Onion Chutney - Recipe from Pedatha

"If you hear an onion ring, answer it".

It took me two weeks to post a recipe. I was busy with my work and had guests coming to my home. We had a superbowl party at my home and i made veg. biryani, paneer butter masala, roti's and onion/curd raita for our friends who came home to watch the game. So, things were kind of busy and meanwhile i started trying the recipes from "Cooking at home with Pedatha". The onion chutney was the one that i liked the most. I have tried many varieties of onion chutney's according to my mom's recipes. But this method of onion chutney was different than i usually make. So, gave it a try and guess what it turned out to be a delicious accompaniment for dosa at dinner today.
Over the days, the one thing that i have learnt from cooking is to add the right amount of ingredients to make an ordinary meal a gorgeous one. I followed the recipe from Pedatha except for the chillies according to my taste. Here goes the recipe.

Large Onions - 3, chopped
Ginger - 2 inch piece
Pulp from lemon sized tamarind
Green chillies - 2
Red chillies - 4
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Curry leaves - 6-8 leaves
Black gram - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
mustard seeds - 2 tsps
asafoetida powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan fry the gram. When it turns golden, splutter the mustards and add fenugreek seeds. Add red chillies and as it turns red, add green chillies, coriander leaves, curry leaves, and asafoetida. Fry for a minute and add the onion, grated ginger and fry till the raw smell of the onion disappears. Grind this with the tamarind pulp and salt. Serve with Idli or dosa.

Facts about onion...
The origin of onion dates back to 5000 B.C.

Libya has the highest consumption of onions with an astounding average per capita consumption of 66.8 pounds.

Onions are also a source of vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber and folic acid. They also contain calcium, iron and have a high protein quality.

Onion has no fat and less in sodium. Add lots of onions in your diet if you wish to lose weight.

Reduce tearing when cutting onions by first chilling the onions for 30 minutes.

Brinjal (Eggplant/Kathirikai) Chutney

Do, you know, brinjal is actually a fruit but is cooked and eaten as vegetable. Brinjal is available all year, but is best in August and September. It offers antioxidants and is low in calories because it's almost 95% water, only 25 calories per serving(3 1/2 oz or 107g). I love the shape and dark purple colour of Brinjal. Of course, it's taste too.
I tried this dish with brinjal yesterday and couldn't wait to share with y'all. So, here i am posting two recipes in a week.


Recipe...
Brinjal(Indian Eggplant) - 1/4 Kg; Cut into bite size pieces
Medium Onion - 2; Chopped
Medium Tomato - 3; Chopped
Red chillies - 5-6
Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5 leaves
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a kadai. Add red chillies and fry on medium. Add onion and fry for 2 minutes and then add brinjal, salt. Fry till brinjal gets cooked and then add chopped tomatoes. Fry till the tomato gets mashed and mixes well with the brinjal-onion mix. Let it cool for sometime and then grind to a thick paste. Heat the remaining oil in kadai and toast mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves. Add tadka to the chutney. Serve with idli, dosa and rice.



Facts...
Brinjal is also a good source of folic acid, fiber, magnesium, pottasium, vitamin B6; it also has Vitamin C, Niacin, Iron, some protein, and pantothenic acid.
It's quite perishable, plan to use them within 4 days after buying them. Store unwrapped in a refrigerator crisper.
Choose firm, plump, smooth, smaller eggplant that are light for their size. The heavier, the more seeds; the more seeds, the more bitter.
Check out this cool link on EggPlant