Sambal Udang Kering

 
Ingredients:

1. dry shrimp - 1 cup cleaned and head removed
2. Shallots - 10
3. Dry red chillies - 10 deseeded and soaked in water
4. Garlic - 5 cloves
5. Oil - 1/2 cup
6. sugar - to taste
7. Salt - to taste
8. tamarin paste - 1/2 tsp
9. Shrimp paste (belachan) - 1 cm piece

 Method:
Soak de-seeded red chillies in water for 30 minutes.
clean , wash and drain shrimp and keep aside.
Add the shallots,chillies, garlic into small jar of blender and pulse to a coarse mixture.
remove this and keep aside.
In the same blender jar pulse the shrimp to a coarse paste.
Heat oil in a nonstick frying pan .
Add the crushed chilly/shallot mixture and stirfry for 5 minutes.
Add the crushed prawns and mix well.
Add salt to taste.
stirfry this mix until it is dry and turns crispy. It will take 30 -45 minutes on a low flame.
Once the mix is starting to turn dry add the tamarind and sugar and adjust flavors.
Add more oil if required - the more oil you add the easier it is to get the mix fried.
This can be stored in a clean dry jar for few weeks at room temperature.

Cilantro - Mint Green chutney

Ingredients :

1. Coriander leaves - 1 cup
2. Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
3. fresh grated ginger - 1/4 tsp
4. Garlic cloves - 2
5. Green chillies - 4
6. Lemon juice  - 1 tbsp (adjust according to taste)
7. Sugar - 1/2 tsp
8. roasted cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Salt - to taste

Method:

Add all ingredients into the small jar of the mixie and pulse until it is blended well.You dont have to make it into a very smooth paste.

Serve with grilled meat, fish, samosa, chaat.
Mix in some curd and use as a dip.
Use as a marinade for fish and meat .

NOTE : you can freeze this sauce in ice cube trays and use as needed.

Tomato & Garlic Chutney

Ingredients:

1. Ripe Tomatoes - 4 medium
2. Onion - 1 small chopped
3. Green chillies - 2 chopped
4. Garlic - 10 cloves peeled
5. Dry red chilies - 4
6. Urud Dal - 1 tbsp
7. sugar - 1/2 tsp
8. salt - to taste
9. Oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
10. Hing/Asafotedia - a pinch
11. Curry leaves - 1 spring
12. turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
13. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
14. Jeera/Cumin seeds - a pinch

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and add the urud dal and stirfry for 30 seconds until it starts toasting .
Add in the dry red chilly and stir.
Add the Garlic , onion, green chillies  & tomatoes and fry for few minutes until the tomatoes start breaking up.
Add Turmeric powder,asafotedia, salt and sugar and mix well.
Cook for a minute and then let the mixture cool.
Once cooled grind the mix without adding any water and keep aside (2 pulses in the blender is enough) dont make it into a very smooth paste .
Heat the remaining 1 tsp oil and splutter the mustard seeds , jeera and curry leaves and pour onto the chutney.
Serve with Idili/dosa/chappathi/rice etc.

Uppilitta Nellikka Chutney

Ingredients:

1. Brined Gooseberry /Uppilitta Nellikka - 3 large
2. Brine - to taste (use this instead of salt)
3. Fresh grated coconut - 1/2 cup
4. Birdseye chilli /Kanthari mulaku - 5 (substitute with green chillies if necessary)
5. Shallot - 1 small
6. Curry leaves - few

Method:
Remove seeds from gooseberry but cutting into sections, discard the seeds.

Add all the ingredients to a blender/food processor and grind until all ingredients are mixed and coarsely ground.
Serve with rice.


Note: To make Gooseberry in Brine .
Wash and dry the gooseberry
Boil enough water to cover the gooseberry once you add it to a bottle.
Add salt to taste - the water should be salty - slightly less than ocean water
Let the water cool .
Add chillies to taste and the washed and dried gooseberry and mix well.
Keep aside for 2 weeks before you start using it.
The longer it keeps the softer and better it tastes.

Coconut chutney with Curd

This is a slightly different version of the regular "Thenga chammanthi" served with Idili,dosa, vada etc.It is specially good when the idili/dosa batter does not ferment well enough - and you miss the slight sour taste.

Ingredients:

1. Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
2. Green chillies - 8
3. Shallot - 4
4. Curry leaves - 2 springs
5. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
6. Dry red chillies - 2
7. Curd - 2 tbsp
8. salt - to taste
9. Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Add the grated coconut,green chillies, 1 shallot and curd to the blender.
Add half a cup of water and salt to taste and blend until smooth.
Slice 3 shallots into fine pieces.
Heat oil in a pan and add in the mustard seeds, once the splutter add in the red chillies and curry leaves and shallots and stirfry until golden brown.
Lower the heat to the lowest setting and add in the ground coconut paste.
Stir until it is slightly warm and turn the flame off.
Serve with Vada,idily or any snack that goes with chutney.

Pudhina/Mint Chutney

This is one of the accompanying side dishes for a Malabar Biriyani . Biriyani is traditionally served with Raita/Onion -Tomato Salad with curd,Pudhina Chutney ,Pickle(lemon or dates& beetroot) , Pappad and a Boiled egg . It is usually followed by a slice of Pineapple and a Sulaimani Chai (Light Black tea with Lemon and sugar) which is believed to aid digestion .

