Chutneys with Lentils-1

There are certain seasons when we do not get vegetables properly. In India, during the hot summer months and the early part of the wet rainy season, there is not much availability of vegetables in the market- at least not at the prices which a common man can afford. Very few vegetables are available and that too at such prices that we don't feel like buying them at all. At that time we try to replace them or substitute them with other things like the  preserved vegetables-pickles, purees, sun dried pieces of vegetables or lentils etc.

The chutneys made with lentils are very tasty, easy to make, nutritious, healthy and almost oil free recipes. They are rich in proteins. So here are some recipes from the Traditional Andhra Kitchen....

Please adjust the quantity of chillies according to your taste. We in Andhra eat it very spicy. I have given you the reduced quantity. Still it can be spicy.

1. Pigeon Pea Chutney (तुवर दाल की चटनी- కంది పచ్చడి)

Pigeon Pea or Red Gram is known as Tuar Dal (तुवर दाल  ) in Hindi and Kandi Pappu( కంది పప్పు )  in Telugu. It is an important pulse crop in India and especially in Indian Vegetarian Kitchens this is most widely used. In South India this is consumed almost daily in one form or the other as this is tasty and nutritious. Its outer cover or husk is red in colour.

The de-husked, split and cleaned lentil is pale yellow in colour. We use this for making the chutney.

Roasted lentil.

This is the chutney which is one of the popular dishes of Andhra.

Ingredients:

Pigeon Pea:   150 gms

Red chillies(dried): 4-5

Cumin seeds: 2tsp

Garlic pods: 3-4 optional

Salt:  To taste

Jaggery (grated): 1 tsp
Coriander greens(chopped finely): 1Tbsp

Method:

• Roast the lentil, till it turns light brown in colour and gives off nice smell. Add red chillies and roast for a  minute or two.
• You can roast it in 1 tbsp of Ghee (clarified butter) for more taste.
• Cool it and along with all other ingredients and a little water, grind it to a very thick paste. Garnish with Coriander greens.
• Serve with steamed/boiled rice and ghee. Make it more liquidy by adding more water to serve with rotis or chapattis. This keeps only for a day, unless refrigerated. Anyway it is best to eat it fresh.

Keep watching for other recipes in this section....