Tag Archives: thuvayal

Nellikkai Thakkali Thuvayal/Gooseberry Tomato Chutney (Gooseberry Chutney Series)

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This one is going to be the last in the series, for now. We added coconut, then included roasted/fried lentils to gooseberries. Why leave the beautiful tomatoes, that are used in several chutneys/dips to give texture, colour and flavor? So, this time it is the turn of tomatoes to do the honours for gooseberries.

I have added coconut too, as I find it difficult to imagine a thuvayal without coconut. Certainly, coconut provides added flavour to tomato chutney, even without gooseberry. If one would like to omit the coconut in this chutney, please go ahead. It tastes as good as it would with coconut.

Nellikkai Thakkali Thuvayal/Gooseberry Tomato Chutney

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • periya nellikkai/gooseberry (bigger variety) – 5 no.s chopped
  • thengai/coconut – 1/4 of one- finely chopped/grated
  • milagai vatral/redchillies- 10 or as preferred
  • chinna vengayam/shallots- 8 no.s
  • poondu/garlic– 8-10 cloves
  • thakkalli/tomato- 4 no.s
  • uppu/salt – to taste
  • yennai/oil – 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

  1. Peel shallots, grate coconut, chop tomatoes and gooseberries
  2. In a pan, take a tsp of oil. Fry red chillies, garlic and shallots, and fry till shallots become opaque
  3. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till soft and slightly mushy
  4. Switch off the stove. Let the fried stuff cool a bit
  5. In the blender jar, add grated coconut and chopped gooseberries
  6. Add the fried ingredients
  7. Add salt and water and blend to a smooth paste
  8. First blend with very little water, as tomatoes would have some moisture to make the thuvayal
  9. Add more if needed
  10. This thuvayal tastes best with seasoning.

thaalippu – seasoning

  • yennai/oil  – 2 tsp
  • kadugu/mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
  • ulundham paruppu/skinned black gram – 1 tsp
  • kariveppilai/curry leaves- 5/6
  1. Heat oil in a small pan
  2. Add mustard seeds
  3. When they splutter add black gram
  4. When it becomes golden brown, add curry leaves
  5. Pour this into the thuvayal.

I think I didn’t have curry leaves, while making and clicking this chutney. That’s why picture doesn’t have them.

Serve with Idli, Dosai, Uthappam or any main course of your choice.

Nellikkai Thengai Milagaivatral Thuvayal/ Gooseberry Coconut Red Chilli Chutney (Gooseberry Chutney Series)

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Next in the nellikkai/gooseberry thuvayal series, is a blend of coconut, red chillies, shallots, ginger and the star ingredient gooseberry.

There is an extra addition here – black gram, to give some texture to the chutney. We fry deskinned blackgram, shallots, ginger and redchillies. The fried ingredients are then added to fresh coconut and gooseberry to be blended.

Nellikkai Thengai Milagaivatral Thuvayal/ Gooseberry Coconut Red Chilli Chutney

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • periya nellikkai/gooseberry (bigger variety) – 5no.s chopped
  • thengai/coconut – 1/2 finely chopped/grated
  • milagai vatral/redchillies- 6/7 as preferred
  • chinna vengayam/shallots- 8 no.s
  • ginger– 1/2 inch piece
  • ulundham paruppu/skinned black gram – 2 tbsp
  • uppu/salt – to taste
  • yennai/oil – 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

  1. Peel shallots, grate coconut, chop gooseberries
  2. In a pan, take a tsp of oil and fry skinned black gram till golden. Then add red chillies, ginger and shallots, and fry till shallots become opaque. This would take a minute or two
  3. Switch off the stove. Let the fried stuff cool a bit
  4. In the blender jar, add grated coconut and chopped gooseberries
  5. Add the fried ingredients
  6. Add salt and water and blend to a smooth paste
  7. I prefer adding just enough water to all the gooseberry chutneys, to give a feel of thuvayal made in ‘Ammikkal’- stone grinder or the traditional roller stone.
  8. This thuvayal tastes best with seasoning.

thaalippu – seasoning

  • yennai/oil  – 2 tsp
  • kadugu/mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
  • ulundham paruppu/skinned black gram – 1 tsp
  • kariveppilai/curry leaves- 5/6
  1. Heat oil in a small pan
  2. Add mustard seeds
  3. When they splutter add black gram
  4. When it becomes golden brown, add curry leaves
  5. Pour this into the thuvayal.

Serve with Idli, Dosai, Uthappam or any main course of your choice.

Nellikkai Thengai Milagai Thuvayal/ Gooseberry Coconut Greenchilli Chutney (Gooseberry Chutney Series)

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This thuvayal is a simple combination of three ingredients – coconut, green chillies, and ginger, with the goodness of gooseberry.

Tastes awesome with idli, dosai, oothappam, paniyaaram, vadai and why not, rice too.

Nellikkai Thengai Milagai Thuvayal

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • periya nellikkai/gooseberry (bigger variety) – 3 no.s chopped
  • thengai/coconut – 1/2 finely chopped
  • pachchai milagai/green chillies- 5/6 as preferred
  • inji/ginger – 1/2 inch diced ginger
  • uppu/salt – to taste

Method of Preparation

  1. Chop all ingredients for easy grinding in the blender
  2. Add salt and water and blend to a smooth paste
  3. This thuvayal doesn’t need thaalippu or seasoning with oil and mustard seeds like other chutneys. Still if one prefers, go ahead.

thaalippu – seasoning

  • oil  – 2 tsp
  • mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
  • urad dal – 1/2 tsp
  • curry leaves
  1. Heat oil in a small pan
  2. Add mustard seeds
  3. When they splutter add split black gram
  4. When it becomes golden brown, add curry leaves
  5. Pour this into the thuvayal.

