The Power of Chutney

Long ago there lived a poor widow at the edge of a small village. She just had a little land, a few cows and a small house. She had no other family. So she cultivated the land as best as she could and ran a small Inn at her place for the passers by. She could only afford to serve simple fare. But she was a very good cook and a very kind woman. She served all the visitors with love and took whatever money they gave in return. So the visitors who visited her and tasted the food she served spoke highly of her.

One day it so happened a rider on a horse, reached the village in the night, after having traveled a long distance across a dense jungle for many days. He was so tired and thirsty, that the moment he saw the small hut on the edge of the village, he went and asked the old lady for some water. to drink The lady made him sit on the porch and brought him some buttermilk. After quenching his thirst, the lady offered him food and shelter for the night. He agreed immediately as he was tired.

The lady then asked him to take bath and clean up at the well in her back yard. By the time he came back, his horse was taken care of and was munching away peacefully the fodder it was given. The man went inside and sat to have his dinner. The lady placed a banana leaf before him and served hot rice, a green chutney and a small pot full of buttermilk. Then she said a bit sadly, "Son this is all I have tonight". Please have it.

The man was very hungry, but was touched by the old lady's kindness. He mixed the green chutney with the hot rice and ate it. He found the chutney so tasty, that he asked for second and third helping and had his fill. He was then made to rest on a bed laid for him in the porch. In no time he was asleep.

Next day he got up and while talking to her learned about her lonely and difficult life. He thanked the lady for her service and gave her some silver coins. She was very happy. He told her he wanted to leave later that day. The lady took the coins to the village grocer and brought the required groceries She then made him break fast and also some snacks for his travel. The man thanked her and gave her some more coins and left.

A few days after that, some men visited her.They told her that the King had ordered her to be brought to his court. The lady was frightened and asked them what was her fault. But the men said they did not know any thing. So she went with them to the court. There on the throne sat the king in all his splendor.

He invited her very warmly and then before the entire court praised her cooking and said that he never ate such a tasty food. Only then she recognized her visitor. He then asked her what was the chutney she had served him that day when he visited her. The lady apologized to the King saying that when he visited her she did not know that he was the King and served him a simple fare and that she should be forgiven for any lapses on her part. After getting assurance form the King she said " Oh great King, I served you a chutney made of green grass since I am poor and did not have any vegetables or meat to cook for you that day." The entire court was stunned. The King then clapped his hands and said "Lady if you can make such a tasty dish out of grass you are a great cook. I could never make out that it was grass. From today you are appointed as my personal cook"  All the people present in the court also applauded her.She lived happily after that.

This is a story my granny used to tell me. She always said that the taste lies in the cooks hand, how committed he/she is towards the cooking and serve the food with love and care. This is the secret of the Indian hospitality-"Athithi Devo Bhava"-Visitor is God personified. Sometimes we are called upon suddenly to rustle a fare with very limited resources, one should not panic but do our best so that the eater only gets tasty food. So many of us women know this, follow and succeed at this isn't it?

I just wanted to share this little story with you. Hope I have not bored you. From next post onwards I am going to share my recipes on chutneys....Keep an eye on my blog.....

Chutneys-An Intro

Chutney is a Hindi word used now all over India and also has been included in English vocabulary. It refers to a dish made out of ground vegetables, fruits or lentils etc along with spices. It is a side dish and served along with Rice or Rotis, Pulaos and dishes served at Breakfast like Idlis, Dosas and tea time snacks like Samosa, Bhujia etc.

Chutneys are called as Pachhadi in Telugu. These are prepared and served fresh and will not keep for more than a day or two. These cannot be preserved. Very few chutneys can be preserved upto a week or fortnight at the most.

Compared to Pickles these are more healthy, as less oil, salt and no preservatives are used. They are made and served fresh every day. Use of fresh vegetables, fruits or other ingredients makes it more nutritious and healthy. 

The quantity of oil and salt used in chutneys can be reduced to very little as compared to the traditional methods to make it more healthier. There are some recipes which are oil free. I will be posting recipes of many chutneys in the coming days.

The Chutneys from North are more sour or tangy and there are also some sweet ones too. Where as the ones from South India are spicy. Andhra is specially known for its pickles and chutneys.Chutneys are wet and coarse to smooth in texture and its consistency may also vary from very thick semi solid to almost pouring consistency.

Traditionally, Mortar and Pestle made of stone were used for making the chutneys.  In Andhra a stick made of wood known as Rokali is used for making of chutneys. The stone mortar is known as Rolu and the pestle is known as Pothram. Now other gadgets like Blenders are being used.

This is a stone or granite Mortar. Very small one with the pestle. Its generally used for grinding, ginger, garlic, chillies etc into paste or for powdering various spices. These mortars are in various sizes and some are very huge like the one in my Grannie's back yard. It was used for grinding soaked lentils and rice for making Idlis, Dosas or vadiyalu (badis) or powdering of dried chillies, turmeric, mustard etc. It was also used  for pounding rice grains to remove the husks. Medium sized ones are now used by nuclear families. The snack made out of the batter grounded by using the stone mortar is much much better than the blenders and food processors. Chutneys are also much tastier.

This is the wooden stick like object used for pounding or powdering. This also has a metallic( iron)  ring at the bottom. Though mine doesn't have one.

I am going to post some basic tips and recipes from my collection in my next posts.....Keep a watch on my blog

Storage for Pickles n Chutneys-1

We Indian women are always thinking of our homes and perhaps our kitchens most of the time. LOL! We are always buying some gadgets or the other and also utensils or kitchen ware. Our men folk are really irritated with us. They just refuse to come with us for shopping. I think sometimes they are even horrified at the amount of money and time we spend on such things. But then, no lady wants to be caught with ill matched linens or wares. Right? The presentation of a well cooked dish is equally important. So we are so bothered about the kitchen ware.

Recently I happened to visit an exhibition. I was just browsing through and then I found some interesting ones. some of them I am going to share with you now:

 These were two little jars I found in blue. We call them Jaadi in Telugu. I have white and blue crockery, so I thought these would go well with them.

 

 Here is a closer look at the small pattern of flowers on the jar.

 This white and black one was what caught my eye in the first place. I wanted another one but this was the last piece. I Hestitated for a long time but then gavein to my temptation and bought it.

 All three of them together. I think I can use them for pickles and chutneys. These ceramic jars are good for storage of, acidic things like vinegar, tamarind etc, and any other such things which corrode metals and dangerous to store in plastic or metallic containers. Though they are breakable and one has to handle them with care, they are easy to clean and cheap too.