Beerakayi Chutney(Ridgegourd Chutney)
Ridgegourd (Beerakai in telugu and heerekai in kannada) chutney is prepared in different ways in various regions of South India. Since it is a little spicy by nature, it tastes excellent with plain rice. With this item in your meal, you do not really need any other side dish. Learnt to prepare it from a telugu friend who is a very good cook. Thanks Pushpanjali! This is one of the tastiest dishes i've ever had.
Time Taken: 20-25 minutes.
Serves about 2-3 people.
Ingredients Required:
1 large sized ridgegourd.
4-5 spicy green chillies.
2 cloves of garlic.
Half a tsp tamarind paste concentrate.
Quarter cup of coriander leaves.
2 tsp grated coconut.
Half tsp refined oil.
Half tsp mustard seeds.
2-4 curry leaves.
Half tsp urad dal
4 green chillies
Salt to taste.
Method of Preparation:
Wash the ridgegourd well. Chop it into 2-3 big chunks and cook it with its peel/skin in a cooker along with slit green chillies and half a cup of water. When the ridgegourd chilly mix cools down a little, grind it along with raw garlic, tamarind, coriander leaves, grated coconut and salt into a thick, smooth paste using a mixer. Then, in a pan, warm up a little oil. Sputter mustard seeds and curry leaves in this oil. Add urad dal and red chillies(cut into halves) and stir with a ladle until the dal turns light brown. Pour in the chutney now and cook till a boil.
Labels: Beerakayi, Chatpat, Chutney, Jhatpat, Ridgegourd, Spicy, Telugu
Ragi Dosa with Spicy Peanut Chutney
Ragi/Millet Dosa with peanut chutney is a combination which is very tasty and very very healthy. Ragi is a staple crop of Karnataka and perhaps Andhra Pradesh as well. People who eat it in their everyday meal are supposed to have a very strong physical constitution. Yes, I know the colour of Ragi dosa is very scary(that was my reaction when i first saw it) but i'm quite sure that you would love to eat it. This has quite an exquisite taste especially with the peanut chutney alongside. Learnt to prepare the dosa from my mom and the chutney from my close friend. Time Taken: 20-25 minutesServes about 2- 3 peopleIngredients Used:For the Dosa:3-4 tablespoons of Ragi/Millet flour.
6-8 tablespoons of water(depending on how thick you want the dosa)
1 cup of finely chopped onions
4-5 green chillies
1 tsp cumin/jeera seeds
a few coriander leaves
Salt as required.
For the Spicy Chutney:5-6 green chillies
Half a tsp tamarind paste
One clove of raw garlic
1/2 a bunch of coriander leaves
One handful of roasted peanuts
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation:Take water in a bowl. Mix ragi flour to a smooth consistency along with salt in this water. Add the onions, chillies and coriander leaves(all finely chopped) and the cumin seeds to this batter. Heat a skillet and make thin pancakes/dosas using this batter,on medium flame making sure you cook both the sides well.
For the chutney, fry the green chillies in a little oil. Grind it along with the ingredients provided under the chutney category in a mixer/blender into a smooth paste adding 1/4-1/2 a cup of water. The chutney is ready.
It is customary(but not mandatory) to spread some finely chopped raw onions on the dosas while eating- that is, if you like raw onions.
Note: Those of you who get a chance to visit 'Dosa Camp' at 3rd Block Jayanagar, Bangalore in the evenings, please don't forget to savour it.
Labels: Chatpat, Chutney, Dosa, Jhatpat, Kannada, Millet, One dish meal, Peanut, Ragi, Spicy, Telugu
