మామిడికాయ పచ్చడి/ Mamidikaaya Pachadi/ Mango Chutney

INGREDIENTS:
Mamidi kaya/Raw mango----1 Small
Green chillies---------------4
Red chillies-----------------4 to 6 (as per sourness of mango)
Salt to taste
Fenugreek /menthulu---------1/4 tsp
Avalu/mustard seeds---------1/2 tsp
Oil/Nune----------------1/2 tbs
Turmeric/pasupu---------1/4 tsp
Heeng/inguva/asafoetida----1/2 tsp

METHOD:
1.Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds, when they splutter add
fenugreek,red chillies,and heeng. Let it cool.
2.Clean and cut mango into small pieces.
3 Grind green chilies, red chillies, seasoning and salt together.
4.Make paste add mango pieces, turmeric and grind.(do not make a smooth paste)


It tastes great with Rice.

కొబ్బరి పచ్చడి: Kobbari Pacchadi- Coconut chutney

INGREDIENTS:

Fresh Coconut grated..............1 cup.

Red Chilly.....................................25 to 30.(depending the quality)

Split Bengal Gram.......................3 tbl.sp.

Cumin Seeds..................................2t sp.

Mustard...........................................2 t sp.

Green Chilly.....................................3 or 4 for flavour.

Tamarind..........................................big lemon size.

Jaggery...............................................optional.

Coriander seeds................................if desired only.

Turmeric...........................................1/2 t sp.

Salt for Taste.

Oil........................................................2 t sp.

Curry leaves........................................optional.

Asafoetida.

METHOD:

1.Take fresh coconut, grate it. or use the shredded coconut available in stores.

2.Heat oil, put split bengal gram, all seeds of cumin, mustard, coriander. Fry them light, then add red chilly. Roast few more minutes. Add green chilly, curry leaves, put off the heat. add asafoetida, turmeric. Let it cool.

3.Soak tamarind in enough water, just to become soft.

4.In a mixer grinder, put all those dry roasted ingredients, powder it. Now add coconut, jaggery grind again with salt. Do it, till it becomes soft. If needed add water. you can use the same water in which tamarind is soaked. When it is nice and fine take out into a bowl.

5.Eat it putting ghee in hot rice. This is a must in our families twice a month.

6.Instead of tamarind the raw mango can be used. That too tastes well, in a different way.

టమోట పెరుగుపచ్చడి: Tamata perugu pacchadi- Tomato in yogurt gravy

INGREDIENTS:

1.Tomatoes..................2

2.Yogurt...........................1 and 1/2 cup.

3.Red Chilly..................2

4.Green Chilly..................3

5.Mustard.........................1 t sp.

6.Cumin seeds...................1 t sp.

7.Asafoetida.......................1/4 t sp.

8.Sugar................................1 t sp.

9.Oil.....................................2 t sp.

10.Curry leaves, Cilantro

METHOD:

1.Cut tomato into pieces. and, Cook till it becomes soft. If it is more watery let it cook some more to evaporate the water. Take it out, cool it. 

2.Take yogurt in a bowl, can use it as it is, or beat it nicely to smoothness.

3.Keep the pan on heat put oil, when it is hot add seasoning items, when they flutter add to the yogurt. mix well.

4.Now add the cooled, cooked tomato with yogurt. Add suger. Mix well enough, that tomato blends with curd.

5.Cut and add cilantro to the chutney.

6.This is goes well with rice as well as with roti.

డాంగరు పచ్చడి: Dongaru pacchadi: Split black gram with yogurt

Serving for -2 persons

INGREDIENTS:

Minapappu/ black gram dal ----1/2 cup
Kaaram/ Red chilly powder------11/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Perugu/yogurt ------------------3/4 cup
Cilantro--------some
Curry leaves-----some
Lemon juice------1 to 11/2 tsp

SEASONING:

Aavaalu/mustard seeds---1/2 tsp
Cumin seeda/ Jeelakarra--1/2 tsp
Split black gram dal/minapappu--1tbsp
Asafitodia/heeng/inguva-------1/2 tsp


METHOD:

1.Lightly roast dal and let it cool.
2.Grind very nice powder.
3.Take yogurt add salt and chilly powder and mix well.
4.Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds
5. When it splitters add cumin seeds, dal and fry till brown, then add heeng and curry leaves.
6.Add lemon juice and mix well.
7.Garnish with cilantro and serve.


