Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Zucchini Chutney (Thogayal)


I am sure that every body will agree that vacations are wonderful times. A stress free time when you can recharge and re energize and a great break from the daily grind. These are also times when I can get quite carried away with picture taking and take pictures of almost everything that looks interesting. Later when I take prints and place them in albums, I always think that at some future point, I will go through the albums and enjoy and recapture the mood or euphoria I felt when I was taking the picture. 

But the reality is that when I actually go through the albums I find myself skimming the pictures, especially the landscape only pictures,  and find myself focusing only on those pictures where there is someone I know in the picture. Does that happen to you too? do you find yourself taking pictures of random buildings or trees and plants and flowers because it feels so special but skim over them when these pictures are placed in your album and focus only on the ones with family members and friends. Do share your thoughts on your vacations and your special observations about them , I would love to hear from you and find out your thoughts on vacations and especially vacation pictures :-)

Moving on from vacations to foods I love to have when I get back from a vacation. All the outside food and hearty eating during vacations makes me crave something light, nutritious and tasty.This zucchini thogayal  definitely qualifies on all points, its light, fast to make, nutritious, low fat and extremely tasty. What more can we ask for from our foods? Did I mention it is also very versatile, scroll down to the bottom of the recipe for all the possible combinations this chutney / thogayal can be paired with, although these are by no way limited to the ones mentioned below and I am sure there are many more ways to use this chutney.

I made this chutney on a whim and was heartened at how successful it turned out to be at my place, my father and R both kept asking for seconds and my father who has never tasted zucchini before, and does not take very well to experimenting with food, was surprised at the taste and quite impressed that some unknown vegetable (at least to him) could taste this good.

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Ingredients and Method to make Zucchini Thogayal (Chutney)

2 Medium zucchini (ends cut off and cut into little pieces along with the skin)
2 tbsp chana dhal
4 tbsp udad dhal
4 dry whole red chillies
sprig of curry leaves (about 8-10 leaves) optional
1 tsp coconut oil
4 tbsp grated coconut (either fresh or frozen is fine)(see notes)
salt to taste ( I used approx about 3/4 tsp salt for this quantity)
2 thumb sized little pieces of tamarind (or according to taste)
salt according to taste


In a heavy bottomed pan, dry roast chana dhal and udad dhal on medium heat SEPARATELY until they turn reddish. Remove from heat and keep aside.

Add a drop of coconut oil to the same pan and add whole dry red chillies and curry leaves to it. Roast on medium heat until the red chillies change color, remove from heat and keep aside.

Add balance of coconut oil and add the grated coconut and roast until the coconut becomes slightly reddish. To this add cut pieces of zucchini and little pieces of tamarind and saute for a minute or two. On low heat, keeping the pan closed allow the zucchini to cook for a few minutes. There is no need to add any water. When the zucchini is cooked but not mushy, remove from heat and keep aside to cool slightly.
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Grind the entire mixture adding water if and as required until the mixture is ground to a smooth paste.


If you prefer, you can powder the lentils+ red chilies to a fine powder, then add cooked zucchini and tamarind and grind to a smooth paste

Add salt to taste and give the mixture another turn in the blender/ spice grinder.

Serve along with parathas/ rotis  or idlis / dosai  or rice and poricha kozhambu  or just mix a little of this chutney/ thogayal with a little cooked brown or white rice, add a few drops of sesame oil or clarified butter/ ghee to it and you have instant flavored rice.

Notes

If you plan to use frozen coconut, thaw it to room temperature and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Refrigerate the balance of unused chutney / thogayal and use within a day or two at most.


41 comments :

indosungod said...

Looking good. I have always wanted to try this chutney.

Indhu said...

lovely recipe... love your chutneys... and I am exactly like you with respect to focusing only on the pictures with family or friends :)

Anu said...

Chutney looks delicious! I have tried zucchini curry (posted in my blog) long back... u have tempted me to taste this veggie again :)

Nandinis food said...

