Pedatha's Ginger Chutney / Allam Pachchadi

When I was visiting my cousin in the US a couple of years back, she had jars of pickles and pachchadis made by her mother-in-law, stacked up in her refrigerator. Her husband's family is originally from Andhra and the pickles and chutneys were absolutely lip-smacking



This particular allam pachchadi / ginger chutney was at the breakfast table every morning. We had it with dosas regularly and one Sunday, her husband made these amazing pesarattus for breakfast. That and the allam pachchadi, for me, was a match made in heaven ! After I got back, I have been craving that ginger chutney, especially when I made pesarattu

Finally got down to making this from Pedatha's book. Absolutely delicious if you love the flavour of ginger as much as I do !

Ginger Chutney / Allam Pachchadi
Recipe Source : The vegetarian cookbook of traditional recipes "Cooking at home with Pedatha"
by Jigyasa Giri and Pratibha Jain

What you need -

1 cup peeled and grated ginger
3 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tbsp jaggery
2 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste

1st tempering
1.5 tbsp split black gram / urad dal
1 tbsp mustard seeds
3-4 red chillies
1/2 cup curry leaves
1 cup coriander leaves (optional)
1 tsp asafoetida / hing
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2nd tempering
1/2 tsp split black gram / urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds

What you do with it -

In a wok / kadai, heat the ghee and fry the grated ginger well for 4-5 mins. The ginger should turn light red in colour
Do not over cook, the ginger needs to retain some of its juice. Set aside
In another wok / kadai, heat 1.5 tbsp oil for the first tempering. Add the urad dal and as it turns golden, pop the mustard seeds
Turn off the flame and add the red chillies. As they turn bright red, add the rest of the ingredients under 1st tempering and stir
grind this along with the tamarind pulp, jaggery and salt to a coarse paste
Add the cooked ginger and grind coarsely. Do not add any water while grinding
Heat the remaining oil for the 2nd tempering
Add the gram, as it turns golden, pop the mustard and switch off the flame
Garnish the chutney with this tempering
Serve with idlis, dosas, rice or my favourite, pesarattu!

Pedatha's tip: Avoid the coriander leaves if you want to preserve this chutney for a longer time