Kale Chutney - Kale Thovaiyal or Thogayal Recipe

I hope all of you hanging in there. What has worked for me personally is to not watch the news. If you live in the so you know what I am talking about. I have avoided drinking bleach, Lysol and shining ultra violet rays down my gut :)

This is a time for looking inward mostly (what else is there you all ask? True!) and eat good food - by good I mean simple but healthy, exercise and try to listen to positive things. I am not trying to sound cheerful in this time of anxiety, lockdown fatigue and in general a sense of loss but staying positive helps you overcome this situation. Not easy as it seems and there are certainly down days. Listen to or reading articles where people are talking positive things most certainly helps.

I am shameless when it comes to food. I dream of food all the time. Yes! Along with this cones a great sense of gratefulness that I can afford to do so. I try not to listen to politicians who have absolutely no clue, especially here in the US.

It does not hurt to have access to farm fresh produce. This enables us to eat healthy and also reminds us every single day that we as human beings need to be connected to the earth and respect it. I am not sure how it is for you all. We have not gone restaurants for a good 3 months now. We ordered pizza once a couple of weeks ago but during this whole time we have had simple foods and it has not been boring. I cannot imagine wanting to eat pizza or a restaurant meal every single day. Simple foods satiate you. I can't say that of these junky meal foods. They make me thirsty at night and want to drink bottle loads of water. Who wants that? While I feel bad for the workers who have lost their jobs I am not sure having a business model around feeding people bad food is a good thing? Maybe change the kind of food that is served? I am glad I don't have to make that decision.

Spring time is great for greens. The greens grown when the weather is still cold are sweeter than their summer time counterparts. While all these years I normally stir fry kale or use them in dals and sambhar. A friend suggested making a thick chutney or thogayal as it is called. I am not turning back. Absolutely delicious. With a very few ingredients it can't be simpler. This recipe can be made with any greens you have on hand, amaranth, manthakkali (nightshade), radish greens, spinach or swiss chard. Each one will bring a slightly different taste but all good.

Recipe in pictures,

In a sauté pan, add oil, add the urad dal, coriander seeds, cumin and peppercorn. Let the dal turn brown.
Add the green chilies, sauté for a minute and add the leaves and sauté till they wilt.
Transfer the contents to a blender jar and add the grated coconut.
Let cool and blend to a coarse paste.

The health benefits of greens are many so if you get hold of any greens try to make this chutney.

Kale Chutney - Kale Thovaiyal
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients

1. 3-4 cups of loosely packed kale
2. 1/2 tbsp. urad dal
3. 4-5 green chilies
4. 1/4 tsp of coriander seeds
5. a few pepper corns
6. a pinch of cumin seeds
7. small grape size piece of tamarind
8. salt to taste
9. 1 tbsp. of fresh or grated coconut
10. 1 tbsp. of roasted peanuts (optional)
11. 2 tsp of oil

Method

1. In a wide mouthed pan add oil, add the urad dal, coriander seeds, pepper corn and cumin seeds. When the urad dal starts to brown add in the green chilies sauté for a couple of minutes.
2. Add in the kale leaves and sauté till they wilt (about 4-5 minutes). Add the tamarind and salt.
3. When the leaves are completely cooked add the coconut and peanuts if using.
4. Sauté for a minute and then turn off the heat.
5. Let cool and transfer to a blender and blend to a coarse paste without adding any water.

The chutney is great with steamed rice or even with idli and dosai.

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Tomato Peanut Chutney

Summer rains are a much sought after phenomenon. The parched earth laps it up and cools itself down. But like everything too much of a good thing is also a problem. Last week we were deluged with rains, had a breather for few days and this weeks seems like a wet one again. While this is the time for fruiting, all the excess water makes them get more leaves which is not good for me the farmer. Hopefully the sun will return and the plants can do their thing.




Here is a sample of vegetables that went out on a recent CSA delivery.

Growing food is a hard thing. Bugs, drought, animals which like to gnaw on the fruit, determining when to water when to stop, when to add compost and when not to, when to harvest and when not to. Not that I did not have before but I am only in awe of people who do this for a living. It is frustrating as it is rewarding. There is no comparison to farm(backyard) picked fresh vegetables. Support your local farmer. The job they do is back breaking without a lot of financial benefits. The taste and the quality is going to be rewarding for you to give it a chance.

