Friday, February 17, 2012

Coconut chutney - Thaalicha sambal

This is a simple recipe on coconut chutney or thaalicha sambal as we call it. Coconut chutney is a staple in many households but there are some variations in how people prepare it. It is often served as a side-dish to dosai and/or idli. When I prepare this, I always add some more tamarind paste than my mother does, because I love the tanginess from the tamarind. This chutney is typically prepared with freshly grated coconut kernel but since there is a scarcity of coconuts here, we generally prepare this with desiccated coconut. There is not much difference in the preparation between these two, except that the desiccated coconut has to be soaked in hot water for a while to soften up. I am reposting this recipe because I had posted it without any pictures earlier.


Ingredients:
1 cup desiccated coconut flakes + hot water
1 onion
A pinch of fennel seeds
1 tbs thick tamarind paste (1 1/2 tbs for more tanginess)
2 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 spring curry leaves
Salt to taste


Method:
First soften up the desiccated coconut flakes. Add the coconut flakes in a bowl and pour enough hot water over so that it is well-covered and allow to soak for 20 minutes or so. Then pour the softened coconut (and the water) and chili powder in a grinder and grind until fairly coarse. Cut the onion finely. In a cooking pot, heat some oil, add the fennel seeds and allow to splutter. Then add and saute the onion and the curry leaves. Pour the ground coconut gravy into the cooking pot and saute for a minute or so. Add about 2 cups of water or enough water to cook. Then add the salt and thick tamarind paste that has been prepared separately. Cook the chutney until the coconut is soft and taste and adjust the spices, if needed, before taking it away from the stove. Serve with warm with dosai/dosa and/or idli.

14 comments:

Kanan said...

Delicious looking chutney recipe. Thanks for sharing it.

Riceandcoconut said...

wow interesting chutney recipe,i'm sure i will love this chutney,I don't know why you can view pictures on my blog,i have few of them actually !!
Ridwan

Rathai's recipe said...

Thank you, Kanan. :)

Asian-spice mix: :D If you try this recipe, let me know how it turned out. It seems I had some problems with my computer last night. I couldn't view some pictures on my own blog when I came back. But now my laptop is running smooth again. :)

Aruna Manikandan said...

First time here...
chutney sounds different from my version
bookmarked it :)

Rathai's recipe said...

Aruna: Welcome and I hope you will like it. :)

Ramya said...

lovely pics and nice recipe

Asmita said...

Hi Rathai,
The chutney sounds yummy! Perfect with dosas and idlis.

Kalyan said...

Just look so tacky and mouthwatering...delicious clicks too!

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Thanks for sharing your tried and true recipe...your photos are beautiful!

Mahi said...

Cooking the coconut chutney on stove top?? New to me..i do make the tempering for the chutney and all other ingredients are raw.

I use dessicated coconut for some dishes, but for thenga chutney,its always fresh coconut only! Luckily I do get even the whole coconut here.:)

Rathai's recipe said...

Thank you everyone for the comments. :)

Mahi: We also prepare other chili and coconut chutneys in the mixer as you mentioned with raw ingredients but this one particular chutney is made over the stove and hence the name "thaalicha".

LinsFood said...

I love coconut chutney! I must say, I've not made one with tamarind and fennel before, I'll have to give it a try!

Rathai's recipe said...

LinsFood, I know sambal is quite popular among Malays and if you try, I hope you'll like it. :)

Shanthi, thank you very much. :)

Deeps @ Naughty Curry said...

this is so different from the regular coconut chutney i prepare... love that colour!