Brahmi (Timare /ondelaga ) Chutney Recipe

Brahmi /Ondelaga is a herb found in many parts of India which is used in Ayurveda. Most important it is used in Indian cooking too. My grandma used to tell me consumption of this herb helps to improve memory power.

Today's recipe is "Brahmi Chutney" ,traditional recipe of udupi-mangalore which is passed to me by my amma. This is a coconut based recipe. 

This is a good article by Dr.Hebbar which talks about benefits , side effects of  Brahmi "http://easyayurveda.com/2013/02/04/gotu-kola-health-benefits-uses-dose-side-effects-ayurveda-details/"

Ingredients :
handful of brahmi/ondelaga
salt to taste
1/4 cup of fresh grated coconut 
very little tamarind (size of a grape)

Version 1:
2-3 green chilly ( increase if you want spicy)

Version 2:
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
3-4  black pepper corns ( increase if you want spicy)

For Seasoning:
1 tsp ghee
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp cumin seeds (optional)
8-10 curry leaves
1-2 dry red chilly broken


How To Prepare ?

• Wash the brahmi along with its root  and keep it aside.
  
• Add grated coconut,salt,brahmi and ingredients mentioned under Version1 OR Version2 into a mixie jar. [ Please don't add ingredients of both version!!!].
  
• Grind everything into a paste along with little water.
  
• Prepare the seasoning in a separate pan. Heat ghee, add in mustard seeds... after mustard seed pops out add in rest of the ingredients mentioned under seasoning. Fry till urad dal changes its color little bit. Pour this hot seasoning on top of chutney .Mix well before you serve. Goes well with hot rice.

Notes/Alternative :

• You can also shallow fry 6-8 black pepper corns and add it to the chutney as part of the seasoning at the end. People who love pepper will enjoy the roasted pepper along with chutney.

Thanks so much for going through my recipe.Kindly get back to me with your comments. .Please do share it with your friends and family if you like the recipe :-)

Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney /Heerekai Sippe Chutney

Here is one traditional recipe of Karnataka Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney /Heerekai Sippe Chutney/"Peere Sooli Bajji"( In tulu , Bajji means Chutney)
I just love the taste of this yummy chutney.This healthy chutney can be prepared at home very easily when you are bored of same coconut chutney.You can serve this chutney with any variety of dosa /hot rice.
very easy steps to be followed....

Important Note: Nowadays, farmers use lot of sprays while growing vegetables and its very harm for our health. Please use organic ridge gourd in case you want to try out this recipe.

Please try at home and let me know the response of your family :-)

Ingredients :

handful of outer skin of ridge gourd

salt to taste

pinch of turmeric powder(optional)

1/2 cup of fresh grated coconut/desiccated coconut

1 tsp of oil

1/2 tsp tamarind 

For Roasting:
1 tsp of oil
2 tsp of urad dal
1-2 dry red chilies
1/4 tsp of asafoetida powder(optional)

For seasoning:

5-6 curry leaves

1 tsp mustard seeds
1 dry red chilly split into halves

1 tsp oil

How To Prepare?

• First wash the ridge gourd and peel the outer skin of it. Keep the outer skin ready.
• Heat one tsp of oil in a kadai/pan and roast all the ingredients mentioned under "For Roasting".Transfer the ingredients into a mixie jar and keep it aside.
  
• Into same kadai/pan, add in outer skin of ridge gourd and saute it till it changes color and raw smell goes off( it becomes half of the original volume , that's when you have to switch off the flame)
  
  
  
• After it cools down completely, add in the sauteed peel, required salt , coconut and tamarind in to the same mixie jar. Add little amount of water and grind into a smooth paste ( chutney consistency). Transfer the chutney into a serving bowl.
  
• In the same pan/ seasoning pan prepare the seasoning. Heat oil , add in mustard seeds and dry red chilies. As soon as the mustard seeds pop out, add in curry leaves.Saute for few secs and add on top of chutney. Mix it well before you serve.
• This goes well with any dosa or hot rice.
  
