Pudina Chutney | Mint Chutney | Pudina Thogayal : Iyengar Style

Pudina Thogayal is a South Indian version of the mint chutney that is popularly consumed as a side dish for steamed rice. It is very flavorful and goes well with so many South Indian items like dosa, akki rotti, or uttappam. I make this chutney mostly in summers as I harvest mint once in 15 days (I grow it in my balcony garden). Also, mint helps cool down your body in hot and humid summer days.

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Serves: Makes about 1.5 cups of thogayal

Notes: 

• Pick only the leaves from the mint leaves and discard the stem
• Cilantro can be washed and used along with the tender stems. 
• The stems of the cilantro adds volume to the thogayal and also makes it flavorful.
• Do not add more water while making a coarse paste. The thogayal needs to be thick. Add a teaspoon of water at a time and continue grinding.

Ingredients:

Pudina | Mint leaves:1.5 cups tightly packed, refer notes

Coriander leaves | Cilantro: 1/2 cup, refer notes

Dry coconut: 1/4 cup

Green chilies: 4 nos, adjust accordingly

Tamarind: a big grape sized or about 1 tsp of thick tamarind extract

Urad dal | Black gram dal | Uddinabele: 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp

Oil: 1 tsp

Salt: As needed

Water: As needed

For tempering:
Oil: 2 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 4 nos, torn

Broken red chili: 1 no

Method:
Wash the mint and coriander leaves thoroughly and roughly chop them.

In a broad wok, heat oil. When oil is hot, roast the urad dal until golden brown.

When the dal is golden brown, add the green chili and saute for 15 secs.

Add the roughly chopped mint and cilantro. Saute till the leaves wilt and become soft.

When leaves are soft, add the turmeric powder, salt and the tamarind. Turn off the heat and allow the leaves to cool for about 5 minutes.

Scoop out the cooked mint mixture to a blender or mixie jar. Add the grated dry coconut and make a coarse paste out of it. Add couple of tablespoons of water, if needed.
Heat oil in a wok. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds.

When seeds crackle, add curry leaves and broken red chili.
Scoop out the chutney paste to the wok that has the tempering and heat the chutney until the extra water is absorbed. Cook the thogayal on a low heat for about 3-5 mins.

Turn off the heat. Allow it to cool and serve it with rice or dosa.

Peanut Mint Dip | Pudina Peanut Chutney | Pudina Kadlebeeja Chutney: Side dish for idli-dosa

I have posted so many dosa | idli | guliappa recipes but few chutney recipes. So, from now on, I will put up the chutney recipes that I often make.

Chutney at my place has to be with fresh coconut. However, there are a couple of chutney's that I make without coconut. This chutney is one such.

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: Nil
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:
For the chutney:
Roasted peanuts: 1/2 cup (refer notes)
Grated dry coconut/copra: 1/4th cup
Mint leaves: 1/4th cup, loosely packed
Salt: As needed
Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice: 1 tsp, optional
Sugar: a big pinch, optional
Water: As needed to adjust the consistency

For tempering:
Oil: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/4 tsp
Black gram seeds/urad dal: 1/2 tsp

 

Method:
Put all the things mentioned for the chutney in a food processor. Add couple of tablespoons of water at a time & blend. Make a slightly coarse paste.
Scoop out the chutney & adjust the consistency of the chutney according to your preference. We like our chutney thick & not watery.
Prepare the tempering. Heat oil in a small pan. When hot, add mustard seeds & black gram seeds. When seeds turn golden brown, pour the tempering over the chutney & mix.
Serve it with idlis, dosa or paddu.

 

Notes:

• I buy the unsalted roasted peanuts from the supermarket & use it for this chutney.
• You could replace dry coconut with the fresh coconut. 

Pudinewale Lobia Pulao (Rice & Black eyed peas in Mint Sauce)

Couple of weeks before, we had to move to a new locality & during the move I decided not to buy any grocery; as moving the grocery along with the other stuffs would be a labor intensive activity. Everyday, when I happened to open the kitchen cabinet, a bag full of black eyed peas used to stare at me. I avoided it for many days as the only thing I used to cook using black eyed peas was huLi(sambar or curry). Finally a day arrived when my kitchen had nothing other than black eyed bean.

Stubborn, adamant, anti-social are the right words(according to me; black eyed peas lovers, please dont get offended) for black eyed peas/lobia/alasande kalu. Put in soup, sambar, pasta or in pulao, it stands apart & doesnot absorb the spices easily. I have seen few fellow bloggers using black eyed peas in pulao. I was little skeptical about the usage of this particular legume/grain as I personally feel that black eyed peas stand apart in most of the dishes it is put in. It doesnot absorb the spices easily unless skillfully cooked.So, I thought of defeating the black eyed beans with some very strong flavored spice/vegetable. The first thing that striked me was " Mint(Pudina)" followed by "Dill (Sabsige Soppu) leaves", "Garlic" & list went on. As mint was handy, I went ahead & prepared the pulao. Mint to a most extent succeeded to defeat the black eyed peas & wore the crown for that day. Three cheers to mint, he he..

Ingredients:

Mint leaves/Pudina: 1 cup (tightly packed)

Black eyed peas: 1 cup

Basmati Rice: 2.5 cups

Onion: 2 nos (1 finely chopped & the other coarsely chopped)

Cinnamon: 2 inch stick

Cardamom: 2 nos

Poppy seeds/Khus khus/gasagase: 1/2 tsp

Grated coconut: 3 tbsp

Ginger: 1 inch

Green chilli: 3 nos

Salt: According to taste

Water: 5 cups

Yogurt/Curd: 1/4th cup

Oil: 2 tbsp

Mustard Seeds: 1/2 tsp

Cumin Seeds: 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp (optional)

Lemon Juice: 1 tbsp (optional)

Procedure:

• Soak the black eyed peas in water for 8-10 hours.
• Make a smooth paste of mint, cinnamon, cardamom, coconut, poppy seeds, green chilli, ginger, onion by adding sufficient water.
• Heat a broad pan & add oil to it. When oil is hot, add mustard & cumin seeds.
  
• When seeds crackle; add finely chopped onions & saute till onions turn golden brown.
  
• Add the masala paste to the pan & fry till the raw smell of masala disappears (around 2-3 mins).
  
• Add soaked black eyed peas, 1/2 cup of water & cook on a medium flame until the black eyed beans are almost cooked (it should still be firm & soft). It took a little more than 30 minutes for me to get the black eyed peas cooked.
• Meantime, wash the rice in running water & soak it for 15-20 mins.
• Add the remaining water, rice, salt, chilli powder to the same pan & cook it on a medium heat until rice is 90% cooked (Best indicator is : grains would be bigger & little soft. One needs to apply a little pressure between the fingers to press the rice). During this stage, add yogurt, gently mix & cook it covered on a low heat for another 7-10minutes.
• Open the lid only when you need to serve the pulao. Add lemon juice, gently mix & serve it hot/warm with a raitha of your choice.

Notes:

1. I would pressure cook the mint sauce with black eyed peas next time when I prepare this dish. I feel, this would reduce the cooking time of this pulao to a great extent.
2. I have not added garlic in this recipe as I try to avoid it whenever possible. Feel free to use according to your choice.
3. Adding yogurt at the final stage & cooking the pulao on a low heat gives the pulao a slight biryani touch & tastes great.

Peas Pudina Pulav

Colorful, attractive pulav with a great aroma. What else do you need to relish?? You will enjoy eating every byte of it..

Conversation between myself and my hubby:
Me: Pulav is ready & I'm very hungry. Come we'll have our dinner. (Usually, we both have our dinner together :))
Hubby: I'm not hungry as I had snacks in the evening
Me: Okay, I'm hungry & will have my dinner. Will serve you later.
Hubby: Okay.

When I got the plate, he liked the aroma & the color of the pulav so much that.., his next statement was....

"nangu hakikodu, ootada kelsa mugidu hogli.." (English: Serve me also, I'll finish my dinner).
ha ha ha..

The pulav served its purpose of attracting people. My mother used to prepare this in a different method.., I made some modifications to suit our requirement & here it goes...

Ingredients:
2 cups pudina/mint leaves
1 cup green peas
3 green chillies
1 onion
1/2 inch ginger
1 pod garlic (I didn't add this as it is not my personal choice..)
1 tablespoon grated coconut.
2 cups basmati rice (even normal rice would do.., I added normal + basmati as I had less of later)
1.5 teaspoons garam masala
1 inch cinnamon (powdered)
1 star anise
2-3 cloves
1 cardamom
2-3 tablespoons butter or oil
4 cups water.
salt according to taste

For tempering/oggarane/tadka:
1 cup capsicum (cut into cubes.., it would become colorful, if all the 3 colors of capsicum are added.., I added green & yellow, as I didn't get red capsicum)
1 onion sliced
1 tablespoon oil

For garnishing:
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice(optional)

Method:

• Mix pudina, ginger, garlic, onion, chilli and grated coconut together and grind in a mixer to form a smooth paste (without adding much water)
  
• Soak the rice for 10 mins.
• In a pressure cooker or pan, heat oil/butter.
• When oil is hot add, cinnamon(powdered), cardamom, star anise, clove & fry for a minute.
• Now add the paste prepared & fry in oil until all the water evaporates.
• Add green peas & rice, when paste starts leaving oil from the sides.
• Mix the rice, green peas well with the paste & add garam masala, salt & water.
• Close the lid of the cooker & cook for 1 whistle.
• Now prepare the tadka in a seperate kadai(vessel), add oil & when oil is hot, add onions. When onions become translucent, add capsicum & fry for a minute.
• Add this tadka & lemon juice to the rice cooked
• Mix well and serve it hot with carrot raitha

Carrot raitha:
Mix finely chopped onions, tomatoes , grated carrot with curd (yogurt)
Add salt according to taste
Carrot raitha is ready :)