Avocado Chutney

Avocado,otherwise known as butter fruit/butter pear is a tropical fruit which has a rich nutty flavor with high fat content,mostly health promoting monosaturated fat.Studies shows that Avocados are a good source of potassium ,fiber and vitamins.It is also good for heart health and fighting against cancers.
Because of its high nutritional value,i’ve started including this fruit also in our  diet.So far i’ve tried avocado chappathi,milkshake,chutney and guacamole,and i’m still on the look out for more avocado recipes.I’ve also heard that a ripe avocado tastes good with some sugar sprinkled on it,haven’t tried it though.

How to use Avocado  :-

Avocado is usually eaten when its ripe.The skin of the avocado will turn from green to dark purple as it ripes.If you are buying raw ones,keep it in the room temperature for 2-3 days or until it turns dark,be careful not to over ripe it.To prepare the avocado,make a cut half lengthwise and gently twist the two halves.Now use a spoon/knife to remove the seed and then scoop the flesh from it.It’ll come out easily just like butter.

And now the recipe for chutney…

Ingredients :-

For Grinding :-

Avocado scooped – 1/2 of a big one
Grated coconut – 1 cup
Shallots – 2
Green chillies – 2-3(as per your taste)
Ginger – 1/2 inch size
Salt – to taste
Lime juice – 1/2 tsp(Optional)

Grind all the above ingredients together into a smooth paste adding necessary water.

For popping:-

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Shallots chopped – 1
Red chillies – 1
Curry leaves – a few
Oil – as needed

Method:-

Heat oil in a pan and pop mustard seeds.Throw in shallots,following by red chillies and curry leaves.Fry until shallots turn brown.Add the ground ingredients,mix together and heat for a few minutes.Do not boil.Serve with dosa/idly.

Note :-This chutney is not good for storing as avocados turn black as it stands.To prevent this darkening of avocados for sometime,drizzle it with lime/lemon juice.

Manga (Mango) Chammanthi

This is a quick dish prepared with sour green mangoes,the more sour the best.I love to have this for dinner along with Kanji(rice gruel) and pappadam.

This is how I make my Manga Chammanthi…

Ingredients :-

Green mangoes sliced – 1 cup
(If you want you can peel off the skin,but usually it is prepared with the peel on)
Green chillies – 4-5(use it accordingly)
Shallots – 2
Ginger – 1/2 inch piece
Grated coconut- 1 cup
Salt – to taste

Method:-

Grind all the ingredients together in a wet grinder/small jar in the Indian mixer.If your mangoes are not sour enough add 1 tsp vinegar/lime juice while grinding.

Ulli Chammanthi

I’ve blogged about an Onion chutney before,eventhough this one is also prepared with Onions , this is not a chutney,we call it Chammanthi.Chutneys and chammanthis are different,chammanthi is usually prepared in ‘Ammikkallu /Arakallu ‘ ( a variety of Mortar-Pestle), without adding any water.Here you can prepare it either in a small jar of an Indian mixer or in a wet grinder.This chutney goes well with Kappa/iddli.

Recipe follows …….

Ingredients :-

Shallots /Pearl Onions(Kunjulli) – 10 medium sized
Red Chillies/Green chillies – 5-6 (use it according to your spice level.Or else you can substitute 2-3 tsps of Chilli powder.You can also mix paprika with red chilly powder for a bright red color.)
Curry leaves – a sprig
Tamarind (Vaalan puli)- a gooseberry(nellikka) sized ball
Salt – to taste
Coconut oil – as needed

Method:-

Grind all the ingredients except coconut oil, together into a coarse paste.Season with coconut oil and serve.

Note :- Alternatively you can saute onions,curry leaves and chillies(only if you’re using red chillies/chilly powder,we dont usually fry green chillies ,it can be ground raw along with other ingredients) in a little oil before grinding.Rest of the procedure remains same.

Coriander Chutney

Ingredients:-

Coriander leaves (Malli Ila )- 3- 4 strands
Grated coconut – 1/2 cup
Chana Dal Beans (Kadalaparippu) -1/4 cup
Green chillies – 3 – 4
Garlic cloves – 3 small
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Tamarind extract/Lime juice – 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Red Chillies – 2
Shallots sliced thinly -1
Salt – to taste
Oil – as needed

Method:-

Grind all the ingredients together except mustard seeds and red chillies, into a fine paste.Heat oil in a pan and allow mustard seeds to splutter,throw in red chillies and sliced shallots.Fry it until shallots turn brown.Switch off the heat and pour the seasoning over the ground paste.Mix well and serve.

Thenga(Coconut) Chammanthi

This is my favorite of all chutneys,Keralites usually have this with kanji (rice porridge),dosas or iddlis.Back home,a mortar and pestle is used to prepare this.But this can be done in an Indian mixer too,of course you have to compromise a little on the taste.I think this can be done in food processor too,haven’t tried though.

Thenga Chammanthi served with dosa

See the recipe ..

Ingredients:-

Grated coconut – 1/2 cup
Dried Red Chillies (unakka mulagu) – 4
Ginger – a small piece
Tamarind (Vaalan puli) – gooseberry(Nellikka) sized piece
Curry leaves – a few
Salt – as needed

Method:-

Grind all these together in a mixer,sprinkling little water in between.Shape it like a ball and serve with dosa or Kanji.