COCONUT CHUTNEY

Ingredients:
Fresh grated coconut – 1 cup
Roasted peanuts – 2 tbsp
Green chilies – 3-4
Ginger – 1 tsp, chopped
Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp, chopped
Curry leaves – 3-4
Salt

For tempering (tadka):
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Asafetida a pinch

Cooking Procedure:
Grind the coconut, peanuts, green chilies, ginger, coriander leaves, curry leaves and salt to a fine paste. Add little water while grinding if required. For tempering, heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splatter, add the cumin seeds. Remove the pan from heat and add the asafetida, till the oil is hot. Pour the tadka over the chutney. You can use this chutney with dosa, dhirde, appe and even sandwiches.

DATE AND TAMARIND CHUTNEY

Ingredients:
Pitted Dates – 1 cup
Tamarind paste – ¼ cup
Jaggery – 1 cup
Water – 4 cups
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Asafetida – a pinch
Salt

Cooking procedure:
Wash the dates properly. Add the dates to a pan, and then add the tamarind paste, jaggery, red chili powder, asafetida, salt and water. Bring this mixture to a boil and cook it for about 20- 25 mins. Then after the mixture is completely cooled, grind it to a fine paste. Strain it and store it in an airtight container. You can store this chutney in the freezer for a month. This chutney can be used to make bhel puri, pani puri, as a topping in many chaats, topping on dahivade.

GREEN CHILI THECHA

Thecha is basically Green chili and garlic chutney. It’s the most common side dish in Maharashtrian cuisine due to its spiciness. It goes great with leafy vegetables like methichi bhaji, palak paratha also with millet bhakri, jawar bhakri

Ingredients:
Green chilies – 15-20
Garlic – 4-5, big cloves
Salt
Oil
Freshly chopped coriander leaves – 3-4 tbsp
Roasted peanut powder – 1-2 tbsp

Cooking Procedure:
Remove the stems from the green chilies and wash them. Remove the water and transfer the chilies to a pan. Roast the chilies, stirring continuously till they become soft and have black spots on them. Don’t burn them, roast them on medium heat. After the chilies get roasted add the garlic and continue roasting for a minute. Now remove the pan from heat and keep aside to cool. Then place the chilies and garlic along with some salt in the food processor and grind them to form a coarse paste.

In the same pan, heat 2-3 tbsp of oil. Then add the chili paste to it and sauté till the oil seperates, remember to stir continuously so that the paste won’t stick. Then add the peanut powder and freshly chopped coriander leaves. Continue cooking for a minute or two. You can store this chutney in a airtight container in refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.

GREEN TOMATO CHUTNEY

Ingredients:
Green tomato – 4, medium size, roughly chopped
Green chilies – 2
Fresh grated coconut –3 tbsp
Roasted peanut powder – 1 ½ tbsp
Jagerry – 1-2 tbsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds – 6-7
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Asafoetida - pinch

Freshly chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbsp

Curry leaves - 4-5
Salt

Cooking Procedure:
Take little oil in a pan and add the chopped tomatoes. Fry them on high heat till they get half cooked, stirring continuously. Remove from pan and keep aside to cool. When the tomatoes get completely cooled, add green chilies, fresh coconut, chopped coriander leaves and grind them to a slightly coarse paste. In the same pan heat some oil and add mustard seeds. When the mustard starts to splatter, add fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, turmeric powder, hing and the tomato paste. Stir well and add jaggery and peanut powder. Cook for another 2 mins, stirring occasionally. You can serve this chutney as a side in any meal. We eat it as second vegetable in a meal. Also it tastes very good with dosa.

RAW MANGO CHUTNEY

Ingredients:
Raw mangos – 2
Jaggery – ½ cup
Sesame seeds – 2 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds – 2 tsp
Roasted peanut powder – 1 ½ tbsp
Red chili powder – 1 ½ tsp
Salt
For tadka -
Oil – 2-3 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Hing - ¼ tsp

Cooking Procedure:

Peal the mango with the peeler, grate it and place it in a medium size bowl. Raw mangoes are quite firm and easy to peel.

Add the jaggery and mix well till the jaggery dissolves. Take little bit oil in a small pan and separately roast the fenugreek seeds and sesame seeds. Coarse grind the fenugreek seeds and sesame seeds. Add these powders to the mango along with the peanut powder, red chili powder and salt. Mix well. For the tadka, heat some oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds. When they start to splatter, turn off the flame and add the turmeric powder and hing. Pour this hot tadka over the mango mixture and mix well. This recipe needs generous amount of oil and hing. You can use this chutney as a side for any meal. Its sweet and tangy and goes with any vegetable.

LAL MIRCHICHA THECHA

Ingredients:
Red chili paste – ½ cup
Garlic paste – 1-2 tbsp
Oil – 2-3 tbsp
Salt

Cooking Procedure:
On a low flame heat some oil in a pan and add the garlic paste. Sauté the garlic till the aroma starts coming. Then add the chili paste and salt. Stir properly and cook this mixture till the oil separates. Keep stirring occascionally. Remove the pan from heat and let cool completely. You can store this thecha in a clean glass jar and store in refrigerator.