Peanut Chutney

Name: Peanut Chutney
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 13 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian, Andhra Pradesh
Ingredients: ½ cup Raw peanuts; 3 Green chillies; 2 Dried red chillies; 2 cloves Garlic; ½ tsp Cumin seeds; 10 g Tamarind; ¾ tsp Salt; ½ cup Water; 2 tsp Oil; ½ tsp Mustard seeds; ½ tsp Urad dal; ½ tsp Chana dal; 1 Dried red chilli, broken; 1 sprig Curry leaves; 1 pinch Asafoetida (hing)

Andhra palli chutney: roasted peanuts ground with chilli, tamarind and garlic into a nutty, tangy dip that every Telugu home serves with idli, dosa and upma.

Prep 5 min · Cook 8 min · Total 13 min · Serves 4

Ingredients

Chutney

½ cup Raw peanuts
3 Green chillies
2 Dried red chillies
2 cloves Garlic
½ tsp Cumin seeds
10 g Tamarind
¾ tsp Salt
½ cup Water

Tadka

2 tsp Oil
½ tsp Mustard seeds
½ tsp Urad dal
½ tsp Chana dal
1 Dried red chilli, broken
1 sprig Curry leaves
1 pinch Asafoetida (hing)

Method

Roast the peanuts. Dry roast the peanuts in a heavy pan over medium-low heat, stirring, until they crackle and the skins blister and turn spotty. Add the green and red chillies and cumin for the last minute. Cool, then rub off most of the skins between your palms.
Grind. Grind the peanuts, chillies, cumin, garlic, tamarind and salt to a coarse powder first, then add water a little at a time and grind to a thick, smooth chutney.
Temper. Heat the oil, pop the mustard seeds, then fry the urad dal, chana dal and red chilli until golden. Add the curry leaves and hing and pour over the chutney.
Serve. Serve with idli, dosa, pesarattu, upma or punugulu. It thickens as it sits; stir in a spoon of water to loosen. Keeps 2 days in the fridge.

Tips

Roast the peanuts slowly so they cook to the centre without burning outside; underdone peanuts taste raw and beany. Ready-roasted unsalted peanuts save a step.