Red and Green Coconut Chutneys for Idlis or Dosa

Featured in Tastespotting.com on 18th Sep 2012

I was the kind of South Indian kid who always liked her Dosas more than her Idlis. The crispy buttery pancake always made my mouth water a lot more than the healthier alternative – The Idli. The only place I would crave an Idli was this little cart near Commercial Street. There are more than a dozen idli sellers with similar wares in and around the area but I always gravitated to this one. The reason was simple – the chutney’s! This man made the most awesome red and green chutney’s to go along with the idli’s. People would queue up in front of his cart from 7:00 pm upto 9:00 pm. His stock would never last beyond that! The whole exercise of ordering in this place is an art – of War! You jostle through the crowd to reach a point where he can actually see your face and hear you. Then you scream out your order (no dilly dallying) and squirm your way out of the crowd. Then you keep looking at the guy who plates the idli’s to confirm whether it’s your turn. He will look at you and the slightest nod in your direction would signify that you can come collect your wares. Of course many people will still attempt to move up the crowd and convince him that it’s their plate, so you need to elbow them out of the way and take what’s rightfully yours. I always go back for second (and third) helpings of the chutney. People around are definitely not tolerant of an Idli holding person moving up the order crowd again, but a girls got to do what a girls got to do! The Idli Plater grudgingly dishes out the smallest portion of the second round of chutney’s (after all Coconut’s don’t come cheap these days!) When you are finally done eating, you dispose of the banana leaf (your plate) and pay your bill and smile till your jaws ache!

Now, my version of the Red and Green Coconut Chutneys can never parallel his, but it will definitely add zing to your Idli or Dosa in the morning! J

Lamb Chintamani - The Three Ingredient Wonder

This one is a revelation. I came across the recipe at Spices and Aroma and was instantly intrigued. A lamb main course using just three ingredients? Now that must be either really simple or really a joke. I had to satisfy my curiosity. So I immediately bookmarked the page to try it and asked the co-resident to go meat shopping. (He knows this awesome butcher near my mom-in-law’s house, rest assured we always get the freshest and best cut of meat). The recipe says Lamb but I like to use Goat Meat. It’s less fatty and somehow so much more flavorsome. The recipe is an authentic Kongunadu (Salem, Erode and Coimbatore) recipe using lamb and onions in equal quantities with some many fiery dried red chillies to liven it up! The result is an almost pickle like consistency that you serve with some hot white rice and loads of ghee. Now, most people add ghee to their sambhar and curries to reduce the heat, but the purpose of serving ghee with this dish is to also enhance the flavour. Ghee brings the whole dish together. So leave your calorie conscious self aside when you liberally pour ghee over your hot rice and lamb to savour it. I loved the dish so much that it’s going to be a regular at the family dinner table. Remind yourself to have loads of yoghurt to sooth your stomach if it complains… the tongue however will be begging for more more more!

Lamb Chintamani

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 40 mins

Serves: 4-6

What you need:

1 ¼ kilo Lamb/ Goat meat

1 ¼ kilo Onions – chopped

25 Dry Red Chillis

¼ cup Vegetable Oil

½ cup Water

To Serve:

White Rice

Ghee

Yoghurt

What to do:

Heat oil in a large pressure cooker. When the oil get smoking hot, tear the dry red chillies into half and add them to the hot oil. Let them sizzle and cook for 30 seconds. Throw in the onions and little salt. Cook on low flame for 10-15 minutes until the onions brown. Finally add the cleaned and cubed lambs and water. Mix well to combine.

Pressure Cooker Method: Cover the pressure cooker with the lid and cook for 8-10 whistles. Once the steam has settled down, open the lid and slowly remove the lamb pieces in a clean container leaving behind the liquid.

Turn on the stove to high and reduce the liquid to less than half the amount, or until they turn syrupy. At this point, mix in the cooked juicy lamb and cook for further 2-3 minutes.

OR 

Traditional slow cooking method: Cook in a large cooking pot. Follow the same steps as in the previous method. But instead of the letting it whistle, cook them covered for 45-60minutes stirring every now and then.

Serve hot with rice, ghee and yogurt. OMG yummy!

P.S. I prefer the Pressure cooker method, saves time and effort. And you don’t have to keep hovering over the stove and praying that the lamb is not burning. (Ok, it dosen’t burn in the traditional method, but who wants to spend an inordinate amount of time watching the pot?)