Sundakkai Chutney: This Is The Best And Authentic Recipe
SUNDAKKAI CHUTNEY
Turkey Berry ( in English), Sundakkai (in Tamil):
The very name sundakkai takes me back to my childhood.. it reminds me of rainy days, my family kitchen, and the comforting aromas of traditional South Indian cooking by my North Indian mother.
The sundakkai vatha kuzhambu was always pure nostalgia in a bowl. We used to eat it with steaming hot rice, ghee and appalam. Nothing else was required to satiate us.
My mother has passed away many moons ago, but has left behind precious memories of her culinary expertise.
My husband is a Bengali, he is an excellent chef, and has somehow trained me to be his sous chef. South Indian cuisine happens to be his favourite. Not surprisingly, when we received freshly harvested organic sundakkai from our residential premises, he decided to make a simple chutney.
The following is the recipe:
Ingredients:
Fresh green Sundakkai 50 gms, coarsely mashed
Green chilly 1 to 2 pcs
Roasted peanuts 25 gms
Garlic 10 to 12 cloves
Ginger 1 inch, paste
Tamarind paste 1 tspn
Gingilee oil
Salt according to taste.
Few curry leaves
Some mustard seeds
Method:
Pound the fresh sundakkai coarsely in mortar and pestle. Saute it for abt 5 mins in 2 tspns of oil. Remove it and set aside for it to cool down.
Saute the garlic cloves for abt 2 mins in low flame. Remove and set aside for it to cool down.
Roast the peanuts till they release the aroma. Remove and set aside for it to cool down.
Now in a blender, powder the roasted peanuts, then add the sauted garlic cloves, green chillies and blend them all together. Then add the pounded sundakkais, tamarind paste, salt (according to taste), ginger paste and blend all the ingredients to form a smooth paste. If required add a small amount water according to your desired consistency. . Now transfer this paste into a serving dish. The chutney is almost ready.
Garnishing:
In some oil, add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds splutter and then add this to the paste.
Sundakkai chutney is now ready. Simple as that.
Eat it with steaming hot rice and ghee. It can also be eaten with idli, dosa, curd rice or what have you. Call me crazy, but I also use it as a spread and thus apply it on a bread toast with a dribble of olive oil on it !!
Surprise element: The bitterness of sundakkai vanishes once it is pounded.
Health benefits:
It has high iron content, is laxative friendly, is rich in vitamin C, has antioxidants and antimicrobial properties, its bitter compounds help regulate blood glucose levels and improve insulin sensitivity, etc…..
So, what are you waiting for? Try out this chutney and enjoy it to the fullest. Stay healthy, people.
