Ginger chutney, a chutney that is served with urad dal based/moong dal based breakfasts typically. Ginger’s intensity goes very well with the cooling aspect of ural dal and moong dal. Be it idli, dosa, pesarattu, vada or pongal, I would make this chutney along with a coconut or peanut chutney. As with most dishes, there are quite a few variants of this ginger chutney too. We make one for Ganesh Chaturthi that is served with Undrallu (steamed broken rice balls) and is much stronger. The version I am listing here is rather the version served in restaurants or by breakfast vendors.

I love ginger! I have it in my morning tea every day. My default spice mix for sabzis is ginger + chillis. According to Ayurveda, ginger enhances digestion, so all the more reason to use it often. Having said that, I am also aware that it is a pretty intense root. So in this chutney, I add in a bit of jaggery for some sweetness, chillis for heat, tamarind for some sourness and sliced onions and roasted chana dal. All of these ingredients bring about a complex taste that you are certain to relish!

Ingredients

Ginger – 2.5 inch knob

Green chillis – 3 (according to spice levels)

Red chillis – 1-2

Roasted chana dal – 3 tbsp

Onion – chopped – about 1/4 cup

Jaggery – 1.5 tbsp

Tamarind – 1 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

Tempering

Oil – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 0.5 tsp

Mustard – 0.5 tsp

Cumin seeds – 0.5 tsp

Hing – pinch

Curry leaves – 3 – 4

Servings – 4

Time taken – 15 mins (with some time to cool things before grinding)

Recipe

• Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan
• Add in broken red chillis and cut green chillis to it and sauté for 30 seconds
• Add in the roasted chana dal and fry for 2 mins

• Remove these to a plate to cool
• In the oil, add in sliced ginger and saute for about 45 seconds
• Add in the slices onions and saute until onion is cooked through
• Remove these to the plate to cool
• While these cool, soak the tamarind in 3 tbsp of water and make smooth tamarind pulp – remove any seeds or pieces of shell
• Add the cooled ingredients with tamarind pulp, jaggery and salt to taste to a mixie jar
• Grind to a smooth paste
• Remove to a serving bowl
• Make the tempering by adding urad dal, cumin seeds and mustard seeds to heated 1 tsp of oil. Let them all splutter and then add in the hing.
• Add curry leaves last and let them fry for about 5-10 seconds.
• Add to the chutney and serve.

This chutney goes well with vada, dosa, idli, upma, pesarattu and many other dishes.

I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z hosted by BlogChatter.