  
  

Tips/Notes:

• You can add cumin seeds, urad dal and channa dal as part of the seasoning.

you might also like :

Mangalore Cucumber Peel Chutney/ Mangalooru Southe Sippe Chutney

Thanks so much for going through my recipe . Please do comment and share your thoughts as well.Don't forget to share the recipe  with your friends an family if you like :-)

 .

Guacamole Recipe - Avocado based Dip

I love to prepare something special on Sundays.This Sunday special is guacamole recipe  ( this is a link to a original recipe).Happy that I have given it a try after reading it. Its a heavenly taste. This Avocado based dip, is originally from mexico. Original recipe is very simple, just mash the avocados , sprinkle with lime juice, salt and Mix it well.. Isn't it Easy ?
  You can season this avocado dip with onions, tomatoes, spices like chilies, black pepper etc as per your choice.This dip is served with tortilla chips. You can use this dip as toast spread too. 
  Want to check out my earlier post, similar recipe of Avocado-Avocado Sandwich ??


Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
salt to taste
1-2 tbsp of fresh lime juice 
2 tbsp finely chopped onion 
1-2 green chilies, remove stems and seeds and chop them finely
2 tbsp coriander leaves (use only leaves and tender stems), finely chopped
1/2 - 1 tsp of black pepper powder
1/2 ripe tomato, (remove seeds and pulp, chop it finely)


Method:

• Cut the avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avocado flesh using a spoon, place  it in a mixing bowl. 
  
   

• Using a fork or hand, roughly mash the avocado to make the dip little chunky. (if you want smooth dip then use food processor) 
• Sprinkle salt and lime (or lemon) juice on top of mashed avocados. lime juice will help delay the avocados from turning brown. Gently mix it.
• Now add chopped onion, coriander, black pepper and chopped chilies. Mix it well again.(Be careful on the quantity of green chilies you add , Chilies vary individually in their hotness.)
  
   

• Cover the lid and refrigerate it for an hour.(You can also transfer the mixture into a air tight container and refrigerate it).After taking it out from fridge, serve within 5-6 mins.
•  Add chopped tomato to the guacamole and mix it gently.Serve this dip along with tortilla chips .You can use this as toast spread also.
  
   

                              

Tips:

Don't preserve this dip in a refrigerator for long. Consume within few hours after the preparation.After you take out from fridge , add tomatoes and serve within 5 minutes.

Thanks for reading my post . Please try it and let me know your comments.

Mangalore Cucumber Peel Chutney/ Mangalooru Southe Sippe Chutney

Are you bored of having same coconut chutney /tomato onion chutney ?? 
Here is one traditional recipe which I am going to share with you all today ie Mangalore Cucumber Peel Chutney /"Southe Sooli Bajji"( In tulu , Bajji means Chutney)
In my childhood , I used to finish off my meal with this chutney along with hot rice and spoonful of ghee without touching other available dishes in a meal. This amazing tasty chutney can be prepared at home very easily.You can serve this chutney with any variety of dosa /hot rice.
very easy steps to be followed....
Please try at home and let me know the response of your family :-)

Ingredients :

handful of outer skin of mangalore cucumber 

salt to taste

pinch of turmeric powder

4-5 tbsp of fresh grated coconut/desiccated coconut

1 tsp of oil

1/2 fresh green chilly (optional , adjust the number of dry red chilies if you want to add fresh green chilly)
1/2 tsp tamarind paste

For Roasting:
1 tsp of oil
1 tsp of urad dal
1-3 dry red chilies
1/4 tsp of asafoetida powder

For seasoning:

5-6 curry leaves

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp oil

How To Prepare?

• First wash the cucumber and peel the outer skin.
  
   
• Heat a tsp of oil in a pan, Add cucumber peel and turmeric powder to it. 

•  Saute the peel well until the raw smell goes off and it is cooked well.
  
   

• Transfer the sauteed peel to another plate and let it cool.
• In a the same pan , heat one more tsp of oil and roast all the ingredients mentioned under "For Roasting".
  
