There is very little that stands between a Bong and food. If she can’t get it in phoren land, she will make sure her kitchen doles it out.
So I brought Madras home. The idlis are take out from Anjappar. But the coconut chutney is mine. Actually the recipe is what my Mum had learnt from a Madrasi aunty living in Patna. For us Bongs, anyone living down South is a Madrasi. That’s how myopic we are. And what do we know about their cuisine? Well, it starts and ends with idli-dosa. And somewhere in between – this chutney!
Ingredients for Madrasi Coconut Chutney are:
Grated fresh coconut, 1 cup (I used from a bag of frozen coconut available at Patel shops)
Handful of green chillies
Fat piece of ginger
2-3 tablespoons sattu (don’t faint! You can use roasted chana)
Few sprigs of fresh coriander
Salt
Put all the above ingredients in a grinder and wet grind till coarse. Add little water to get a chutney-like consistency.
For the tempering:
1 teaspoon chana dal
1 teaspoon urad dal
1-2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
5-6 whole dry red chillies
Few curry leaves (I freeze fresh ones, they last for months)
1-2 tablespoons canola oil
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. Let them splutter. Next add the lentils, dry red chillies and curry leaves, in no particular order.
Cook them on low heat for a minute, don’t let them turn brown.
Add the tempering to the chutney. Serve the chutney with vadas, idlis or dosas. Its even good with some aloo bonda. Go try!