This item is goes well with hot rice and roti.

నూనె గోంగూర: Nune Gongoura- Kenaf Leaves

INGREDIENTS:

1 Bunch gongura/ Kenaf leaves
10 to 12 green chilies (as per taste)
Salt to taste
11/2 tsp Red chilly powder
1/2 cup Gingile oil/sesame oil/nuvvula nune
1 Big onion
2 Tbs senagapappu/bengalgram dal/chanadal
1 Tbs minappappu/split black gramdal/uraddal
1 Tsp aavalu/mustard seeds
1/2 tsp menthi podi/fenugreek powder

Method
1.Wash and chop gongura/ Kenaf leaves and keep aside.
2.Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.
3.When it splutters add uraddal and chanadal.
4.Add red chillies and fry them.
5. Now add cut onions and fry it.
6. When onions are half fried add gongura leaves and fry.
7. Add salt, green chillies and fenugreek powder.
8. Mix well and add red chilly powder.
9. Cook them until it is done.

ఆలూ బొండా: Alu bonda- Fried potato balls

INGREDIENTS:

1.Potaoes..................................2 big ones.

2.Onion......................................1

3.Carrot......................................1.

4.French Beans...........................3 or 4

5.Green Peas...............................2 tbl sp.

6.Cali Flower.............................few pieces if desired.

7.Green Chilly...............................5 or 6

8.Lemon juice................................2 tbl sp.

9.Pea Nuts /Cashew nuts(both)..2 tbl sp.

10.Cilantro.....................................

11.Salt.............................................as per taste.

12.Oil..............................................for deep frying.

13.Besan (Bengal gram flour).....less than a cup.

14.Bengal gram dal

15.Black gram dal

16.Mustard seeds

17.Cumin seeds.

18.Asefoetido..............................pinch 1/4 sp.

19.Red chilly...............................2.

Water..............................................for mixing the flour.

METHOD:

1.Sieve the flour to be clean and with out any lumps.

2. put enough water to make a semi solid batter. mix it nicely with hand. It should be smooth and fine. keep a side.

3.Boil potato and peel. cut into pieces. keep a side. cut all other vegetables into small.

4.Keep a pan, put little oil, Break the red chilly, put it in the oil. next put all the seasoning items as required. and the nuts. 

5. Stir, and do not burn them. when they flutter, add the cut veg. mix them well.

6.When the veg. are nearly cooked add  already boiled potato pieces. again stir well. do not over cook. it will be tasty if they are little crunchy. also when we put them in hot oil they will cook again any way. take out from fire. add lemon juice. mix well. lemon never should added in very hot condition when o the stove.

7.When it gets cool, add the finely cut cilantro. make into balls of your choice.

8.Keep a frying pan on stove pour oil, heat it. should be hot.

9. Now dip veg. ball in to the besan batter, drop slowly into the oil. depending on the size and the oil poured in the pan, you can put 4 or 5 at a time. fry them. they should not be dark colour.

10.Fry all in the same way.

11. The tasty Bondas are ready to eat hot, with chutney.

12. It makes 14 to 15 pieces.

Fried Idli with vegetables

Serves: Two persons. Preparation time: 15 minutes. 

Ingredients:
18 small Idlis (refer to Idli recipe)
Ghee/oil to roast the Idlis
Cilantro
1 Tsp Salt

For tempering:
1 Tbp Oil
1 Tsp Mustard seeds
1 Tsp Jheera Seeds
1 Tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 Tsp Turmeric
1 pinch Asafoetida
1 pinch Fenugreek powder
5 curry leaves

Chopped vegetables:

Green bell pepper/Capsicum
Carrot

Green chilli

Onion

 Potato
Soft ripe Tomato

Fistful  of green peas

Method:

1. Quarter the idlis and set aside. 

2. Place the oil on medium heat in a saucepan. When it is hot, add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add all the tempering ingredients and the vegetables (but not the tomatoes). 

Mix well, cover and let it cook until the vegetables are done. It takes around 10 minutes, you can further roast them uncovered for longer if you like them crisp. You can add the salt right at the beginning, since salt draws moisture out of the vegetables & makes them crisp. However, if you want your vegetables steamed soft, add salt later. When the vegetables are almost done, add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the mixture looks slightly soupy. You may add some water/tomato juice if the tomatoes aren't juicy enough.

