So I ended up buying mammoth bundles of kothamalini (coriander), methi, curry leaves and spring onions and sprouts.
Here’s the part you’ll be proud of. Once I got home, after I caught up with the routine stuff, I cleaned the greens. Only when I opened the bundles did I realize how much there was. It didn’t deter me. All I was thinking of was the healthy goodness when I was done with it all.
After I cleaned the methi, I packed it off into the fridge – thinking dal one day and rotis the other.
The coriander and curry leaves I earmarked for some thuvaiyal (dry chutney), so I set about frying the dal for these. On impulse, I added another portion of the dal, because the three coconuts chilling on the shelf caught my eye. Yes, I was ready for some thengai thuvaiyal as well.
After frying the dal, I got to work on the coconuts. Cracked them, chucked them out of their shells and grated them. I now thought I deserved a break, as my mind was awash with memories of another day.
Coffee was in order, and well-deserved.
Sighing, feeling a little better after the coffee, I returned to the kitchen to check if the fried dal had cooled enough to be ground with the greens and yes, it had.
So I got the mixer-grinder out (same old Pigeon) and made the magic. Two hours later, I had coriander chutney, coconut dry chutney – I roasted the coconut so it would last longer – and curry leaf powder. Yeah, in the last minute I thought I’d make it into a powder to last longer. In they went into the freezer. Sometime this week I must clean out the freezer as it is overflowing with all kinds of stuff.
I laughed as I recalled how you would immediately transform any bundle of coriander into chutney and then feel sad you didn’t have enough to garnish the sambar! You’d appreciate me so much and reward me with a coffee when I quickly cleaned the greens for you. How tirelessly you made those podis and chutneys!
Incidentally, 100 grams of sambar podi lasts me such a long time now; so I just make enough to fit the small pearlpet bottle. No curry podi – as I make that on the go by just adding the roasted ingredients directly when I cook. Yep, smile away!
I couldn’t help but recall that time when p’ma visited and insisted we make coriander and curry leaf chutney for her beloved granddaughter. I wasn’t happy about it but you being you, said, after all it is just food and made me go buy big bundles of the leaves at exorbitant prices. I remember getting back home and cleaning it up so it could be made into the chutneys and podis and not a word of thanks did we get for it–as if it was our duty to do it. I know I shouldn’t get worked up thinking about these things but it is so hard to be cool even after all these years. I think it is because everything triggers a memory from the past and then, one thing leads to another and before I know it, I have to tell myself to take it easy and cool down. Guess I’ll have to live with it, eh?
C’est la vie. Someday soon, I hope none of it will matter for me.
2 thoughts on “Green chutneys and some nostalgia”
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It’s been ages since I dropped by here and I realise I’ve missed it. I love the way you ramble – like I’m watching you pottering around in the kitchen and chatting along. Vidya you really much share some recipes of the podis you talk of – Podi means chutney, right? Or is it some kind of powder?
Hi Tulika! Generally chutney is a wet thing. Podi is a powder. But there’s a midway version that has no moisture, yet it is “wet” with oil–this one stays for longer than chutney in the fridge. I will post the recipes soon on my food blog. Thank you!