Chatni Pudi - The Authentic South Karnataka Style

Chatni Pudi is a highly essential condiment in any South Indian kitchen. It is like a tomato ketchup in western homes. It can be an awesome side dish to various breakfast items ranging from dosas to idlies to upmas and even pohas. And not to forget its contribution to lunch and dinner - mixing a spoonful of chatni pudi with a generous serving of rice with ghee/oil fills in for any lack of side dish on days. Or just use it as a pickle with some curd rice. And even with enough side dishes, chatni pudi will always have its scope to make it to almost all meals!

There is a different charm and a character in home-made spice powders, if you ask me. Even with the recipe being the same, spice powders of each house will have a signature of that household. The store bought ones do manage to help when there is a time crisis, but homemade is always homemade! And I’ve always been used to homemade powders, be it mom or MIL.

One of the many advantages I had of staying with in-laws was that I never had to bother about Spice powders! Even before I’d notice that one of the many spice powders was running out, it’d be filled up one evening when I returned home! And if at all I was around when MIL was making them, she’d send me out of the kitchen as she felt I was too young and couldn’t take the strong smell and dust of roasting and powdering chilies…

So as expected, when we moved here, our bags were stuffed with jars/packs of various powders - rasam powder, sambhar powder/huLi pudi, menthyada hittu and of course chatni pudi, from both our moms. How long can a jar of tasty, colorful, flavorful chatni pudi last, especially in a foreign land when two foodies are missing our dear Bangalore? Of course it ended sooner than it would back home! And I knew it was something I had to make, at least to overcome the ‘missing-home’ feeling for a while!

So a call to mom and one to MIL, (they both have slightly different process), and how can yours truly not add her own signature to it? Well, the jar is already seeing the bottom, in just about a month’s time since I made it, so that explains it :) Here it is, my version, adapted from both of them and it came out wonderfully well.

Chatni Pudi - The Authentic South Karnataka Style 

Cooking time: 15 min

Preparation time: ~30 min

Makes about 3-4 cups

Lasts for a few months when stored in airtight container, i.e., if you let it last that long!

Ingredients: 
Bengal Gram dal/Chana dal/kadale bele - 1 cup

Black gram dal / Urad dal/ uddina bele - 1 cup

Dry red chilies - about 20; I use a mix of byadagi and guntoor

Curry leaves - 1 bunch with a handful of sprigs

Asafetida - one big generous pinch

Dry coconut - 1 cup; I used desiccated coconut 

Tamarind - a small lime sized ball

Jaggery  - 1-2 tsp, crushed

Salt - ~2 tsp

Tempering:

Oil - 2 Tbsp

Curry leaves - a couple of sprigs

Asafetida - a big pinch

Dry coconut - ½ cup; optional; If using here, reduce the quantity of coconut above

Method:

• In a large skillet, dry roast chana dal and urad dal separately till it starts changing color and raw smell disappears
• Transfer to a big platter on one side
• In the same skillet, roast the red chilies, curry leaves and asafetida till aromatic; transfer to another side of the same platter
• Next, roast the dry coconut till light golden brown; if using dry coconut, slice it into thick pieces and roast; it will get powdered later
• Break the tamarind into small pieces and roast it on low flame for a couple of minutes, and transfer
• Allow all these to cool down for about 15-20 minutes
• When cool, start grinding the ingredients one by one. Start with the dals and powder them coarsely.
• Make sure not to make it into fine powder, keeping it a little coarse adds to the texture
• Transfer to a big bowl
• Next powder the red chili, curry leaves mixture and transfer to the same bowl
• Similarly powder the tamarind and salt next, make this as fine as possible so that it gets mixed well
• Finally mixie the jaggery and coconut together and transfer to the same bowl
• Now, mix all the ground ingredients with hand in the bowl. The mixture now looks very pale, with a dull color.
• Taste it and if you feel it needs something, add it now - salt or more jaggery. It should have a balanced taste of all four elements
• Once done, transfer the mixture again to the mixie jar in parts and run it for a few seconds each, till it is well mixed. This step gives the chatni pudi that awesome attractive color and look

Tempering: optional

• Heat oil in a small pan, add mustard and allow to splutter
• Add the asafetida and curry leaves and fry till crisp
• Add a pinch of turmeric
• You can add some more grated coconut here, but it is optional
• Add it to the chatni pudi and give it a good mix
• Allow it to cool for an hour or so, and then store it in an air tight jar. It stays fresh for a few months

Notes:

• Using byadagi red chilies gives it a beautiful color and guntoor variety gives heat; we use a combination of both
• In mom’s version there is no tempering at the end, and full coconut and curry leaves are added while grinding whereas in my MIL’s version, they are added along with tempering as well

Strawberry Preserve

It’s been raining strawberries here. The season’s last lot are here now and everywhere there is a stall selling these bright red luscious fruit. We too got tempted by it many a time and indulged in them quite a bit. And then we even went picking strawberries in a farm. This was the first time for us to see strawberry farms and we were pretty excited by the fresh, big and bright strawberries. We picked to big boxes and returned home happily!