Meanwhile,

3. In a skillet, pour a few drops of oil/ghee, arrange the quartered idlis on the surface of the skillet and let them roast until you see the bottoms turning brown. Pour ghee generously if you like a fried effect. The idlis can be turned over to roast the other side too, however, I like one side done crisp, and the other side left undone. Transfer the browned quarters onto blotting paper and set aside. Fry/roast the next batch. 

When the vegetables are ready and the idlis are done, 

4. Add the idli quarters into the vegetables and mix in thoroughly. The soft side of the idlis absorbs the oil/soup of the vegetables while the roasted side stays crisp. Some of the idli quarters crumble during the mixing process. Cover & cook for a few minutes so the idlis soak up the soup/spice . Garnish with cilantro.

Serve hot. Goes well on its own and also with yogurt. 

Suggestions/Variations:

1. Fried Idli: Some people like to deep fry the idli quarters and serve them with chat masala. 

2. Idli Upma: Idli quarters/mashed Idlis are used instead of upma rava, and the item is prepared as per Rava upma recipe. 

3. You can follow your heart for this recipe, add whatever spice you like, add/omit vegetables as you wish, experiment with sweet corn, carrots, beans, include peanuts, bengal gram, etc.

Culture & Health:

This is a very mix & match dish usually prepared with leftover idlis. If you have very few leftover idlis, the addition of vegetables adds volume to the dish along with a varied taste. It can also be prepared with freshly prepared cooled idlis (hot idlis get mashed easily when handled).

Idli is a good source of protein & carbohydrate, the addition of vegetable makes it a complete balanced diet.

Trivia:

Whenever I have lots of Idli batter and I am bored of plain idli, I find this a very easy quick fix which is simply awesome to taste, with the added health benefits!!

వంకాయ పచ్చడి: Vankaya pacchadi: Eggplant chutney

INGREDIENTS:

Big eggplant/ vankaya..........1
Green chillies.................6
Tamarind.......................Half marble size
Salt to taste
Cilantro.......................few leaves
Avalu/mustard..................1/2 tsp
Urad dal/minapappu.............2 tsp
Heeng..........................1/4tsp
Menthi podi/fenugreek powder...1/4tsp
Oil............................11/2tsp

METHOD:
1.Peel and microwave vankaya for 5to8 min.( or cook on stove top and remove skin)
2.Soak tamarind and keep aside.
3.Heat oil in a pan put mustard seeds.
4.When it splutter add urad dal.
5.Then add menthi powder and heeng.
6.Grind green chillies,salt and tamarind together.
7.Add vankaya, seasoning to the
chilly paste,now grind using whipping button.
8.Add chopped cilantro and serve.


It goes with rice.

ఉల్లి అట్టు/ ఉతప్పం: Ulli attu/Utappam: Sour Onion pancake

Serving: 6 atlu





INGREDIENTS:

Black gram dal 1/4 cup
Rice 1 cup
Salt to taste
Onions 2 big
Green chillies 8 to 10
Chilly powder 1/2 tsp
Oil enough to roast
Curry leaves few

METHOD:

1.soak dal and rice separately for over night.
2. Next day morning grind separately to make smooth batter.
3.Keep aside for fermentation.
4.Cut onions into small pieces.
5.Cut green chillies and curry leaves in to small pieces.
6.Add onions, green chillies, salt and curry leaves to the batter.
7.Mix well.
8.Heat flat pan grease with oil, then pour batter and spread thick round.
9.Add oil around the dosa and keep lid on it.
10. cook in medium flame.
11.when it is cooked turn it and cook other side for some more time.
12.when it is done serve hot.

It can be made with left over idly or dosa batter.
The batter must be sour.

CARROT PACHADI/CARROT CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS:

Carrots 2
Green chillies 4 Small
Salt to taste
Garlic 1 clove
Tamarind 1/2 small marble size

SEASONING:

Mustard seeds.!tsp
Urad dal 2tsp
Menthi powder 1/4 tsp
Oil 1tsp

METHOD:

1.Clean and peel Carrots
2.Cut into Small pieces (for easy to grind)
3.Grind all ingredients together but do not make paste.
4.Heat oil in pan and add Mustard seeds.
5.When it splutters add urad dal and fry till brown,then add menthi powder
and remove from fire.
6.Now add seasoning to the pachadi and mix well.
7.Ready to eat.

It is easy and very tasty chutney goes with rice.

