Chammanthi Podi | Nadan Chammanthi Podi | Nalikera Podi | Kerala Style Roasted Coconut Powder for Rice

Chammanthi Podi needs no intro for a Malayalee ;) It is a staple at many Mallu homes and almost every other mallu going abroad would have taken this condiment, packed & sealed tightly and buried deep inside the suitcase :D If they do not take it during their first visit, they will definitely remember to pack some when they come & go back after the vacation :)

It is really yummy, easy to make, can be stored for quite some time if handled properly and can be had with just rice and curd. It is the most yummax combo if you ask me :) And we eat a pot full of rice when we eat them with matta rice & curd combo. Of course, we make a fluffy omelette loaded with onions also to go with it ! So now without much talk, let's see how this is made.. 

P.S: This one is made by my mil & I took only the pics :D And these are one of the first set of food pics taken with iPhone XR. Am going to ditch my SLR for a while now...

Recipe Source: Amma

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

I Used:

Coconut	-	2 medium sized coconuts - Around 4 cups - grated
Tamarind	-	3 tbsp - A big lemon sized
Shallots	-	15-20 nos - medium sized
Curry Leaves	-	4-5 sprigs
Red Chilly	-	20-22 nos

The Way:

1. Grate the coconut finely without bigger scrapes. If you get big scrapes while grating, then you can add them in a mixie jar and give a quick pulse so that the scrapes are even. This will ensure that the colour of the powder/podi is even and dark without white specks

2. Take the grated (& pulsed) coconut in a wide and thick bottomed pan/uruli. Roast them on a low/medium flame. Keep roasting them as often as possible to ensure that they do not get burnt or get stuck at the bottom of the vessel

3. Once the coconut starts to brown slightly, add the tamarind pieces (If you wish, can wash them and add) and keep roasting

4. After 2-3 minutes add the curry leaves and shallots. If shallots are bigger, slice them and add

5. Keep roasting them till they turn deep brown in colour. Keep caution to not to burn them else the taste of the podi will not be up to the mark

6. In a separate kadai/vessel roast the dry red chillies for 2-3 minutes till they swell up and give out a good glaze. Do not roast for long as it will get burnt 

7. Now allow them to cool till they reach room temperature

8. Then add all the contents including the red chilly to a large mixie jar and grind them coarsely. Ideally it should be a little coarse. You can grind them as fine or coarse as you wish though :)

Serve with matta rice, curd & pickle :)

Cheers,

Chitz

Dal Palak (without onion and garlic) | Palak Dal | Easy Dal Palak Recipe

Recipe for the day is this warm and yummy Dal Palak which always reminds me of our Pune days. This hot bowl of simple yet flavorful palak dal was enough for us to eat scores of phulkas and extra extra helpings of rice. Did I slightly go overboard? Maybe ;) But you get the drift right. It is healthy too. All you need is that bowl of dal and maybe a sabzi. Even if I don't get time to make a sabzi, we manage with boiled egg fry or paneer burji. I love to make this with the palak I used to buy in Pune which gives an earthly flavor to the gravy. With the Chennai palak I feel that's missing. So without much further talk, let's get to the recipe.

Recipe Source: Here

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

I Used:

Palak	-	2 cups
Tur Dal	-	½ cup
Oil/Ghee	-	2 tbsp
Cumin seeds	-	1 tsp
Ginger	-	An inch piece - chopped
Green Chilly	-	2 nos (medium sized) - chopped
Red Chilly powder	-	½ tsp
Asafoetida	-	¼ tsp
Turmeric powder	-	½ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Rinse the lentil with water for 2-3 times. Then take them in a pressure cooker and add around 2 cups of water. Add salt and turmeric powder to it. If you have time soak the dal for 15-20 minutes before cooking so that they cook faster

2. Pressure cook the dal for 5 to 6 whistles till it becomes soft and mushy

3. Now rinse the palak in water for 2-3 times. Drain them of water. Then chop finely and keep aside. Also clean and chop the ginger and green chillies and keep aside

4. In a pan heat oil/ghee. Using ghee gives a very nice aroma and flavor to the gravy. Then temper the cumin seeds 

5. Reduce the flame to low and then add the chopped ginger and fry till the raw smell goes off

6. Then add the chopped green chillies & fry for 30 seconds

7. Now add the chopped palak and saute for a minute

8. Then add the red chilly powder and asafoetida

9. Now cover the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes till the palak is cooked. Palak will release some water. So no need to add additional water at this point. Just open the lid and saute twice or thrice in between so that the palak doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan

10. Mash the cooked dal so that it is smooth. Once the palak is cooked, add the mashed dal to it

11. Add water (1-2 cups) depending on the consistency you want or the gravy and give a nice stir

12. Check salt and add if needed

13. Simmer the dal for about 5 minutes and then switch off

Serve with nice phulkas/rotis, rice & a sabzi of choice :)

Cheers,
Chitz