I made milkshakes/smoothies almost every other day, had them in Corner House style ‘Fresh strawberries with Ice cream and Whipped cream’, one of my favorites, ate them as is. I also made a strawberry gateau which did taste amazing, but didn’t look that amazing. So it’ll not make to the blog this time. D has made another item out of it, which actually still in the making. If it’s a success, you’ll get a guest post by him here :D. Any guesses?

And after all these, there was still left and I had to preserve them for the later, apparently dull grey days. It’s my first winter out of India, so not really sure how grey is actually the described grey! Will have to wait and see :)

So here’s how to make it…

Strawberry Preserve 

Preparation Time: 10 min plus standing time

Cooking Time: ~40 min

Makes :One small jar

Source: eCurry

Ingredients:

Strawberries - ½ kg, washed, & hulled

White Sugar - 1 Cup

Juice of half Lemon

Preparation:

• Wash and hull strawberries. Combine berries with sugar in a large stainless steel/non reactive bowl; let stand for 3 to 4 hours.
• Bring strawberries to a boil slowly, for about 6-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
•  Add lemon juice. Cook rapidly till it comes to a full boil, & then reduce heat to medium
• Gently boil until strawberry mixture is clear/glassy and mixture is thick & mounds on a spoon, about 15-20 minutes. Mine took almost 25 min.

Notes:

• Since my strawberries were large sized ones, I mashed them a bit when boiling with a potato masher
• I’ve reduced the quantity of sugar given in source since I didn’t want the preserve to be overly sweet. It is just about sweet and is fine.

Peanut Chutney Pudi

Where was I all these past days? Well, I was busy with my brother-in-law’s wedding. The wedding was on last weekend and now some breather for us, before my sis’s wedding in a couple of weeks!
With an already hectic schedule, my MIL met with an accident 4 weeks before the wedding! And that needed a few days of hospitalization, a nasal surgery, some dental treatments, etc… Being a person who had never been admitted to a hospital, it was too much for her to get over this. And the responsibilities on our shoulders more than doubled, with hospital work added to the wedding work. Somehow, by God’s grace, the difficult times seem to be over and the wedding went on pretty smooth.

Well, when things were like this, all I wanted every day, was to finish off the cooking part soon, but still not disappointing people’s expectations, so that I could concentrate on other work including office. Jars of Chutney pudis do come in very handy at such times. But unfortunately (or fortunately for me) the always-almost-filled jars of chutney pudi had just reached the bottom! And I knew making it once, spending some time would save up a lot of time subsequently.


This version of chutney pudi is actually a quick fix in our households. The conventional, traditional one using different lentils is what is generally made, but is quite laborious. Whereas this one, uses just peanuts and red chilies making it the simplest to make! But the taste, however, is quite rich because of the oil from peanuts and is quite addictive.


Learnt from mom, I call it the simplest and easiest chutney pudi ever.

Peanut Chutney Pudi

Preparation time : 10 min
Cooking time : 5 min
Shelf life : 2-3 months

Ingredients:
Peanuts - 2 cups
Red chilies - 1 cup, packed; I use Byadagi variety. Guntoor variety may be used for a spicy version
Salt - 2-3 Tsp, depending on taste

Method:
• Dry roast peanuts in a skillet or in microwave, till the husk begins to show cracks
• Dry roast chilies separately till they are crisp
• Allow both to cool completely
• Add salt and grind all the three ingredients to a coarse powder
• Ensure not to grind too much as it forms into lumps
• Spread it out on a dry tray and allow to dry for half an hour
• Transfer it to an air tight jar
• Tastes great when mixed with steam cooked rice and a spoonful of oil
• Also good with dosas, rotis, etc

Notes:
• Ensure that roasted items are cooled before grinding, to avoid lumping
• A small marble sized ball of tamarind may also be roasted and ground together - But I prefer the simpler version

Bisi-Bele-Bhath

Bisi bele bhath is a famous rice-based dish Karnataka. Bisi-bele-bhath translates to hot-lentil-rice in the Kannada language. It is also known as Bisi bele huliyanna. The preparation of this dish is quite elaborate, involving preparation of spice powder. The spices used, contribute to the unique flavor and taste of this dish. It is served hot along with boondi or potato chips.

The best place to savor this dish in Bangalore is MTR or Mavalli Tiffin Room. However, the MTR branded ready-to-eats are nothing great to be bragged about. So is the spice powder - it is best when prepared fresh.