MUDIPESALA PACHADI/WHOLE GREEN GRAM CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS:

Green gram whole..............1 cup (rice cooker measure)
Red chillies...........................3 to 5 (if there are very hot or as per taste)
Salt .........................................to taste.
Cumin seeds.........................11/2 tsps

METHOD:

1. Clean Raw greengram dal with water.
2.Grind all above ingredients to make coarse paste.
3.is is ready to eat.

This is very very easy to make and very tasty and crispy, goes with rice
very well.

Capsicum pachadi/greenbell pepper chutney

INGREDIENTS:

Capsicum..........2 big
Green chillies....5 to 6
Salt to taste
Garlic............2 cloves
Oil...............1tbs
Tamarind..........small marble size

SEASONING:

Mustard seeds.....1tsp
Urad dall.........1tbsp
fenugreek.........1/4 tsp(powder)

METHOD:

1.Clean and cut capsicum in small pieces.
2.Heat oil in a pan and add capsicum, green chillies and fry until soft keep it for cool.
3.Heat oil in another pan and add seasoning fry them and let it cool.
4.Soak tamarind and keep side.
5.Grind capsicum , tamarind chilies,garlic and salt in blender coarsely.
6.Add seasoning mix well and serve.

This goes with rice.

అల్లం పచ్చడి: Allam pacchadi- Ginger chutney

INGREDIENTS:

Ginger............1and1/2 inch piece
Tamarind..........Big lemon size
Jaggery...........small lemon size
Red chillies......12 to 15 (as per taste)
Salt to tasteUT
Mustard seeds......1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds.....1/2 tsp
Urad dal............1tbs
Heeng...............1/4 tsp
Oil.................2 tsp

METHOD:

1.Soak tamarind about an hour.
2.Heat oil in a pan fry redchillies,mustard,fenugeek and urad dal.
3.After frying them add heeng and keep it cool.
4.In a blender grind above fried items with salt.
5.Then add tamarind, jaggary and peeled ginger one after one and make smooth paste.

This pacchadi goes with all phalaharams and rice.

Variations:
Try out another ginger chutney recipe similar to this one.

పప్పు వడలు :Pappu vadalu- Fried lentil dough rounds

INGREDIENTS:

Chanadal ....................2 cups
Urad dal........................1 cup
Green chillies...............12 to 15 (according to your taste)
Ginger .........................11/2 inch
Salt to taste
Oil .................................for deep frying
Cilantro................. few leaves
Mint....................... few leaves

METHOD:

1. Clean and soak chana dal and urad dal separately for 3 hours.
2. After 3 hours drain the dalls and keep aside.
3. Clean and peel ginger.
4.Grind the chillies and ginger nice paste.
5. Grind dalls coarsely with out adding water.
6. Add ginger chilly paste to the batter.
7. Add salt , cilantro and mint leaves to batter and mix well.
8. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying
9.Wet left palm, now take medium lemon size batter and press it with right hand
fingers .
10.Now slowly drop into the hot oil.
11.Like this you can drop six vadas at a time.
12.Fry them until brown.
13. Take out from oil and put it on tissue paper to drain oil.
14. Now crispy Vedas are ready to eat.
15. Approximately 25 vadas will come.

Vadas are very tasty with ginger chutney. we prepare them most of our festivals.

మామిడి తురుము పచ్చడి: Mamidi turumu pacchadi- Grated green mango pickle

Preparation time- 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 Medium sized Green mango/ Mamidi kaya
2 Tsps mustard seeds/ Aavalu
1.5 Tsps Fenugreek seeds/ Menthulu
1.5 Tbsp Red Chilly powder/ Kaaram
1.5 Tbsp salt


Tempering:

2 Tbsp Oil
1 Tsp Mustard seeds/ Avalu
2 Red chillys/ Endumirapakayalu
1tsp Asafoetida/ Heeng/ Inguva


Method:

1. Wash and peel mango.
2. Grate mango with coconut scraper and set aside.
3. Dry roast fenugreek seeds, let cool and grind into powder. Set aside.
4. Grind mustard seeds into powder. Set aside.
5. In a mixing bowl, add the powders from step 3 & 4 , salt, red chilly powder and grated mango. Mix well and set aside.

6. Heat oil and add dry red chillies, mustard seeds and asafoetida. Let this tempering cool.
7. Pour the cooled tempering over the grated mango-spice marinade from step 5.

