THENGA THOGAYAL

Dish of the Day:- Thenga Thogayal
Place:- Tamilnadu

Thenga Thogayal or Coconut Chutney as it's more popularly known, is probably the shortest recipe so far. Whether you eat it with dosa or idli or even just plain hot rice, it has a devastating effect on your taste buds. Generally prepared spicy, this Tamilian pachadi is indispensable in terms of being a part of a South Indian meal.

Different states in South India follow different ways of serving the meal. Telugu people usually serve the vegetable (kora) first while Tamilians believe that rice should be the first thing that a person puts onto their plate. But irrespective of that, coconut chutney is ALWAYS part of the meal on festival days.

In the olden days, chutneys were ground with a mortar and pestle made of stone called ammikkal. They are usually wet with a coarse to fine texture. Chutneys usually contain idiosyncratic but complementary spice and vegetable mix.

How to Cook it Up:- (serves 4 people)

Grated Coconut.........................1/2 cup
Channa Dal..................................4 tsp
Urad Dal.....................................2 tsp
Hing/ Asafoetida.....................1/4 tsp
Tamarind paste........................1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds.........................1/4 tsp
Red Chillies...............................2
Green Chillies...........................2
Salt............................................1/2 tsp
Oil..............................................2 tsp
Curry leaves............................2 stems

Directions:-

1) Heat the oil in a pan.
2) Fry the urad dal, channa dal, hing, green chillies, red chillies, mustard seeds, tamarind paste and curry leaves until it starts spluttering.
3) Add the coconut to this and wet grind the mixture with salt.

* Without the channa dal, the chutney will be white.