Are you a fan of dosa, idli and uttapam? If yes, then you surely know what importance chutney holds in South Indian cuisine. Chutney is a staple in almost every South Indian meal. We generally like pairing our dosas and idlis with refreshing coconut chutney and fiery peanut-garlic chutney. We agree these chutneys are a clear winner for all, but if you explore a bit more, you will be surprised to find some unique and flavourful options that leave a strong impression on your palate. One such unique instance is South Indian allam pachadi - popular all-purpose chutney from Andhra Pradesh. Pair it with dosa, idli, appam, lemon rice, curd rice etc, allam pachadi makes for a worthy, stand-alone side-dish to elevate your meal. It also tastes great with a humble bowl of steamed rice and a spoonful of ghee.
'Allam' in Telegu stands for ginger and 'pachadi' is a traditional South Indian fresh pickle that tastes the best when consumed fresh. Broadly translated, pachadi is a food prepared by pounding different fruits and veggies along with herbs and spices. Here, you need to pound ginger, chillies, tamarind, jaggery and a few other spices to infuse a strong aroma and rustic flavour to allam pachadi. And if you find the whole pounding process to be tedious and time-consuming, then fret not, we have the technology to help us out. You can easily prepare this dish in a food processor or mixer grinder, that too in less than 10 minutes.
How To Make South Indian Allam Pachadi | Andhra-Style Ginger Chutney Recipe:
For the ones who enjoy the pungent flavour of ginger, this chutney is a dream-come-true. It adds all the desired flavours to a meal that can make it a spicy affair. While allam pachadi sees different variations in different traditional Andhra households, we found a recipe that is simple, easy and can be prepared without much struggle.
For this particular recipe, we need ginger, garlic, tamarind, urad dal, chana dal, salt, cumin, coriander, methi, jaggery, red chilli, mustard seeds, curry leaves and some oil. You need to first cook the ginger in some oil and dry roast the dals, cumin, coriander, methi and red chilli. Then blend everything together in a mixer grinder along with tamarind, jaggery and salt. Adjust water to get a smooth and silky paste. Now prepare a tadka with garlic, red chilli, mustard seeds and curry leaves and add to the paste - and a bowl of flavourful pachadi is ready to be relished.
Click here for the step-by-step recipe of Allam Pachadi.
Although we have detailed the quantity of the ingredients you need for this recipe, you may adjust the salt, sweet and tangy flavours as per your palate. We understand, the preference of flavour is unique to each.
Trust us and give this chutney a try. If you are looking for more such South Indian chutneys, click here to find some delicious recipes.