This chutney goes well on a vegetable sandwich also and can be had with plain rice as well.

 

Ingredients:

1. Grated coconut - 1 cup
2. Mint leaves - a small bunch (around 20 leaves)
3. shallot - 1
4. Green chillies - 5
5. Lemon juice - 1 squeeze
6. Salt - to taste

Method:

Add all the ingredients into a blender/food processor and grind to a semi smooth paste without adding water.

Ambazhanga /June Plum Chammanthi

Ambazhanga is a small sour fruit which I have come across only in Kerala and that too grown in homes ,these are usually not available to buy in the markets. On my last visit to the Korean store I found this basket full of Hog Plum /June Plum as they labeled it , got a few and preserved it in salt for 2 weeks.

Back home they are usually cooked with prawns , and Ambazhanga is used as the souring agent instead of cocum or mangoes.It is also made into pickles and preserved in salt to be used later for chutneys .If you happen to spot them at the market and decide to get them - look for immature fruits that are small . The larger ones get fibrous and taste really strong .

Ingredients:
Ambazhanga preserved in salt - 8
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Green chillies - 7 or 8
shallots - 2
curry leaves - few
salt - to taste.

Method:
Grind all the ingredients into a semi smooth paste without adding water.
Serve with rice or kanji .

Chuntney for idili and Dosa

Ingredients:

1. Grated coconut - 2 cups
2. Dry red chillies - 8
3. you can use green chillies(10) or red chilly powder (2 tsp)instead.
4. shallots - 6 sliced thin
5. Curry leaves - 3 springs
6. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
7. Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Grind the coconut with 1 cup water and the chillies/chilly powder and salt .
You have to grind it pretty well.
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.When it splutters add the chopped shallots and curry leaves and 1 broken dry red chilly and fry until the shallots are golden brown.
Reduce the heat to low and add in the ground coconut chutney.
Stir it until it has warmed - This should not be boiled or heated too much,if you do so the chutney will taste oily and loose its fresh coconut flavor.
Serve with idili,vada or dosa.

Kappayum Mulakum / Tapioca & dry chilly chutney

Tapioca is a starch extracted from the root of the cassava plant. Tapioca was a native to the Amazon , but is now cultivated worldwide and has many names, including cassava,Yuca & Kappa . It is processed comercially into boba,sabudana,sago, perl tapioca ,tapioca powder etc .Tapioca is gluten free, and nearly protein free hence a food that can be consumed by people with allergies.



To prepare the tapioca root .Peel the skin and boil it in excess water until soft .Towards the last 5 minutes add salt into the cooking water and then strain the water when cooked.

At my home we eat it with a fiery chutney made out of dry red chillies and shallots.
Back home it was my dad who always made this chutney .He used to cover the shallots with red hot coals and roast them until charred on the outside .The same would be done to the dry red chillies. We malayalees call it chuttedukkuka translated to burnt - It imparts a nice smokey flavour to the food.

To make the chilly chutney or mulaku neradi as we call it ..you need

1. Shallots
2. dry red chillies
3. salt
4. vinegar or tamarind
5. coconut oil

Roast the shallots and red chillies in a hot pan with a touch of oil .
Crush them in a mortar and pestle adding salt .
Mix in vinegar to taste.
Add fresh coconut oil on top and mix well.
The oil helps tone the heat of the chillies down.

This is my all time favourite chutney ...

Unakka Chemeen chammanthi / Dry shrimp chutney

To clean the dry shrimp - you can dry roast it on a hot pan until it is warmed thoroughly and then spread it on to a flat plate and either remove the head one by one or you could roll it under a bottle or chappathi roller - the heads will get crushed and you can collect just the shrimp kernals and store them for future use.

Ingredients:

1. Dry shrimp - 1 cup cleaned and head removed .
2. Shallot - 1
3. Grated coconut - 3/4'th cup
4. Chilly powder - 1 tsp
5. Tamarind/vinegar - to taste
6. salt - to taste
7. curry leaves - few

Method :
Add all the ingredients into a food processor and blend to a coarse mixture.

Manga Chammanthi

Ingredients:
raw mango - the more sour the better,
grated fresh coconut(little less than the mango),
Green chillies(use the spicy kanthari mulaku/Thai chillies if you can get them) .
shallot - 1 and salt .

Method:
Grind all the ingredients into a chutney without adding water in a food processor.
If the mango is not sour enough you can add some vinegar .

Uppumanga Chammanthi

Ingredients:

1. Uppumanga /salted preserved mangoes - 1 cup chopped.
2. Grated coconut - 3/4'th cup(If mango is not sour reduce the amount of coconut).
3. Green chillies - 8 depending on how spicy you like it.
   
4. shallots - 1
5. Curry leaves - 2
6. salt - to taste(preserved mango has enough salt so you might not need additional salt)

Method:

Grind all ingredients to a smooth paste in a foodprocessor /blender without adding water.

Chuttaracha Thenga chammanthi

Ingredients:

• Grated coconut - 1 cup
• Dry red chillies - 8
• Shallots - 1
• Tamarind - 1 marble sized piece
• Salt - to taste
• Curry leves - 2

Method:
Dry roast the red chillies in a pan without oil.Add all the ingredients into a blender/food processor and grind to a semi smooth paste without adding water.It takes a while to get it ground without water .