   
  

• Transfer the roasted ingredients to another plate and let it cool.
• Once  both the roasted spices and sauteed peel are cool, Add  grated coconut, salt,tamarind, roasted spices and sauteed peel into a mixer jar.Grind everything together into a smooth paste by adding little water.
  
• Transfer the ground mixture into serving bowl.
• Heat one more tsp of oil in  a same pan and prepare the seasoning using the ingredients mentioned under "for seasoning".
  
• Pour the seasoning on top of chutney. Mix well before you serve. [I have taken a photo  before mixing !!]
  

Tips/Notes:

• You can add cumin seeds, urad dal and channa dal as part of the seasoning.
• If you skip green chilly and add more dry red chilies , chutney turns light brown in color.

Thanks so much for going through my recipe . Please do comment and share your thoughts as well.Don't forget to share the recipe  with your friends an family if you like :-)

 .

Coconut Chutney [Dip Served along with South Indian Breakfast]

Coconut chutney is very common coconut based spicy dip served along with south Indian breakfasts like dosa, idli, mini idli and pongal. Fresh grated coconut will be ground along with tamarind , green chilly and fresh ginger.This dip will be topped with spicy and flavorful Indian seasoning.

Preparation Time:10 minutes

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 cup of fresh grated coconut

salt to taste

1 tsp of grated ginger

1 fresh green chilly

1/2 tsp of tamarind paste

1 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves (optional)

For Seasoning:

1 tsp of coconut oil

1 tsp of urad dal

1/2 tsp of mustard seeds

8-10 curry leaves

pinch of asafoetida (optional)

How To Prepare?

• Transfer all the ingredients mentioned under "Ingredients" into mixer jar. Add little water to it and grind into a smooth paste.Transfer the  ground mixture into a serving bowl.
• Time to Prepare the seasoning .... Heat a tsp of oil in  a seasoning pan. Add in mustard seeds to it. Once it pops out, add in urad dal and fry till it becomes golden brown.Now add in asafoetida  & curry leaves and switch off the flame. Pour this hot seasoning on top of chutney.
• Mix well before you serve.

Notes/Tips:

• You can skip ginger if you don't like ginger smell.
• You can use desiccated coconut instead of fresh grated coconut.
• You can add one dry red chilly while grinding that tastes good too.
• Adding cumin seeds/jeera as part of "Seasoning" gives a good aroma to the chutney.

Thanks so much for going through my recipe.Kindly get back to me with your comments. .Please do share it with your friends and family if you like the recipe :-)

Boiled Indian Green Eggplant Dip/Gulla Bajji/Brinjal Gojju

This is one of the most popular traditional dishes of udupi. This bajji/gojju is typically prepared using special variety of Brinjal , that is "mattu gulla". No lentils ...No Coconut used in this recipe. 
This brinjal is light green in color and grown in a village "mattu" near udupi. Every year,the first brinjal harvested here is offered to lord krishna at krishna mutt, Udupi. Special seeds used for growing this "mattu gulla" is said to be given by "vadiraj Swamiji". Click here to know the origin/story behind "mattu Gulla" in detail ?

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

2-3 mattu gulla/ any indian green brinjal

1 tsp tamarind paste

salt to taste

1 tsp grated jaggery

pinch of turmeric

1 tsp chopped coriander leaves

1-2 fresh red/green chilly slit into half ( increase the number if you want spicy)
1/4 tsp of asafoetida powder

for seasoning

1 tsp coconut oil/cooking oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp urad dal

7-8 curry leaves

1-2 dry red chilly slit into halves
1-2 shallots chopped finely and sauteed with tsp of oil(optional)

How To Prepare ?

• Wash and chop the brinjals.
• Boil 1/2 cup of water in cooking vessel and add chopped brinjal to it.
• Add turmeric powder, jaggery and tamarind paste to it. Let it cook in a medium flame.
  
• when the brinjal is 3/4th cooked add salt and give a quick stir.
  
