Ingredients:
- 340 gm (12 oz) grated fresh coconut
- 2 tbsp oil
- 3 tbsp gram (channa) daal
- 2 green chilies
- 15-18 curry leaves
- ½”. piece ginger, chopped
- 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
For Tempering:
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp black gram dal (lentil)
- 1 dry red chili, halved
- ½ tsp asafetida powder
- a few curry leaves
Method:
- Heat the oil and roast gram daal till light brown in color, stirring regularly. Make sure that daal does not get too deep in color
- In a vessel, take 1 cup water and to it add coconut, roasted gram daal, cut chilies, chopped ginger, curry leaves and salt. Soak all the ingredients for about an hour so that they soften (especially roasted gram daal)
- Grind the combined ingredients to a fine paste and take out in a serving bowl
- Heat oil and add black gram daal. In about a minute add mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the rest of tempering ingredients and stir on medium flame for 20-30 seconds, making sure they don’t burn (must not start becoming black in color). Add the tempering to the ground chutney and mix well.
- Serve with dosai, idli and vadai (all South Indian savory dishes)
Inspiration source:
Vegetarian Cuisines from South India by Chandra Padmanabhan, page 113
Ingredients:
- 6 tbsp grated fresh coconut
- 4 tbsp fried gram dal (lentil)
- 6 green chilies
- a small bunch of coriander leaves
- ½”. piece ginger, shredded fine
- a marble sized tamarind ball
- salt to taste
For Tempering:
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp black gram dal (lentil)
- 1 dry red chili, halved
- ½ tsp asafetida powder
- a few curry leaves
Method:
- Grind to a fine paste the coconut, fried gram dal, green chilies, coriander leaves, shredded ginger, tamarind and salt. Add sufficient water
- Heat oil and add all the ingredients for tempering. When the mustard seeds splutter, add to the ground chutney. Mix well.
- Serve with dosai, idli and vadai (all South Indian savory dishes)
Inspiration source:
Vegetarian Cuisines from South India by Chandra Padmanabhan, page 113
Ingredients:
- 250 g chickpeas / 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 cm / 1 inch ginger
- 1 green chili
- 1 bunch coriander leaves
- 3 tbsp grated coconut
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 of 3-cm / 1 inch cinnamon sticks
- 6 cardamoms
- 6 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp fennel seeds, coarsely pounded
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 2 cups water
- 2 tomatoes thinly sliced
- 150 g (10 oz) carrot, cut into 2 cm cubes
Method:
- Mash about half of boiled chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and leave the rest whole
- Blend garlic, ginger, green chili, coriander leaves, grated coconut, chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder with 1/2 cup water and keep aside
- Heat ghee in a pan and add cinnamon sticks, cardamoms, cloves and bay leaves and fry till aromatic (1 minute)
- Add onions, curry leaves and fennel seeds till onion is golden brown
- Add blended ingredients, mashed and whole chickpeas, carrot, tomato and water. Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes till carrot is cooked and gets soft
- Serve hot with any Indian bread, rice or South Indian items such as thosai, puttu or idiappam
Inspiration source:
South Indian Cookbook by Devagi Sanmugam, page 138
Ingredients:
- 1 cup / 1 can (15 oz) Garbanzo beans
- 2 chopped onions
- 2 potatoes
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 2 tbsp cumin-coriander powder
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp amchur (dry mango) powder
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp soda bi-carb
- 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
- 2 tbsp ghee (purified butter)
- Salt to taste
Method:
- If you are using raw garbanzo beans, soak them for 8-12 hours and then add soda bi-carb and pressure-cook (4-5 whistles). When beans cool down, drain them and keep aside
- Cut potatoes and tomatoes in medium-size pieces
- Heat the ghee in a vessel and fry the potatoes till cooked
- Remove the potatoes and in the same ghee add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes
- Add cumin-coriander powder, chili powder and cook again for 2 minutes
- Add cooked garbanzo beans and salt and cook for 3-4 minutes
- Add grated ginger, garam masala, black pepper powder and amchur (dry mango) powder and cook for 2 minutes
- Add the potatoes and tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes
- Serve hot with your favorite Indian bread
Inspiration source:
The Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking by Tarla Dalal, page 76
Ingredients:
- 40 gram coriander leaves
- 1 1/2 cups yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups grated coconut
- 1 or 2 green chilies
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 medium potatoes, skinned and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
- 2 plantains, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
- 4 cups water
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 5 cups assorted vegetables, cut or cubed (French beans, carrots, drumsticks, eggplants, etc)
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil (or any other cooking oil)
- 1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 dried chilies, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
Method:
- In a large pan, bring the 4 cups of water to boil and to that add turmeric, potatoes and plantain and let it cook for 2-3 minutes
- Add the other assorted vegetables, salt, cumin and coriander powder to the boiling water cook them on medium heat for 12-15 minutes till all the vegetables are tender and soft
- While the vegetables are cooking, in a blender blend coriander leaves, coconut and chili with 1/2 cup water. Once smooth, add the yogurt and blend for another 1/2 minute till it mixes well with the other ingredients
- To the cooked vegetables, add the blended ingredients and bring the mix to boil (don’t cook for more than couple of minutes)
- In a separate pan, heat oil. To the heated oil, add mustard seeds and dried chilies. As the mustard seeds pop, add curry leaves and saute for 20-30 seconds. Transfer this oil mix to the boiling curry. Boil for another minute
- Serve hot with pongal (South Indian rice dish made of rice and moong daal (dehusked split green beans)
Inspiration source:
South India Cookbook by Devagi Sanmugam, Page 122
Veggie Foodie 
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