I Heart Lentil Chutney

I’m finally getting around to posting the recipe for the lentil chutney my mother-in-law mentioned a few weeks ago. We never did get around to making it back then, but I did make a version a few days ago, and I can now confirm that it is excellent. It’s supposed to be served mixed with rice and a little ghee, though I ate several spoonfuls of it all by itself. It’s got a great savory, spicy, nutty flavor, and a slightly crunchy texture which offsets the softness of the rice quite nicely.

I made a carrot curry that night to go along with everything, and the sweetness of the carrots worked well with the chutney. But it would be great with the garlic pepper kozhambu Periamma made before Christmas, or pretty much anything else you can think of. Or just by itself, which though unorthodox, works for me! (As an aside, since I’m not Indian, I find I’m always doing things a little bit wrong. Some might call it “the rape of cuisine,” but I like to think of the cuisine as a willing partner. Have you ever seen the movie “Big Night”? That’s where I picked up the concept of “the rape of cuisine.” I love that movie.)

Lentil Chutney
Parupu Thuvaiyal
Adapted from Dakshin: Vegetarian Cuisine from South India by Chandra Padmanabhan

Note: My mother-in-law’s version does not include coconut, though the recipe below does. I made it with thawed out frozen shredded coconut, and it worked out well. Dried flaked coconut would also be fine. And I think it would also be good without coconut. As an added benefit, it would keep longer, as coconut spoils quickly. Oh, and of course it would have less fat, but honestly, who is keeping track? Hint: not me.

2 tablespoons ghee
1/2 cup uncooked toor dal, picked over and rinsed
2 dried red chilies
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida powder
4 tablespoons grated fresh coconut or 5 1/2 tablespoons flaked coconut
salt to taste

Heat 2 tablespoons ghee in a heavy skillet. Saute the toor dal, red chilies, and asafoetida powder until the toor dal turns golden in color. It should have a roasted, nutty smell, but not smell burnt. When done, remove this mixture from the hot skillet immediately as it can burn quickly. Pour the mixture into a blender. Add the grated coconut and salt to taste. Blend the ingredients into a fine paste, thinning with water a little bit at a time as needed to get the mixture to blend. Serve with hot rice and ghee.

(If you have a regular old blender, and are not fortunate enough to have had an Indian Preethi mixie bequeathed to you, you might have to add a little more water. I burned out two motors on my American blenders before I got the Preethi.)