Ginger- A very commonly found ingredient in almost every household, irrespective of the cuisines they prepare at home. It is a gifted medicine by the mother nature to all of us. It plays an important role in curing cold, cough, allergies, migraines and digestive problems. During monsoons and winters, when there’s a high risk of catching cold and throat infections, it’s a must-have in every kitchen. And for South-Indians, it is a much needed chutney/dip to have by the side of any breakfast item. When we prepare Idli, dosa or vada (gare), it makes the ultimate combination. And I guess very few people know that it tastes amazing with the Rice kheer (Annam payasam) too. Yes, the sweet kheer with the spicy and tangy ginger chutney is a unique combination that you must try. Here is my version of Ginger chutney that I learnt from my mom which everyone loves at home!
Click here for the recipes of other chutneys on my blog!
Ginger Chutney Recipe:
Heat oil in a saucepan, and add dry red chilies. Keeping the heat in low, fry the chilies till they are nicely roasted. Be very careful not to burn the chilies, or it will make the chutney bitter in taste. In case you burn the chilies please throw them away and make a fresh batch rather than using the same and spoiling the taste of the chutney. Some people also fry chana dal and urad dal along with the red chilies. So if you want you can also add them while frying. I always prefer adding them while tempering, so I didn’t add them before. Blend the chilies into a coarse powder.
Soak tamarind in water for at least 15 minutes and squeeze the juice out of it. Peel the ginger and cut it into pieces. For 1 cup of tamarind juice, I took 1/4 cup of ginger and a small piece of jaggery. Put them all in the blender along with the ground red chilis and add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste. Grind them all together into a chutney.
Transfer it into a bowl and add the tempering. For tempering, heat oil in a small pan and add urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, a few fenugreek seeds or a 1/4 tsp of fenugreek powder, 1 or 2 broken dry red chilies and a pinch of asafoetida (hing). When they’re nicely roasted just toss them on the ginger chutney that you prepared. Taste it and add salt or tamarind if needed. Enjoy this Ginger (Allam) chutney with hot vada, dosa, Idli or any other South-Indian tiffins! A rice dish with ginger chutney and a teaspoon of ghee is just awesome! You gotta try it out and see for yourself! 😀
Click here for the recipes of other chutneys on my blog!