8. Bottle into a clean dry glass jar and refrigerate.

This item goes with well rice. It is also a popular accompaniment with tiffins such as Upma, Idli, Dosa, etc.

పచ్చి పెసర పచ్చడి: Pacchi Pesara Pacchadi- Split green gram chutney

Serves: Five. Preparation time: 5 minutes. But soaking takes 1 hour. 

Ingredients:
1 Cup Yellow (split and dehusked) Green gram dal (Dhuli moong dal, Pesara pappu)
4 Dry Red Chillies
1 Tsp Salt
1 level Tsp Cumin seeds
2 pinches Asafoetida
1 Tsp Lemon juice

Method:
1. Soak the Pesara pappu in water for one hour. Add enough water to immerse the pulse. 
2. Grinding: Grind the soaked Pesara pappu, Salt, red chillies, cumin seeds and Asafoetida into a smooth paste. Do not add water, the moisture from within the soaked pulses is enough. 
3. Squeeze 1 Tsp juice of Lemon over it and mix in properly. 


Precautions:
1. Lemon juice turns bitter if squeezed and left exposed. Hence, squeeze the lemon fresh over the Pacchadi.
2. Adjust salt and red chilli to taste.

Culture & Health:
This very-easy-to-prepare pacchadi is made fresh in small batches just for immediate consumption. It is rich in protein, has no oil at all, very good for health. The fresh lemon squeezed over it provides vitamins and phytochemicals. Can be prepared in a jiffy if you have the soaked pulse ready. It doesn't use the stove/heating at all, all ingredients are raw, hence the name "Pacchi pesara pacchadi".
A close cousin of this pacchadi is 'Vada pappu' (whole soaked pesara pappu with salt, red chilli) which is usually served as a prashadam especially on Rama Navami.

Variations:

Dry roast the Pesara pappu instead of soaking it. Also dry roast the red chillies & Cumin seeds and grind with salt, asafoetida & water, the recipe is similar to Kandi pacchadi. It can be eaten plain as 'Pesara pacchadi'. Alternatively, add roasted Eggplant to this to make Vankaaya-Pesara Pacchadi.

Trivia:
This Pacchi pesara pacchadi recipe is courtesy Manju pinni, it is a regular item on the Chivukula family menu.

నువ్వుల పచ్చడి -Nuvvula Pacchadi: Sesame seed Chutney

 Serves: Five. Preparation time: 15 minutes. 

Ingredients:  

1 Cup Sesame seeds

4 finely sliced Green chillies or Dry red chillies

2 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Jaggery (or Brown sugar)

1 Tbsp Tamarind paste

Method:

1. Dry roast the Sesame seeds on low heat until they turn brown, around 4 minutes on a fresh saucepan. Set aside to cool. 


2. Dry toast the chillies for a minute until the green ones wither, or the red ones give off an aroma. Set aside to cool. 

3. Grinding: Add the cooled sesame seeds, salt and chillies to the mixer jar. Sesame seeds are rich in oil and clump together when ground. Hence, grind for short durations of time and mix the contents so that the ground seeds come up while unground seeds go down. Coarse grind. 

4. Mix in the sugar, tamarind paste and water (3/4 cup but adjust according to the water contributed by Tamarind paste+green chillies). Run the mixer once so that they get thoroughly mixed. 

Serve with hot rice. 

Precautions/Variations:

1. If you want to refrigerate this pacchadi to last for a few days, use dry red chillies. However, if you prepare a small quantity for immediate consumption as was made traditionally, use green chillies.

2. This simple pacchadi has extensive scope for improvization. You can add roasted Cumin seeds. You can omit the jaggery and include some roasted peanuts, or grated coconut, Or roasted Chickpeas (Putnala pappu). Follow your heart.

3. Ingredient measures can be adjusted to taste.

4. Sesame seeds are rich in oil & very tiny in size whereby they get heated up very quickly and can get burnt in a matter of seconds. Hence, while roasting, make sure the heat is low and keep stirring frequently for even browning. They continue to brown even when taken off the heat. 
5. Sugar caramalizes if heated. Mixer jar & blades heat up while grinding. Clumps of sugar can stick to the heated mixer jar blades and spoil the apparatus if not mixed in properly. Therefore, be sure to thoroughly mix in the sugar right at the end.