Here’s my MIL’s recipe for BBB. She makes wonderfully tasty BBB, which can easily compete with the MTR BBB :)

Bisi Bele Bhath

Preparation time : 15 min Cooking time : 25 min Serves : 5-6 Ingredients: Rice - 2 cups Tur Dal - 1 ½ cups Chopped Vegetables (Beans, Carrot, Potato, Onion, peas) - together 2 cups, all chopped into ½” pcs Salt - 1 tsp Coconut - 1 ½ Tbsp, grated - fresh or dry Tamarind pulp - 1 Tbsp, adjust acc to taste Jaggery - 1 big marble sized ball Oil - ½ Tbsp Butter - ½ Tbsp, optional Turmeric - 1 pinch Salt - 1 tsp, adjust acc to taste For the powder: Chana dal - 2 tsp Urad dal - 2 tsp Dry red chilies - 8-10 Cinnamon - 1” stick Coriander seeds - 2 tsp Cloves - 5-6 Maratha Moggu - 2 Cardamon - 2 Poppy seeds - 2 tsp Curry leaves - 2 sprigs For tempering:Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Groundnut seeds - 1 tbsp Curry leaves - 2-3 strands Red chilies - 1 Turmeric - 1 pinch Method: For BBB powder: • Dry roast all the ingredients • Allow to cool for 5 minutes • Grind them into slightly coarse powder • This can be made in larger quantity and preserved for a couple of months Bisi Bele Bath:• Pressure cook dal and vegetables with a pinch of turmeric in sufficient water • Cook rice separately • Mix the cooked rice into the cooked dal and vegetable pan • Add tamarind pulp, salt, jaggery, BBB powder and bring to boil • Add grated coconut and mix thoroughly • Stir in between. Adjust the amount of water as per required consistency. • After boiling well for about 10 minutes, turn off the flame and add butter and mix Tempering: • Heat oil in a pan • Add mustard seeds and allow to sputter • Turn the heat low, add groundnut seeds, and stir • After the groundnuts are half-done, add curry leaves and red chili pieces and stir for half a minute till all the ingredients are properly roasted. Keep aside till needed • Mix the tempering to the BBB just before serving to retain the crispness of the groundnuts Tips n Tricks: • Do not make rice too mushy mushy • Make the BBB a little watery. It absorbs the water and gets thickened after sometime. Variations: • An onion can be sautéed and added along with the tempering • An alternate method is to add all the raw ingredients and pressure cook the entire mixture at one go. However, my preference is the elaborate method.

Gongura pickle

We had these tenants of ours who were from Andhra. They were recently married, and the wife was quite a young girl, who was just out of college. She'd come home for spending some time talking to mom to kill her boredom in a new place. And mom give her company for sometime, while we would be curiously listening to the conversation!

One of the usual topics would be food, and she'd often say she had prepared something with gongura. We were quite unaware of this gongura then. And she'd explain that it is a very famous variety of greens and used widely in Andhra cuisine. And she'd sometimes give us a tangy spicy pickle like thing to taste, in a small bowl in return to something that mom would have sent to her. And it would taste awesome with hot rice and a spoonful of ghee/oil. The next encounter with this gongura pickle was at Andhra style restaurants, where Dee loves the pappu (dal) and this gongura pickle.

So when the vegetable vendor come with fresh bunches of maroon stalked green gongura, i was tempted to buy it, even without any idea of how to use it. And i soon figured out umpteen different recipes from various sources! Then decided to refine it to my taste and make it to suit our tastebuds. And it did come ou good, and a huge bunch of leaves yielded me only a small bowlful of the pickle, and what i thought i'll have to preserve for weeks, didn't last for more than three days! Everyone - including little niece Hima had an extra round of gongura pickle rice for every meal, till it lasted!

Gongura pickle

Preparation time : 10 min Cooking time : 15 min Makes : 1 cup of pickle Ingredients: Gongura leaves - 5-6 cups, washed and picked Oil - 2 tbsp Salt - 1 tsp For spice powder:Dry red chilies - 15-20 depending on taste Mustard seeds - 3 tsp Fenugreek seeds - 3 tsp For tempering: Oil - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Asafetida - 1 pinch Method: Spice powder• Heat a skillet and roast all the ingredients • Cool slightly and grind it to a powder Gongura pickle• Wash the gongura, separate the leaves from stalk • In a heavy bottomed pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the gongura leaves • The volume of the greens reduces drastically • Sauté it for a while till the water content evaporates • Keep stirring, to avoid sticking to the pan, add more oil if needed • Once done, the oil starts separating out from the pickle • Add the spice powder prepared and mix thoroughly for a couple of minutes, with the heat on • Heat oil in a small skillet, add mustard and allow to splutter, add asafetida and mix it to the pickle • Serve with rice and ghee/oil, curd rice, dosa, etc Tips n Tricks: • The gongura reduces in volume drastically - so use more if you want to prepare more Variations: • Sautéed onions can also be added