Sides, breads & soups · Andhra Pradesh

Allam Chutney

Andhra allam pachadi: fresh ginger fried with red chillies and dals, ground with tamarind and jaggery into a hot, sweet and sour chutney for idli, dosa and pesarattu.

Prep 10 min · Cook 10 min · Total 20 min + 15 min soaking · Serves 6

Ingredients

Chutney

• 50 g Fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 20 g Tamarind
• ¼ cup Hot water, for the tamarind
• 40 g Jaggery, grated
• 8 Dried red chillies
• 1 tbsp Chana dal
• 1 tbsp Urad dal
• 1 tsp Coriander seeds
• ½ tsp Cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp Fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Oil

Tadka

• 1 tbsp Oil
• ½ tsp Mustard seeds
• ½ tsp Urad dal
• 1 sprig Curry leaves
• 1 pinch Asafoetida (hing)

Method

1. Soak the tamarind. Soak the tamarind in the hot water for 15 minutes, then squeeze and pick out any seeds and fibre. Keep the pulp and its water together.
2. Fry the spices. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan over low heat. Fry the chana dal, urad dal, coriander, cumin and fenugreek until the dals turn golden. Add the red chillies and stir for a minute until they puff. Lift out onto a plate.
3. Fry the ginger. In the same pan, fry the ginger slices over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes until they soften and turn pale golden at the edges. Cool everything.
4. Grind. Grind the fried dals and chillies to a coarse powder. Add the ginger, tamarind pulp, jaggery and salt and grind to a thick, smooth paste, adding only a spoon or two of water if the blades stick.
5. Temper. Heat the remaining oil, pop the mustard seeds, fry the urad dal until golden, then add the curry leaves and hing. Stir the tadka into the chutney.

Tips

It should taste hot, sour and sweet all at once, with the ginger loudest. Adjust the jaggery and tamarind after grinding until it balances. With so little water it keeps a week in a clean jar in the fridge.