• Switch off the flame after it cooks completely.[Insert a fork and check whether it is completely cooked or not]. Let it cool for 4-5 mins.
  
• Using your hands/laddle smash the warm boiled brinjals. Don't smash into a very smooth paste.
• Add in asafoetida powder, green chilly and coriander leaves and mix nicely.  (mash the chopped green chilies little bit so that smell and spiciness get mixed with the dish well.)      

• In a separate pan , heat 1 tsp of oil and add in mustard seeds . After mustard seed pops out and in urad dal,red chilly,curry leaves.Once the urad dal turns golden brown, switch off the flame.Add this seasoning on top of bajji/gojju/dip and mix it nicely. 
• This step is totally optional , using tsp of oil  saute chopped  shallots and then  add it to the dish.

                               

• Goes well with Hot Rice along with spoon of ghee/coconut oil.

Tips/Notes:

• You can make this gojju little watery if you like. I prefer to keep it as little dry because I can pack this as chutney along with rice for the lunch box.!!
• You can use other variety of brinjal (purple in color) as well, but taste will be little different.
• Instead of shallots, you can also use red onions. Chop it finely and saute them in a tsp of oil before adding it to the dish.
• You can add chopped green chilies along with brinjal while boiling itself. 

Thanks so much for going through my recipe.Kindly get back to me with your comments. .Please do share it with your friends and family if you like the recipe :-)

Tomato Onion Chutney

I would say this tomato onion chutney is multipurpose chutney as it goes well with chapati, idli , any dosa , upma etc . Mainly it goes very well with idli/dosa/kadubu. In general this chutney can be served with most of the south Indian breakfast . 

Ingredients :

1 large size onion chopped into pieces
3 medium size tomatoes chopped into pieces
1 green chilly ( you can increase the number as per your level of  hotness)
1/2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
salt
pinch of turmeric powder
1/4 tsp of asafoetida powder

For seasoning:
5-6 curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 red dry chilly slit into 2-3 pieces(optional)
1 tbsp oil

How To Prepare?

• Lets prepare the seasoning first , Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, first add urad dal , and then mustard seeds , red chilly and fry for few secs . When the mustard seeds pops out add curry leaves and saute for few more secs.
  
• Now to the same pan , add onion and turmeric powder and fry for 3-4 mins.
  
• Add tomatoes to the same pan ,and fry for 7-8 mins in a medium flame.
  
• In between add salt , coriander leaves and asfoetida.
• You should saute until the mixture becomes half of the quantity from where you started . Also , raw smell of tomato and onion should go off .
  
• switch off the flame and keep it for cooling. After it cools down grind into a fine/coarse paste.

     Note /Alternate method :

• You can add tadka/seasoning at the end unlike I mentioned above.First saute onion and tomato along with other ingredients in a oil and then grind into a paste .later prepare the tadka separately and add on top of the ground paste and mix it well.
• You can skip onion here , which turns into a yummy tomato chutney with the different taste .!!!

Coriander leaves/Kottambari Soppu Chutney

If I feel coriander leaves which I have picked from the market for a week are mature leaves ( not young leaves ) and it doesn't stay fresh for whole week , then to avoid wasting , I prepare this chutney !! 

Ingredients:

• Fresh coriander leaves - 2 medium size bunch
• tamarind - of size half walnut/lemon ( if you are using tamarind paste use 2 tsp of it)
• salt to taste
• 2 handfuls of grated coconut
• 3-4 green chilies( can be used more in number to make the chutney little more spicy !)

Method:

Clean and wash the coriander leaves , add above mentioned ingredients to it and grind into a slightly coarse paste . Transfer it into a airtight container and refrigerate it . This has to be consumed withing 5-6 days.

If you don't have time to prepare separate chutney for idly/any dosa/paniyaram/cutlet/samosa/Akki rotti , this can be used as an alternative.

Note: Try not using water while grinding , if you use water you can't preserve it for many days .You should consume it withing 1-2 days.