Peanut Coriander Chutney

Peanut coriander chutney served with pesarattu and sambar.

Peanut Coriander Chutney is yet another no-coconut chutney in my blog. Some others include Radish chutney, Spring Onion Tomato chutney, Carrot Peanut chutney, Ridge Gourd chutney, and Tomato chutney. 

Ingredients:

1. Coriander leaves/Cilantro - 1 small bunch
2. Peanuts - 1/4 cup
3. Garlic - 3-5 cloves
4. Green chilies - 2 or as per your spice level
5. Tamarind - a small piece
6. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
7. Oil - 1 teaspoon
8. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and roast peanuts till they turn crisp. Remove the peanuts and set them aside.
2. In the same pan, add washed coriander leaves, garlic cloves, and green chilies. Saute till coriander leaves wilt.
3. Let the mixture cool down completely.
4. Grind the coriander mixture, peanuts, curry leaves, tamarind, and salt into a fine paste. 

Serve as is or you can add tempering with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Serve as a side dish for dosa or idli. Here in the picture, I have served it with Pesarattu. 

Note:

• You can replace tamarind with lemon juice.

"Shhhhh Cooking  Secretly" is a monthly challenge in the Facebook group. At the beginning of the month, a theme is chosen by one of the participants and all the participants are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. 

This month's theme was "Chutneys" chosen by Priya Vijaykrishnan who blogs at Sweet Spicy Tasty. Do check her blog for a wide variety of vegan dishes. I would love to try her Oats Tikki. My partner for February 2021 was Sujata Roy. She gave me tamarind and garlic and I made his chutney. I gave her walnut and sesame seeds. She had a very unique "Almond Walnut chutney with Mango Ginger". Do check out her blog- Batter Up with Sujata for a collection of delicious dishes. I would love to try her Mango Kalakand and Cake Sandesh.

Kadala Mittai | Peanut Chikki

 

Ingredients:

1. Peanuts - 1 cup
2. Jaggery - 3/4 cup
3. Ghee - 1 teaspoon
4. Cardamom powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Method:

Dry roast the peanuts on medium flame until they are crisp.

Allow the peanuts to cool for a while and rub them against your palm to remove the skin. Separate the peanuts from the skin. 

Lightly break the peanuts into half by pressing the peanuts with the base of a steel bowl.

Grease the marble countertop or wooden chopping board with little ghee. Also, grease a rolling pin(chappati roller) and spatula with ghee and keep it ready.

In a heavy bottom pan, melt the jaggery along with 1/4 cup water. Boil it till the jaggery melts. At this stage, you can sieve the syrup to remove any impurities. 

Transfer the syrup back to the stove and keep boiling on low flame.

Drop few drops of syrup in a bowl of cold water and it should crystalize and become brittle immediately. This is the desired consistency. You should keep checking for the right consistency when the syrup starts to bubble. Initially, the syrup will be elastic and soft and if you keep boiling for some more time it becomes brittle. Getting this syrup consistency is very crucial in chikki making. 

Once the desired consistency is reached, add the cardamom powder, a teaspoon of ghee, and crushed peanuts.

Give it a quick mix and transfer it to the greased surface. Gently press the mixture with a rolling pin and give it a rectangular shape with a spatula.

Cut the chikki into the desired shape while it is still hot.

Cool completely and store in an air-tight container.