I like adding peanuts to chutneys. Just enough so it does not overpower the taste of the main ingredient but just enough to give that smooth texture to the chutney.

Tomato Peanut Chutney
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients

1. 4-5 medium sized ripe tomatoes chopped
2. 1/4 cup of roasted peanuts (skinned or leave the skin on)
3. 1/2 cup of chopped red onions or shallots
4. 3-4 dried or fresh red chilies
5. 1 tbsp frozen or fresh grated coconut (optional)
6. a few sprigs of coriander leaves
7. few cumin, coriander and pepper corns, 1 tsp split urad dal
8. salt to taste
9. 2-3 tsp of oil

Method

1. Heat a wide mouthed pan and add about a half tsp of oil, saute the split urad dal(ulutham paruppu), when it starts to brown add the cumin, coriander, pepper corns and the red chilies and saute for a 1/2 minute more and remove to the blender. You can add the red chilies here or with the onions.
2. Add the remaining oil to the pan and saute the onions till they start to brown.
3. Add in the tomatoes and saute till they get mushy.
4. Add the coconut if using and the peanuts and saute for a minute more.
5. Add salt and turn off the heat.
6. Transfer the contents to the blender and when cool blend to a fairly smooth paste.
Serve with idli, dosai or as a spread for toast.

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Basil Pesto with Pecans and Jalapenos

Sick of the news coverage? Afraid that this is going to be our lives for the next four years? An ugly reality TV show that will never end? Maybe this is a good time for us to turn off the idiot box and spend more time in the kitchen and outdoors and perhaps improve our health.

If you are curious, I am not completely torn up about the elections because the status quo was not working and everybody needed a jolt. But I had visions of mobs chasing us from our homes. All of us probably have to step out of our comfort zones and stop thinking that our views are superior to everybody else's. Didn't someone say "In a democracy we get the government we deserve"? So it is our fate to be part of the reality TV show for the next four years or God forbid more!! I have standing bet in my house that the reality TV star is going to resign in 1 or 2 years. Let's see. Kidding aside let's hope for all of our sakes saner heads will prevail and everybody will behave like adults.

Let's move on to some pleasant things like growing Basil and making your own pesto. Basil plants are easy to grow in pots. They are perfectly happy near a sunny window. DD2 decided to grow a few basil plants. Sitting outside during the summer they produced an amazing amount of leaves. Basil Pesto was what came to my mind. If you bring the plants inside you are sure to get some more leaves for a couple more months at least.

I also had some home grown jalapeno on hand which worked beautifully in this recipe. If you don't want the heat leave the peppers out.

The basil pesto can be added to pasta, noodles or even dumplings.

Wash basil leaves and take them in a blender along with the jalapeno and add the pecans.
Blend to a smooth paste along with some olive oil.

Basil Pesto with Pecans and Jalapenos
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients

1. 3 cups Basil loosely packed washed and patted dry
2. 5-6 Jalapenos de-seeded and roughly chopped
3. 3/4 cup pecans
4. 1/2 cup olive oil
5. salt to taste
6. Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup (optional, I did not add any)

Method

1. Take the basil leaves, chopped jalapeno peppers, the pecans, salt and the olive oil in a blender.
2. Add in the Parmesan cheese if using.
3. Blend to a smooth paste. Remove to a container. Add some more olive oil on top to avoid discoloration.
4. Cook the pasta as per the cooking directions. Add in the basil pesto and mix it in, add a bit more olive oil and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

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Tomato Chutney with Bengal Gram - Kadalaiparuppu thakkali chutney

One cannot have too many chutney recipes. I am now wondering how back home they managed to make a chutney every single day for breakfast. Alternating between coconut, tomatoes and occasionally another vegetable is what I seemed to do a lot. So I do not mind having several variations of tomato recipes on hand. This one made with Bengal gram or kadalai paruppu is slightly different in taste from the tomato chutney made with coconut.

While a breakfast of soft idlis and chutney is what I crave during weekend mornings and these days I seems I prefer idlis over dosai. What a change a few decades can make? The kids on the other hand prefer crispy dosais over idlis but the one thing that will make them eat idlis without complaining is the chutney that goes with it when it is something they are fond of. They like all the tomato based chutneys, and also other chutneys like onion chutney, carrot chutney their favorite and coconut chutney.