Any Thuvayal is a flexible dip to make. Increase or reduce the quantity of coconut, green chilli or gooseberry as per taste preference. For a tangier dip, add gooseberries; for a spicier thuvayal add chillies.

Nellikkai Thuvayal – Gooseberry Chutney Series

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Gooseberry is one of those nutritious fruits that often brings back nostalgic memories. When we used to travel during school vacations to my paternal grandmother’s native place in down south Tamilnadu, the houses that had ‘nelli maram’ or the gooseberry tree was a special place for me. ‘Arunelli’ – the yellow and extremely sour, smaller variety of gooseberry was my favorite. With the beautiful Kutralam Falls nearby and the monsoon setting in, the village would have intermittent pleasant showers and chill air. The fields, farm lands, and the tall trees imparting different shades of green, would present such a soothing atmosphere, that the developed cities should beg for.

Visiting elders and relatives of the close knit family was a routine, common to most households. Also, introducing the third generation to other relatives of the extended family was part of those village visits. That is one of the major tasks of grandfathers and grandmothers, providing essential links through generations.

Coming back to gooseberry, most houses would welcome you with the arunelli maram in the frontyard, with bunches of the delicious fruit. I think the hosts should have been amused seeing my eyes rest on the gooseberries than in their conversation, I would always come back with packs of berries, the fruit and the taste I’ve treasured in my memory till today.

By Abhishek Jacob at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44823119

Post vacations, back at home in the city, thankfully those days, there were no branded food outlets in the corner for junk intake. On the way back from school, arunelli/gooseberries sprinkled with salt and chilli powder was a favorite walking partner. This memory glittered back during my Cambodia days, where I could buy arunelli from the street vendor with salt and chilli powder.

photo taken from dosaikal.com/the cambodia connections-I, my post back in April 2013.

The other gooseberry is the bigger variety. While arunelli is a snack in hand, periya nellikkai is versatile. Eat it raw, make thuvayal/chutney or pickles, make nellikkai saadham/rice, thayir pachchadi/yoghurt raita – the options are endless.

First, enjoy the sourness of nellikkai; then, have a tumbler of water; get amazed by the sweetness that spreads in your mouth.

Setting new nutrition goals during the Covid crisis, I had been trying out different kinds of thuvayal/chutneys with periya nellikkai/big gooseberries. The fruit is at its nutritious best, when consumed raw. Hence, I try to add gooseberries without roasting or stir frying in the dips i make. Also, I have tried to add chinna vengayam/shallots in the fried chutneys, as a replacement for normal onions.

As a thuvayal series, I would like to share a few of those chutneys in the coming posts.

See you all soon.

Chinna Vengaya Thuvayal – Shallot Dip/Chutney

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Unlike most of those plans/promises I have not been able to keep up, this time I could make it. As written in the previous post – here is the chinna vengaya thuvayal, ideal for lentil dosais. Also good for basic Idli and Dosai, but I believe the garlic content in this vengaya thuvayal helps to tackle the gastric problems which might arise for some, due to the protein rich whole lentils in the pancakes. In a whole, this thuvayal aids in digestion.

With simple ingredients and simpler preparation, this has the ability to change the earthy pancakes into a special treat or a quick and easy breakfast or dinner food.

 

Chinna Vengaya Thuvayal – Shallot Dip/Chutney

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Ingredients (serves 4)

  • chinna vengayam/shallots- 12 no.s
  • poondu/garlic – 12 cloves
  • milagai vatral/dried red chillies – 6 no.s (less or more)
  • puli/tamarind – gooseberry size
  • uppu/salt – to taste

thaalippu/seasoning:

  • nallennai/gingelly oil – 6 tsp
  • kadugu/mustard seeds – 1 tsp
  • ulundham paruppu/dehusked black gram – 1 tsp
  • kariveppilai/curry leaves – a few

 


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Method of Preparation

  1. Clean, wash and cut onions and garlic
  2. Wash tamarind well
  3. Grind to a smooth paste with red chillies, tamarind and salt
  4. Heat 4 tsp oil, add mustard seeds and black gram; when the black gram is golden brown add curry leaves; fry for about 15 seconds in low flame and pour the blended paste
  5. Stir the blended paste well in the seasoned oil
  6. Fry/cook for about 10 minutes in slow flame
  7. The texture and taste of the end thuvayal/dip depends on the family.  If one prefers a slight raw taste of onions, frying for 5 minutes is sufficient
  8. Frying the thuvayal for 10 minutes would give it a darker shade colorwise and the raw smell of onions and garlic would be gone
  9. Do not forget to stir at frequent intervals from the bottom of the pan as the thuvayal might stick to the bottom and be burnt very quickly
  10. When the thuvayal is done, remove from the pan and transfer into a serving bowl
  11. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan; Pour on top of thuvayal that has a glow on top due to hot gingelly oil
  12. Thuvayal is ready! While served with dosais, pour one or two teaspoons of gingelly oil for one of the best flavours you would have tasted till date!

 


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Note:

  1. The quantity of red chillies can be altered according to taste preferences.
  2. Onions and garlic also contribute to the spice of the thuvayal – so try with lesser chillies and upgrade it the next time if needed.
  3. More gingelly oil, tastier the thuvayal. The taste of gingelly oil helps in tackling the spice level and pungent smell of garlic and onion – hence do not be conscious of oil here.
  4. Instead of seasoning first, one can also start with just heating the oil and pouring the blended paste and cooking together.This doesn’t make any difference to the taste.
  5. Season the thuvayal in the end. Pouring the seasoned oil or just hot oil –  on top of the done thuvayal is very important to make the thuvayal a delight with any kind of lentil dosais.

 

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