Kothimir Pachadi / Coriander Chutney

Our Asian store gets the fresh produce on Saturdays. Saturday morning is the best time to get the best of fresh vegetables. I would love to go first thing on Saturday morning, but P hates getting up in the mornings. So I always end up going from afternoon. The selection by then is not so bad. But the best stuff would’ve gone away.

Last week, during my "almost weekly" trips to the store, I found very good Coriander / Cilantro. It was fresh, green and telling me to take it home. Normally, I would have bought 1 bunch and gone. But this time, I took home 3 bunches.

When I got home, I washed, chopped and froze 1 bunch in ice cube trays. Another bunch, I washed, chopped, wrapped in a tea towel, put it in an air tight container and put it in the fridge.

Then I called up my pinni (mom's sister) and asked her how to make Kothimir pachadi and made it. It was then that I realised that its not so difficult to make pachadis / chutneys. I have never tried making and it wasn’t that difficult.

It is a little time consuming. Otherwise, its quiet easy.

Ingredients:
1 big bunch of Coriander – washed and chopped (I used leaves and stems)
2 tsp Coriander Seeds
2 tsp Cumin Seeds
10 Red Chillies
1 tsp Tamarind Concentrate
2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

For tempering:
2 tsp Chana Dal
1 tsp Split Urad Dal
10 - 15 Curry Leaves
2 Dry Red Chillies split in half
1 tbsp Garlic Paste / 3 Nos Garlic crushed
2 tbsp Oil

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the Coriander Seeds, Cumin Seeds and Dry Red Chillies (10) and fry till they are golden brown.
3. Take it off heat and cool and grind it to a powder in a mixie.
4. In the same pan, add the other tbsp oil and add the Coriander leaves and fry till they wilt. If the stems are a little thick, add the stems and fry for some time before adding the leaves.
5. Once the coriander leaves wilt, remove from heat, cool and grind it along with the above powder to a paste. I did not make it a smooth paste. The texture depends
6. In a separate pan, add to tbsp oil and do the tempering in the order given under "For tempering"
7. Now add the tempering to the paste and mix it well.
8. Store in an air tight glass jar.
9. Serve hot with rice and ghee.

Note: Make sure you always use a clean, dry spoon when scooping out the chutney.