Culture and Health:

This pacchadi is rich in protein and essential minerals.

Sesame seed is a wonder food. It is an excellent source of heavy metals and minerals such as Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Copper, Manganese. It is rich in antioxidants and has anti-cancer properties. The unpolished creamy-brown Sesame seed is better for health since the husk is rich in minerals while the polished shiny white seed loses most of its mineral content. A common traditional Indian snack is prepared by combining Jaggery-Sesame seed, the perfect protein-carbohydrate balance food. Ayurveda classifies Sesame seed as a 'heat giving' food. It enhances the metabolism and is advised to be consumed during severe winter months. 

Sesame seed oil is extensively used in cooking. It doesn't easily go rancid  & preserves food due to its high anti-oxidant load. Hence, it is used in preparing long-life preserves such as Avakaya & Mukkala pacchadi . It is a very light oil that can be easily absorbed into the skin, an ideal base for perfumed oils, massage oils, medicated hair oils in Ayurveda.  

The Sesame plant was first domesticated & farmed in India, it has been found in the ruins of the Harappan civilization. Unprocessed whole black Sesame seed is part of the Nava dhanya used in Yagnam. It is called तिल (Til) in Sanskrit. In fact, the word तैल (Teyla), Sanskrit for Oil, has its origins in Til. It is considered the next best to Cow ghee for use in religious ceremonies and can be offered to the Elements. One cannot stress the importance of this tiny little seed in Hindu culture.

Trivia:

My mother told me about this recipe. It is part of the quick బండ పచ్చడులు (Banda pacchadulu) that her grandmother used to make with a mortar-pestle.

కంది పచ్చడి: Kandi pacchadi: Pigeon peas chutney

Serves: Three. Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 Cup Pigeon peas (Tuvar dal, Kandi pappu)
3 Dry red chillies
3 Tsp Cumin seeds
1 Tsp Salt or to taste
1/2 clove Garlic



Method:
1. Dry roast the peas on low heat until they turn golden brown and give off an aroma, approximately 3 minutes.

2. Break up the dry red chillies into smaller bits and dry roast them on low heat until they are brown-black & give off an aroma, around 1 minute. 


3. Dry roast the Cumin seeds on low heat until they turn darker & give off an aroma, it takes less than a minute. If making a small quantity, you can drop them into the roasting peas when they are almost done. 


4. Crush the garlic clove and dry roast it until it turns golden in a few seconds. If making a small quantity, you can drop it into the roasting peas when they are almost done instead of roasting separately.  

5. Grinding: When all the roasted ingredients cool down, grind them to a powder along with Salt. 


6. Add some water and grind once again so that it is evenly mixed in. 


7. Add water until the preparation looks a little runny. The peas soak up the water in a few minutes and the consistency improves. 

Serve with hot rice and a generous topping of ghee. 
This pacchadi goes well with Ullipaya pacchi pulusu. It is delicious when mixed into rice with Avakaya. 


Precautions/Variations:
1. You may use a drop of oil while roasting the ingredients. 
2. Stir the ingredients frequently during the roasting process to ensure uniform browning, make sure the heat source is low as the ingredients can get burnt within a few seconds. 
3. Adjust dry red chillies, salt, Cumin to taste. 
4. Some recipes include grated coconut. 
5. This pacchadi is best prepared fresh before mealtime. If left over, the ground pigeon peas absorb the water & dry into a soggy lump. Hence, leave the almost-done pacchadi at step 5. Follow up on step 6 & 7 just before mealtime. 


Culture & Health:
The term 'Pacchadi' usually conjures up the image of a fruit or vegetable in our mind. However, traditional Telugu cuisine has Pacchadis such as Kandi pacchadi, Pesara pacchadi, Nuvvula pacchadi which are made from grains/pulses.
This genre of pacchadis is rich in protein. Combined with rice, it makes a protein-carbohydrate balanced diet that only needs some fresh vegetable/fruit to supply vitamins. Hence, it is paired with liquid vegetable preparations such as Ullipaya pacchi pulusu, Vankaya pacchi pulusu, Menti pulusu, etc...
These pacchadis are prepared fresh daily in small quantities, they are also called 'Banda pacchadulu' (బండ పచ్చడులు) since they were traditionally just ground with a mortar-boulder using very few basic ingredients.
It is also eaten mixed into hot rice and Avakaya.

