Tender Tamarind Leaves Pachadi Recipe

One delicious chutney is the Chintha Chiguru Tokku, made with tender tamarind leaves. I have added the tamarind greens to the coconut chutney. 

When I say tamarind chutney the only image that comes to the mind's eye is the sweet-sour tamarind chutney used for making chaats. But there are other chutneys too!  Hello, Welcome to The Mad Scientist's Kitchen, Reinventing the Foodie in you! If you are looking to make delicious chutney then read on. I urge you to subscribe to our newsletter so that you get all our posts. We will not spam you, promise and the subscribe link is below or on the side-bar too.

Contents:

• Why Chutney?
• Ingredients for Chintha Chiguru Pachadi
• How to make Tender Tamarind Leaves Chutney
• Variations in Tamarind Leaves Chutney
• Delicious Chutney Recipes

Why Chutney?

Why chutney? If you follow my blog you know I am part of the Shhhh Secretly Cooking group. We take turns on themes and this month for our hostess Priya Vijaykrishnan's theme is Chutney. Check Priya's recipe for Tomato chutney here.

So thanks to the challenge I am paired with Preethi Prasad. Preethi has an awesome blog do check her recipes for simple yet delicious food any working woman will love like this AmbaKhatta. Preethi gave me tamarind and chillies as my ingredients. I gave Preethi horse gram and poppy seeds as her ingredients, see what she made.

Tamarind and me

The raw tamarind was ideal for plucking during Dusherra/Diwali holidays. We, cousins and friends, raided trees for the tender raw tamarind. Pluck and eat with salt and red chilli powder.

The tender leaves of tamarind we used to gorge on. They were not as sour as the tamarind but good! I think it was my granny who confiscated a big branch we had broken off. So that was my introduction to delicious tender tamarind leaves chutney.

How is tamarind used?

As we all know, tamarind is a fruit used as a souring agent. The ripe tamarind is very popular And is used in the  Asian, Mexico, Caribbean and Middle East cuisines. The ripe fruit is very popular and is available as fruit, concentrate form. There are blocks of cleaned and destringed ripe tamarind available. I soak the tamarind and extract a thick pulp which I use in my cooking.

The seeds you can roast and eat. These roasted seeds are hard to eat but as kids we loved them. Even now at work one of our colleagues brought them much to everyone's glee.

The lesser-known fact is that the raw fruit before the seed form is made into a chutney called Hunshikai tokku. The leaves are used to make chutney, dals and even rice something like a pulihora. But first, let us concentrate on the chutney. 

What is Chutney?

Chutney is a sauce, a condiment that you will find in some form or other in the Indian subcontinent. A chutney makes use of the season's fruits and is a delicious way to perk a meal.

Now, this chutney is something I remember because I remember the whack I got! After all, I was the eldest among cousins and was supposed to be responsible. Ajji and Amma are no more around to ask about the recipe. So I searched and found the recipe that was closest to the taste I remembered from here.

When I say tamarind chutney the only image that comes to the mind's eye is the sweet sour tamarind chutney used for making chaats. But there are other chutney’s too!  

Ingredients for Chintha Chiguru Pachadi:

• Coconut: freshly grated coconut, like I have already said desiccated coconut is a big no-no with me. However, if you are okay with it go ahead.
• Tender tamarind leaves: how can we have Chintha Chiguru chutney without tender tamarind leaves. These leaves are light green in colour and small. 
• Green chillies: the number of green chillies will depend on you. I have used 2 as they were very pungent.  How do you know if the chilli is pungent? When you cut it you will get an aroma it is a pungent chilli it is a very sharp smell.
• Salt: I use table salt.
• Tempering: oil, mustard, asafoetida and curry leaves. Now if you want a gluten-free chutney use the rock hing or avoid it.

How to make Tender Tamarind Leaves Chutney:

• You need to get the tamarind leaves off the stem and rinse them in running water.
• Drain and dry them a bit before you start making your chutney.
• Add the greens, chillies, salt and coconut to the mixer’s chutney pot.
• Grind to a fine paste, use water as needed.
• Once you get the consistency you like transfer to a bowl. 
• To make a tempering (I did not add but you can) heat oil in a small wok and add the mustard. 
• Once the mustard splutters, add the asafoetida and curry leaves. 

Pro-Tips to make Tempering: 

• Remember to make the tempering on low flame.
• Also, a tempering splutters a lot so take care. Oil burns can be bad.

What do I serve with Chintha Chiguru Tokku?

This spicy and sour chutney tastes great with just about anything. Let us see the usual suspects idli, dosa, uttapam, adai, upma, khichidi. Why not Chapati, Bhakri, Thalipeeth, Steamed rice. Try it!

How do I store Tender Tamarind Chutney?

To store since I have used fresh coconut I stored the chutney in the fridge and we finished the next day for breakfast. In an airtight container the chutney will stay good for for a day or 2 in the fridge. More than that you may pop the chutney in the freezer and use in say a week. I have never tried it as I feel the taste is not as good.

Variations in Tamarind Leaves Chutney:

I have never tried both these methods and the measures I have given are approximate but the chutney will be delicious.  

• In a pan heat oil 2 tablespoon and fry the ½ tablespoon peanuts, drain.
• Add the ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon sesame seeds and 4-5 garlic cloves and 2-3 red chillies.
• Stir for about half a minute then add the washed and drained tamarind leaves about a cup and fry till they soften a bit.
• Add 1 tablespoon of jaggery and transfer to a mixer add salt and grind to a fine paste once cool. You can add freshly grated coconut and grind too.
• Add water a little at a time to get the consistency you like.
• Your chutney will be reddish in colour. 

The other method is 

• In a pan add 1 tablespoon oil add the ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, add 1 tablespoon of split Bengal gram dal and split black gram on low flame.
• Fry till the dals becomes reddish, add 1-2 spring of curry leaves and 2-3 green chillies.
• You can add 3-4 cloves garlic (optional) add the washed and drained tamarind leaves.
• Almost immediately it will soften. Switch off the flame and let the mixture cool.
• Add 1tbsp jaggery and grind to a fine paste.
• Again you can add coconut to this mixture and grind.
• Use water sparingly and make a fine paste. 

I have never tried both these recipes and the measures I have given are approximate but the chutney will be delicious.  

Recipe Card:

Nutritional Disclaimer: I am not a certified nutritionist and make no claims to the contrary. Please check with your nutritionist for your dietary needs and restrictions. Ultimately you are responsible for your decisions.

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