 1/2 cup of water in a sauce pan, add the red chili and bring to boil. Let it in the flame for 2 mins.

Switch off the flame and cover the pan with lid and set it aside for 5 more mins. Then add the chilies(if you have any leftover water from the cooked chili, dont throw it,will be using later.) into the mixie/blender jar and then add garlic.

Add lemon juice, sugar and salt one by one and grind into coarse paste.

Pour the chili paste into the sauce pan along with the leftover water from the cooked chili and heat it again.

Once the mixture comes to boil, keep the flame in low and cook it for 2 to 3 mins.
In the meantime, mix the corn flour with a tbsp of water and add it into the chili paste and cook till it becomes glossy. It may take 3 to 4 mins in low flame.Switch off the flame, let it cool completely and store in air tight container.

That's it,Spicy & tangy chili garlic sauce is ready.

Related:How to make Vegetable Spring Roll

Notes:

Depends on the liquid in the chili sauce, you may need more or less of corn flour mixture.
Don't add more corn flour mixture, it may thickens the sauce so much.So start with small amount of corn flour mixture.
Don't touch the chili paste , it may cause burning sensation in your hands.
Instead of lemon juice, you can use vinegar.
It may last atleast one month in refrigerator.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Red Radish Fry | Radish Poriyal | Red Radish Poriyal

Last week while we were shopping for vegetables, i saw this cute red radish along with greens,so i bought a bunch and it's been sitting in the fridge for more than 5 days, so today i prepared this simple stir fry and it turns out so delicious. I remember that the radish we used to make in our home back in India have strong flavor and i found it very unpleasant in those days.But this radish doesn't have any kind of strong flavor, don't know whether it's a different variety or the size makes the difference.Anyhow this radish taste so good and i'm gonna make this often.

Red Radish Fry

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 1 or 2
Recipe Category: Accompaniments | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Red Radish - 8 to10
Onion -1(small)
Green Chili -1
Salt - to taste
Grated Coconut - 2 tsp
Oil - 1/2 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves -few

Procedure

Wash the radish well, trim the top and bottom of the radish and then cut into thin circles.

Cut onions into thin slices and keep it ready. Heat the pan with oil, add mustard & urad dal, let the mustard splutter.

Then add the onions,green chili(slit) and curry leaves and saute till the onions becomes translucent and then add the sliced radish.

Add salt and mix well. Cover the pan with lid & cook the radish till it's soft, stir in between to avoid burning at the bottom.

Finally add the grated coconut and mix it well & switch off the flame.

Mild and tasty radish poriyal is ready.Serve it with any spicy kulambu along with steamed rice. We had it with manathakali kulambu.

Notes:

Adjust the number of green chili as per your taste.
Instead of thin slices, you can cut the radish into small pieces too.
No need to add water for cooking radish. Radish itself leaves lot of water while cooking.

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Tuesday, February 6, 2024