Trivia:
This preparation is a star item on the Chivukula family menu.
The recipe is courtesy Manju pinni.

దోసకాయ పచ్చడి: Dosakaya Pacchadi: Round Yellow Cucumber Chutney

Serves: Fills a 450 ml/16 fl oz bottle. Preparation time: 1 hour including assembling ingredients, washing, chopping, roasting, grinding. 


Ingredients:
4 Round yellow Apple cucumbers (Dosakaya)                    
2 Tbsp Oil
2 heaped Tsp Split Black Gram
4 Dry Red chillies
1 heaped Tsp Coriander seeds
1 heaped Tsp Cumin seeds
1 level Tsp Mustard seeds
1 level Tsp Turmeric
1 level Tsp Asafoetida
1 level Tsp Fenugreek powder
1 heaped Tsp or to taste; Salt
1/4 Tsp Sugar
3 sprigs Cilantro


Method:

1. Wash Dosakaya and pat dry. Cut into half, peel the outer skin.  Scoop out the clump of seeds from its middle and discard. Finely chop into small pieces. Set aside. 
2. Wash Cilantro in fresh water and chop fine. Set aside. 
3. In a saucepan/wok, heat the oil on medium-low flame. As it is heating, break dry red chillies into small pieces. 
4. When oil is medium hot, add Black gram and dry red chillies. Stir frequently so that all ingredients are evenly browned. When black gram turns golden yellow, add Coriander & Cumin seeds. When black gram turns golden red, add Mustard seeds, Asafoetida & Turmeric (if you add turmeric initially, you won't be able to make out the colour difference in black gram), mustard seeds will splutter.
5. Switch of the heat and add Fenugreek powder. Let this tempering cool. 
6. Grinding: First grind the spice mix resulting from steps 4&5 along with the salt. Next, add the finely chopped Dosakaya and grind with a quick spurt of power on whipping/Pulse mode. Open the mixer jar, add sugar and mix the contents so that the mashed pieces come up while untouched pieces go down. Grind once again on whipping/pulse mode. Repeat this process until all pieces are roughly mashed, around 4 times for the quantity mentioned in this recipe. 
7. Transfer contents into a clean glass jar, garnish with the Cilantro and refrigerate. 

Precautions/Variations:

1. Dosakayas sometimes turn out bitter. Hence, while chopping the Dosakaya, taste a tiny piece of each fruit. Discard any bitter fruit otherwise the entire dish can turn out bitter.
2. Manju pinni suggests: If you like whole crisp grains in your recipe, you can grind the tempering-Dosakaya together so that the blackgram doesn't get properly ground down. Or, you can grind Dosakaya and pour the tempering over it.
3. One can use green chillies too in this recipe.
4. The basic tempering mix used in this recipe has been described earlier in Beerakaya, Tomato pacchadis too. Several chutneys can be made with this same spice base. You can prepare the spice base to last for a week and make a fresh chutney everyday using a small quantity of fresh vegetable and some of the spice base. This way, we can have quick variety frequently.
5. Dosakaya is a sour fruit, hence the recipe doesn't need a souring agent. However, if you feel the need, you may squeeze in a few drops of lemon juice just before serving, or mix in some tamarind paste.
6. If you don't have Dosakaya, you can use the ordinary English cucumber, it closely mimics the flavour, but will need a souring agent (tamarind paste or lemon juice).
7. If you intend to make a large quantity of this chutney, it may be advisable to dry roast the Coriander and Cumin seeds separately and then mix into browned black gram & red chillies. This is because all these spices have different cooking times and easily stay undercooked/get burnt within a few seconds of delay.
8. Coriander & Cumin Seeds may be substituted with powders.
9. If using whole Fenugreek seeds: Dry roast them to a brown-black, let them cool, powder and then add to the cooled tempering.


