Today’s post is one of those quiet essential items that would be stocked in almost all South Indian pantry’s.Yes im speaking about “Chutney pudi / powder” which everybody just loves at my place.Apart from chutneys and sambar, chutney powders are perfect accompaniment to almost all south indian breakfast items.Its a life saver on those busy mornings,lazy mornings,when you don’t have time/mood to prepare chutneys.For bachelors / for someone who stays away from home chutney pudi always tops the ” list of food items to be taken back” .
I know people who are not from South India might be wondering , what is Chutney pudi / powder? How do you eat it ?Chutney powder is basically a staple condiment like pickles, which is mixed with a liberal quantity of ghee/butter/coconut oil/sesame oil/curd and served as an accompaniment with Idly/Dosa/ any breakfast variety.So chutney powder can be called as dry chutney.There are tons of variations for chutney pudis and each one has a unique taste according to its preparation which varies from home to home and state to state..
Here i’m sharing with you all a traditional family recipe of basic chutney powder passed carefully from hand to hand.Its a simple recipe where in the lentils are coarsely powdered and spiced and flavored up making them taste spicy,sweet,sour and salty .Of course , they are easily available in stores, but i hope you spare few minutes to make them at home as nothing can beat the healthy ,fresh aromatic ones prepared at home…
CHUTNEY POWDER
Ingredients
- 1 cup Urad Dal black gram
- 1 cup Chana Dal Bengal Gram
- 1/4 cup Tuvar Dal/split pigeon peas, (optional)
- 1 cup Grated Kopra / Dried coconut
- 1 cup Dried Red Chilli, spicy variety (Guntur)
- 1 1/2 cups Dried Red Chilli, Byadgi / kashmiri ( gives deep red color and comparatively mild)
- 1 cup Curry Leaves
- big lemon size Tamarind, cut to small pieces
- Jaggery, Small piece
- Salt
To Seasoning
- 1 tsp Mustard
- 1 tsp Haldi turmeric
- 1 tsp Hing /Asafoetida
- 2 - 4 tbsp sunflower oil /Coconut Oil
Instructions
- In a frying pan or kadai on medium low heat, dry roast chana dal until its aromatic and light red in color. Do not brown . Transfer it to a plate and allow to cool.
- In the same frying pan similarly dry roast , urad dal and tuvar dal separately till they are aromatic and light red in color. Transfer them to a plate and allow to cool. Keep all the dals separate.
- Next on a low flame in the same frying pan, dry roast kopra till they are little crisp. Transfer it into one more plate.
- Add a teaspoon of oil to the frying pan. Keep the flame on low and roast red chillies.Mid way, add curry leaves, and continue to roast , till both red chillies and curry leaves have turned crisp.Transfer them to the plate containing roasted kopra.
- Finally roast tamarind .Keep the flame on low and roast till they are crisp .Transfer it to the plate having red chillies. Allow everything to cool to room temperature.
- In a blender / mixer , coarsely grind each dal separately.Transfer them to a large mixing bowl.
- Next , transfer the mixture of red chillies, curry leaves,tamarind and kopra to the blender. Add salt and jaggery .Make a fine powder.Transfer the powder to the mixing bowl having coarse all dal powder.
- Prepare a tempering. Add oil to the kadai.When its hot, add mustard seeds. When it spluters add hing and haldi. Switch off the flame . Pour the tempering on the chutney powder. Mix well .Taste and adjust the seasoning if required.
- Lastly run, the hand mixed chutney powder in a mixer for 1 -2 rounds so that it gets mixed uniformly. That's it, tasty chutney powder bursting with flavors is ready.Store it in air tight containers and use when required.Tastes best upto 6 months.
- To serve mix a spoonful of chutney powder with a dash of ghee / butter /coconut oil/ sesame oil /curd and serve as an accompaniment for Idly /Dosa/Paniyaram/Karnataka style rotti/adai / even hot rice
Notes
- Always store chutney powder in airtight container. See to it that water or moisture does not enter the container. Else they will. If stored properly, they stay best upto 6 months. No need refrigeration.
- Roasting and grinding each dal separately is very important.Also roast them uniformly and well so that they chutney pudi tastes good and lasts longer.
- In the above , i have used two types of red chillies , as one gives color and the other required spice.Together they compliment well .But you can use 1 type of red chilli too , whichever is available to you.
- Instead of jaggery you can also use sugar.
- You can also use tamarind powder if its available.
Well explained my mom use to get this for me, I will try your version soon.
very flavorful and delicious chutney powder, love it…Pls remove the word verification, it is getting really hard…
Love chutney pudis…..very handy! nice combo with curd rice…
Hi smitha, congrats; you won the prize for WTML event hosted by me.To collect the prize read the details in http://www.poornimacookbook.com/search/label/WTML%20Event%20Round%20Up.and contact gayathri.
looks spicy, love spicy perfect to go with my today’s dish.
Chutney podi looks good. You said it right. Best recipe for a lazy morning. But I would love to have it on all days. On-going event: South Indian cooking
We make it similarly except the addition of coconut but coconut gives unique flavor and taste right? handy podi, a must in my pantry 🙂
Flavourful podi smitha .def a time saver in a busy day
ya addition of dry coconut takes it to a new level…
thx poornima for the info n choosing me as winner 🙂
Word verification ? i didnt get .. i ve nt added anything..
That is mouthwatering indeed!
perfectly made podi…. yummy
wow! Looks tempting and very healthy, so easy to use once prepared too.
Simply awesome and its tempting…
Sounds yummy.Will try sometime.
Dhanyavaada Smitha 🙂
can u pls tell me glass and cup measurement
Very helpful thank you for sharing
Please answer Uma’s question of what a glass measurement is equivalent to? I would also like very much to know. Thank-you.
use any glass for measuring n use the same glass to measure all ingredients
Hi! I made the chutney pudi today and it was superb! Thanks a ton!
Thanks for the recipe.i had made it accordingly and it was a big hit with my family. Now I have to make it once in every 15 days because it gets over very fast.
Wonderful chutney powder recipe .I can say perfect . Thank you very much for the recipe.
This Chutney pudi is a must in every Kannadiga household 🙂 Thanks for sharing Smita!