Raw Mango-Coconut Chutney

The podi (spice powder), pachadi (type of chutney) and the pickle form an integral part of Andhra cuisine and no Andhra vegetarian meal is complete without them. Other than the famous traditional Andhra Avakai (Mango Pickle), Andhra cuisine also boasts of an assortment of pachadis, one of them being Pachi Mamidikaya - Kobbari Pachadi.

Raw Mango-Coconut Chutney, is a very simple recipe that is easy to make, healthy and flavorful. This authentic pachadi, one of Andhra’s raw cuisine side dishes, is traditionally ground in a stone mortar and served with steamed white rice and ghee, tastes the best, the day its prepared unlike few other pachadis that have a longer shelf life.
This humble pachadi with a tangy-sweet flavor due to the mango and coconut and subtle spice taste of the green chillis, is prepared by grinding raw mango pieces with grated fresh coconut and green chillis and infused with a seasoning of mustard seeds, fresh curry leaves and asafoetida.

Coconut Mango Chutney Recipe
Recipe source: Amma
Preparation: 15-20 mts
Serves 4-5 persons
Cuisine: Andhra

Ingredients:
1 cup of freshly grated coconut (you can also cut the coconut into thin slices)
½ cup fresh green raw mango pieces – peeled (if the mango is too tangy reduce to ¼ cup)
3-4 green chillies (increase or decrease to suit your spice level)- saute the green chillis in a tsp of oil for a few seconds
salt to taste
For tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
8-10 fresh curry leaves
big pinch asafoetida
1 tsp oil
3/4 tsp split black gram (minappa pappu) – (optional)
1 dry red chilli (optional)

Method:

1 Grind the coconut, mango pieces, sautéed green chillies and salt to a coarse paste by adding little water. A stone mortar is recommended to crush them but you can use a blender too. (The flavor of the stone crushed mamidi pachadi is far more superior to the blender-ground pachadi)
2 Heat oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the split black gram and let it brown. Add the curry leaves and dry red chilli and toss them till the flavors come out.
3 Turn off heat and add the asafoetida and pour immediately to the ground mango-coconut pachadi and combine.
4 Serve with hot steamed rice and ghee. You can also serve with dosas and idlis.

Onion Chutney

This onion chutney is very popular in North Karnataka and also in Raayala Seema region. Rural in origin and a favorite of hard working people and farmers in our areas, this chunky, saucy, sort-of-sweet, sort-of-spicy chutney, tastes terrific with rotis, both wheat and jowar and also with rice.

Recipe:(for two, for one serving)
1 big red onion - cut into big chunks1 tablespoon of dried coconut powderSmall piece of jaggery - powdered (sugar won’t work in this recipe)5 dried red chilliesSmall piece of tamarind soaked in very little water (one tablespoon is plenty)Salt to taste
Onion is the main ingredient in this chutney; so don’t skimp on the onion. If you have small onions, use two or three and for this chutney red onions are the best.

Sauté chunks of red onion and red chillies in half teaspoon of oil in an iron skillet, until they are red and brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Place the sautéed and cooled onion, red chillies, coconut powder, tamarind, jaggery powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until just diced or until well chopped. Stone mortar and pestle really comes to a great use for this kind of recipe.

Courtecy - Indira garu (mahanandi)