I think every Indian cuisine has a set of ‘ chutney pitto/ chutney podi /chutney powder’ recipes. We too make different types of ‘ chutney pitto ‘ ( pitto -powder). Usually most famous chutney powders are the ones with coconut in it. We serve it with bhakris , dosas or idlis . Everybody will have their stock of chutney pitto all the time.
I simply love this Shenga (peanut) chutney pitto .
Ingredients: 1 cup dry coconut( kobbari or kopra ) 3/4 cup peanut(ground nut or shenga ) 5-6 strands curry leaves 8-10 pieces tamarind 1/4 tea spn asafoetida 1 tbl spn chili powder Salt
Method: Roast (without oil) coconut, tamarind and curry leaves till the coconut turns slightly brownish. Let it cool to room temperature. Roast (without oil) peanuts and remove skin, ready made roasted peanuts can also be used. Let it cool to room temperature. Grind coconut mixture to a coarse powder. Then grind peanuts, there should be some small pieces of peanuts visible. Oil comes out of roasted peanuts if it is ground for a longer time. So stop the grinding when it is coarsely ground. Mix coconut powder, peanut powder, chili powder and salt. Store in an airtight container.
Preparation time : 20mins.
Pictorial:
Many people call this as “Kumta masala” as this is readily available in Kumta .
What is the first thing any Konkani person can remember when you say “breakfast or evening snack”? Almost 90% of people (especially I have seen guys like it more than girls, it’s just an observation. My father, brother and husband are absolute fans of poha prepared in this way) say it is ‘ Kalayile phovu ‘ (Kalayile means mixed, phovu is phoha/avalakki). This is a dish which is prepared when you are in hurry and want to have something very fast and that keeps you full for hours. So this is even given to people who work for long hours in sun. Basically it is a food very famous in rural areas.
Phova pitto (pitto meaning powder) is available in the market very easily at our place. Nobody actually prepares it at home. Long back one of the readers asked me about this recipe. My mom uses this powder not only for poha but also for a variety of dishes. I will post those dishes one by one in future.
Ingredients: Coriander seeds 1 cup Fennel seeds (Soamp) 1/2 cup Cumin seeds (jeera) 1/4 cup Cloves 4 Cinnamon (dalchini) 2 inch Chili powder
Method: Keep the above ingredients except chili powder in hot sun for few hours (I dry roasted the ingredients instead of keeping it in sun). Measure the powder in cups. Add same amount of chili powder to it and grind them all.
Preparation time : 10mins
Some recipes were this powder can be used – kalayilo phovu , chudvo , phanni phovu , potato sandwich , peas usli , potato bhaji
