Sunday, January 25, 2009

Coconut Garlic Chutney


This chutney is the perfect companion for idlis (steamed rice cakes), dosas and uttapams (south Indian rice pancakes).

Ingredients:

Method:

  • Grind the coconut, garlic, 4-5 curry leaves and green chilies into a fine paste in the food processor.
  • In a small pan, heat the oil; when hot add the mustard seeds; when they stop spluttering, fry urad dal until they are dark in color. Now add curry leaves and dry red chilies. Fry till the red chilies turn dark in color.
  • Remove from the fire and add to the coconut paste.
  • Add salt to taste and serve with Idli or Dosa or Upma.


Do You Know?
The smell of garlic is caused by allicin (diallyldisulfide-S-oxide), which is derived from precursors such as alliin (S-allyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide) by the enzyme alliinase which is liberated when the clove is broken up. The active compound resembles the well known drug N-acetyl-L-cysteine (Mucomyst), which has mucolytic and antioxidant properties.


Tips:

To remove the garlic odor from your hands when working with garlic, wash hands thoroughly and then rub over some stainless steel device (it can be a faucet or stainless steel sink surface). Stainless steel contains the mineral nickel, which acts as a neutralizer for the garlic odor.

No comments: