Thengai-Pottukadalai chutney / Coconut-Dalia Chutney

How to make Thengai-Pottukadalai chutney / Coconut-Dalia Chutney

         Many of the Tamilian households, get away with repeatedly making this Chutney for breakfast and dinner to accompany their popular tiffin items like Idli, Dosai, Upma, Pongal, Kichadi etc. I have seen people requesting this Chutney for Poori's or even steamed white rice. The pro's of this Chutney are that, this can be made in a jiffy; is equally liked by all age groups (my kids call it the 'White Chutney') and goes with almost any south indian tiffin. 

Ingredients for 2 to 4 servings:

Step 1 - To Grind:

1 cup grated fresh Coconut

1/2 cup Pottukadalai/Fried gram/Dalia 

2 Green chillies 

Salt to taste 

Water as needed 

Step 2 - Tempering/Thalippu:

2 tsp Oil

1 tsp Mustard seeds 

1/2 tsp broken, Urad dal

1 Red chilli, broken 

A pinch of Asafoetida/Perungayam 

A sprig of Curry leaves 

Stove-top Method:

• Grind all the ingredients in Step 1 together, with just enough water to make a fairly smooth chutney.
• In a small kadai/pan, heat Oil and add all the ingredients listed in Step 2 one by one, in the same sequence.

Notes:

• You can also use thawed frozen coconut, in place of fresh ones.
• The consistency of the Chutney is purely a personal preference - some like it thick and some like it watery.
• If you want to cut back on fat calories; you can convert the ratio of Coconut to Pottukadalai as 1:1 instead of  2:1.
• A small piece of Tamarind can be added to it while grinding to increase it's shelf life.
• If you like Garlic flavor;  add one clove of fresh garlic while grinding and see the difference for yourself.