Here is a quick and easy chutney to have on hand. I have realized one thing, home grown tomatoes especially heirloom and sun ripened tomatoes make a great difference in taste. Store bought tomatoes have absolutely no taste, you have to get the taste from the spices that are added whereas with good tomatoes all you need to do is add the spices just to bring out and heighten taste of the tomato.

Roast the bengal gram, followed by the urad dal and spices and set aside. Now in the same pan, saute the onions and tomatoes with salt. Cool.
Roast the bengal gram, followed by the urad dal and spices and set aside. Now saute the onions and tomatoes with salt.

The ingredients are very similar to how regular tomato chutney is made but the amount of kadalai paruppu is increased from 2 tsp to 2 tbsp.

Tomato Chutney with Bengal Gram - Kadalaiparuppu thakkali chutney
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time:15 minutes
Ingredients

1. 2 tbsp of Bengal Gram or kadalai paruppu
2. 2 tsp of urad dal or uludham paruppu
3. 1/2 tsp of coriander seeds + few pepper corns
4. 3-4 dried or fresh red chilies
5. 4-6 medium sized tomatoes about 2 cups of chopped tomatoes
6. 1/2 cup of chopped shallots or red onions
7. 1 1/2 tsp oil
8. salt to taste

Method

1. In a wide mouthed pan or a saute pan add 1/2 tsp of oil and when hot add the Bengal Gram till it starts to brown. Add the urad dal at this time and continue to saute till they start to brown as well.
2. Add in the coriander seeds and if using dried chilies add and saute for a minute.
3. Remove the roasted dal and spices to a blender.
4. In the same saute pan add more oil if required and saute till it starts to brown. At this point add the tomatoes and fresh red chilies if using, salt and saute for 5-8 minutes till the tomatoes are mushy. Let Cool.
5. Powder the sauteed dal and spices to a powder. Now add the cooked onion, tomato mixture and blend to a fairly smooth paste.

Goes well with idlis, dosais and even with rotis. It is extremely tasty in a toasted bread.

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Peanut Chutney with Green Chilies

Peanut chutney is always a favorite around our house especially when paired with idlis or dosai. It tastes great with rice as well. I usually make peanut chutney with red chilies like this thick peanut chutney or slightly watery one as well with tamarind instead of the lemon juice.

This chutney is slightly different. There is a story behind this one. A colleague had brought idli and chutney to share to the office. Enjoyed a couple of them with the slightly spicy but delicious chutney. I had made the assumption that it was coconut chutney. It had the coconut chutney white color, with specks of green and slightly thick. So when I casually mentioned that her coconut chutney was delicious. She shook her head and said that it was peanut chutney and did not have any coconut in it. I have been under the impression that the taste of peanut is very hard to escape especially when it is blended. Boy was I wrong.

Roast the peanuts, remove the skin and take it in a blender.
Take the ginger, coriander leaves and green chilies along with the salt. Add the required amount of water an blend to a smooth or slightly coarse mixture.
Prepare the seasonings and add to the blended mixture.

The trick is to not roast the peanuts too much. Just enough to roast but not too much that they start turning brown. Remove the skin completely. Add a pod of garlic if you wish. The ingredients are the same as that of regular coconut chutney. The mixture can be blended to a coarse thick mixture. A couple of tbsp of grated fresh or frozen coconut can also be added. Increase the water slightly while blending the chutney for a slightly water chutney.

Peanut Chutney with Green Chilies
Preparation Time:5 minutes
Cooking Time:10 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 cup roasted peanuts
2. 1/4 cup roasted chick peas (pottu kadalai) (optional)
3. 1 clove of garlic
4. 1 inch of ginger
5. 4-5 green chilies
6. 2 handfuls of coriander leaves
7. salt to taste
8. 1/2 tsp oil
9. seasonings: 1 tsp split urad dal, cumin seeds, mustard seeds , curry leaves

Method

1. Roast the peanuts till they are just about roasted. I used a toaster oven. Remove the skin and set aside.
2. Add the coriander leaves, ginger, roasted chick peas if using and green chilies. Add salt.
3. Add just enough water to blend to a coarse mixture or add slightly more water and make a smooth watery mixture.
4. In a pan add oil, add the split urad dal, when it turns slightly brown add the cumin, mustard seeds. Add in the curry leaves. Pour over the chutney.
Goes well with rice or idli or dosai.

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