The-Hunt-For-An-English-Name, Culture and Health:
Dosakaya is a South Indian cultivar of Cucumber/Melon. It belongs to the 'Cucurbitaceae' plant family, to which all gourds & melons belong. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) originated in India. Hence, there are several species and cultivars of cucumber/melon/gourd unique to the Indian subcontinent, with no Western/English equivalents. 
It can be translated at best as a round yellow cucumber... Some people describe it as a 'Lemon Cucumber', others call it an 'Apple Cucumber', but it is really not one. I even heard the term 'Melon Cucumber'. After much research into the species of edible cucumbers & melons (during which I collided into more confused people like me, without any conclusive results), I concluded that it does not have an accurate English name, the closest I got to in scientific names was "Cucumis melo var. agrestis". 
The presence of the chemical 'Phenylthiocarbamide' is believed to lend bitter tones to some fruit. Dosakaya is rich in vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, low in fat. Fruits/vegetables from the 'Cucurbitaceae' plant family are full of water & fibre, need very little oil to cook and are said to be very good for health according to Ayurveda. Traditional Telugu cuisine exploits a variety of these fruits/vegetables: Beerakaya, Potlakaya, Boodida gummadikaya, Erra gummadi, Kakarakaya to name a few.  
This pacchadi is especially very good for health since the Dosakaya is consumed raw. 


Trivia:
I learnt this recipe from my mom-in-law(Indira aunty), she cooks an amazing variety of delicious pacchadis and podis. My foray into the world of pacchadis started all because of Krishna's love for pacchadis. Now I am addicted to aunty's pacchadi recipes even more than he is!
I added some minor precautions/suggestions from various sources into it. 

ముక్కల పచ్చడి- Mukkala pacchadi: Green mango-mustard-chilli marinade

Serves: Fills a 1 litre bottle. Preparation time: 1 hour including preparation of ingredients. Marination takes three days. 


Ingredients:

2 large Green Mangoes (5 '' in length) 
1 heaped Tbsp Salt 
3 heaped Tbsp Mustard seed powder (Avapindi)
1.5 heaped Tbsp Red Chilli powder
1/2 level Tsp Turmeric 

Tempering:

1/3 cup Sesame oil (Til ka teyl, Nuvvula nuné)

4 Dry red chillies- broken into tiny pieces

1 Tsp Mustard seed

1 level Tsp Fenugreek powder 

Method:
1. Wash  green mangoes and pat dry. Dice into 3/4'' cubes. Discard the seed. 
2. Take a large mixing bowl. Add the diced mangoes. Add the Salt, Avapindi, Turmeric and Red chilli powder. Mix well. Set aside. The salt draws juices out of the mango and the mango marinates in the resulting Avapindi-Turmeric-Salt-Red chilli sauce. 
3. Heat the Sesame oil in a Tempering ladle or wok. Add the Dry red chilly pieces and roast until they brown & give off an aroma. Add the mustard seeds, they will splutter. Switch off the heat and add the Fenugreek powder. Let this tempering cool.
4. Pour the cooled tempering over the mangoes in the mixing bowl and mix well. 
5. Bottle into a clean dry glass jar. Let it stand still for three days. Mix well on the third day. 
6. Refrigerate. 


Goes well with hot rice. 

Precautions/Suggestions:
1. The ingredient meausures mentioned in this recipe are standard cooking measures. Hence, 1 heaped Tbsp of cooking measure may be upto 2.5 Tbsp of an ordinary cutlery tablespoon.
2. Avapindi sometimes turns bitter if left standing. Hence, powder mustard seeds just before you want to make this pacchadi.
3. Make sure that the tempering cools properly before adding it to the mangoes. Hot/warm oil can make the Avapindi turn bitter. 
4. Small Indian green mango cultivars are best suited for this recipe since they are sour. If the green mango is not sour enough (a common drawback with the large green mango cultivar available in N.America), you may add some Citric acid powder (one or two pinches is enough, depends on the mango. It imparts an artificial flavour so be careful not to put too much.).
5. If you do not have Fenugreek powder: Roast whole Fenugreek seeds until they turn dark brown-black. Let them cool and then powder them. Add this pre-roasted powder to the cooled tempering from step 3 and mix into the mangoes.


Variations:
This same recipe can be replicated with Dosakaya or firm red tomatoes instead of green mango, it is then called Dosakaya mukkala pacchadi or Tomato Avakaya respectively.


Trivia:
This is Manju pinni's recipe. Even the photo is of Manju pinni's Mukkala pacchadi which she made for us. 
Since this recipe uses Avapindi, it is a close cousin of Avakaya, Krishna grades it to an almost 'A', all other pacchadis are inferior B graders in his eyes ;-) 
I have memories of my mom making green mango mukkala pacchadi and Tomato Avakaya, she would eat it all by herself since we kids weren't fond of pickles. Her colleagues tasted some of her Chilli & Tomato pacchadis and told her that they'll sell like hot cakes if she bottled some & tried selling it!!