Cucumber Chutney

Cucumber chutney is a very simple dish prepared with cucumber, coconut and ellu (til/sesame). It is usually served as an accompaniment for rice. 

Ingredients needed

•    Cucumber - 1 finely chopped
•    Salt needed

For grinding

•    Grated coconut -1 cup
•    Green chillies -5
•    Ellu (til/sesame seeds) -2 table spoon
•    Tamarind juice

For the seasoning 

•    Oil -2 tsp
•    Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp
•    Red chilli -2
•    Curry leaves -few

Preparation

1. Fry the ellu till it is golden brown. 
2. Grind coconut, green chillies, fried ellu, tamarind juice, salt into a smooth paste adding little water.
3. Add the ground paste to finely chopped cucumber. Can add chopped coriander leaves. 
4. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add red chillies, curry leaves and pour the seasoning.

Kongu Style Curry Masala Powder

Here is the steps to prepare your own “Kongu Style Curry Masala Powder”, which will spread the aroma in your kitchen throughout the year. “All the credit to Karthi Amma” for these wonderful recipes.

Ingredients: 

Ingredients	Quantity Cup Size – 100 ml
Natty Coriander Seeds	¾ kg
Red chilli dried	¼ kg (add upto ¾ kg if you want spicy
Boiled Rice	¾ cup
Urad Dhal (round)	¾ cup
Jeera	½ cup
Dried Curry Leaves	2 cups

Procedure:

Roasting:

• Clean the ingredients from dust or other impurities, if any, before roasting.
• Dry roast all the ingredients independently one by one except Curry Leaves, Natty Coriander Seeds and Red Chilli and spread them on wide steel plates or newspaper so that it cools down without sweat due to heat.
• Add little rock salt and few drops of ground nut oil while roasting red chilli. Later add the roasted red chilli’s to above mixture and let it cool.
• Add few drops of ground nut oil to roast curry leaves and keep it separately.
• After they are completely cooled, pack them in air-tight container.
  

  Note: Curry leaves to be kept separately here too.

Caution: Keep medium or low flame while roasting so that the ingredients do not turn black or over burnt.

Sun Drying:

• On a Sunny day, spread all the ingredients evenly in a newspaper or wide steel plates and let it dry for couple of hours.
• Pack all the ingredients together but don’t close the lid as it will start sweating due to heat.
• Ideally better to grind immediately after sun drying.

Grinding:

·       Soon after sun drying, take it to the flour mill and grid it. Put the ingredients couple of times to get fine powder. Now the ‘Curry Masala Powder’ is ready but few more steps to go.

·       Take some extra Thoor Dhal to the flour mill, ask the flour mill attendant to put them in grinder without grinding and take it out. This will take out the Curry Masala powder remains which stays in the machine.

·       If you stay close to the flour mill, take it home and spread it over newspaper or wide steel plates and let it cool. If you stay far-off, then cool it down in the mill itself and take it home.

Caution: If the hot powder is left stuffed in box for long time, the powder will become black.

Storage Measures:

·       Sieve the Curry Masala powder along with Thoor Dhal and add it back to the other powder.

·       Pack it air-tight container, ideally steel or Tupper ware, which will stay fresh for a year.
In olden days, these were stored in earthen pots.