Red, brown-

 

chutneys galore...

Welcome to my world of experimentation- I am sure all of us have at some point made roasted red pepper chutney with peanuts, onions and ginger. That is what the red/orange chutney is on my photograph. The other chutney though was created in utter frustration to make and eat something totally different. Mom says "lets make sambhar and coconut chutney, goes well with idlis" and I go "nah, boring!". 

Instead here is what I came up with: Zucchini and sesame seed chutney

Ingredients

1 medium-sized zucchini, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted/browned in a little bit of oil

1-2 dried red chillies

2 tsp urad dal

2 tsp mustard seeds

1 small piece of tamarind

1 tbsp dried coconut powder

salt to taste

Oil for cooking

Method

In a pan, heat about 1tbsp of oil. Once hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal and red chillies- roast for a few seconds (TEMPERING). Take it off heat and reserve half of it- the rest goes in the blender.

In the same pan- heat another tablespoon of oil, add the onions and fry them until they become translucent. Add chopped zucchini, and cook for a few minutes after which add the coconut powder, tamarind- cook until the smell of dried coconut/copra is faded away and the tamarind is soft (should take about 5-7 minutes). Once it is all done, take it off the stove, cool for a few minutes. This mixture goes in the blender along with the browned sesame seeds and salt. 

Grind it to smooth chutney like consistency. Towards the end add the remaining mixture of the tempering and grind it such that you can still see fine pieces of the urad dal and mustard seeds (gives it a nice look)

Judgement

While I did love the flavors, think the sesame was overpowering, one tablespoon would have been enough. I liked it even more the day after it was made- the flavors mixed very well. My mom on the other hand did not like it at all! So I guess it could be a split vote on this one, try it and let me know.