Superb recipe! Looks superlicious! I love summer vacations!

Mangala Bhat said...

Wow! looks soo yummy ...will give it a try soon

Kalai said...

Delicious thogayal!

Poornima Nair said...

Great recipe...would love to try this.

Unknown said...

thogayal with zucchini sounds so interesting..am sure must ahve tasted great..

Anonymous said...

Coconut does me in EACH time = )

kittymatti said...

lovely recipe...it looks so appetizing!

Unknown said...

looks delicious, zucchini is very versatile and i substitute it in all dishes in place of peerkangai

Gita Jaishankar said...

Thats a great idea for chutney...looks delicious :)

Varsha Vipins said...

Hi usha..good one ..this chutney looks perfect..:)

chef and her kitchen said...

That chutney looks yummy usha..Perfect for rice with a dollop of ghee..

Shreya said...

wonderful healthy chutney.. grt recipe:-)

Deepthi Shankar said...

yep, I photograph quite a bit & my hubby always tells me that when ppl see photos they look for something familiar like known ppl in them n not just random things, so he tells me to shoot landscapes & other thinhg if its on extra ordinary cuz I too have seen ppl getting bored of random things ..

Nice chutney made out of zucchini

Manju said...

zucchini thogayal must be pretty interesting...i can imagine how it must taste lie..awesome job!

Parita said...

Wow zucchini chutney looks delicious..new to me..very unusual :)

Finla said...

Wow i would have never thought of making chutney with succhini, looks really yumm.

Sukanya Yogesh said...

I would love to try this chutney.Looks so yummy

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Delicious thogayal Usha. Looks Yumm.

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

With coconut oil this chutney should definitely taste great and must have given a lotta aroma too!!! looks very yummy!!!

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

i haven't used zucchini much in my cooking.. this is a useful recipe.

Laavanya said...

We love zucchini chutney at home too.. mine is a bit different though.

I take lots of pics of nature but later on, you are right, the ones with pple are always the ones that have my interest :)

Cilantro said...

Lovely thogayal recipe. Will have to try it out.

Unknown said...

coconut oil in chutney interesting chutney loos delicious.

Cham said...

Like this chutney and flavorful!

Priya Suresh said...

Droolworthy chutney Usha!

Myvegfare said...

is zucchinis are nothing but courgetes usha, i have not made a chutney out of it, it sounds very interesting if they are same then i would like to try your version and make chutney, looks very delicious

Padma said...

Looks delicious Usha :)

A_and_N said...

I hate zuchhini but I love thogeyal. So this is a good dish for me :)

miss v said...

looks great! i always have a lot of garden zucchini in the summer...

i tend to like a lot of pictures w/ people for memories, but i do love the beauty of landscapes, buildings, bridges, etc.

Navita (Gupta) Hakim said...

Usha ur on a chutney spree :) great recipe.
how hve u been long time no see :)

Anonymous said...

welcome back!
I guess its a natural inclination to search for the more human photos and the facial expressions resonating in ourselves more emotional reactions..also can relate to the need for light and healthy eats after splurging on vacation!:)
I just Love Zuchinis,especially in summer!but lack a variety of preparation.This looks delightful and refreshing!

Uma said...

mmm. zucchini chutney looks amazing! Love to have it with hot rice and ghee :)

Reg. photos: I also take many pics of the landscapes and nature. But I enjoy by using them as desktop background for my pc :) In albums, you're right, we just focus on familiar faces not just at some buildings or scenery...

Vaishali said...

I agree, Usha-- Desi is always taking beautiful pictures of all sorts of stuff, but it is his pictures of people that are always the most riveting.
I love this zucchini thogayal. I definitely have to try this, now that zucchini is all over the market. I do love summer!

Unknown said...

Looks too good. Unique thuvayal recipe.

Red Chillies said...

I am with you in terms of taking pictures. When on vacation I take lots and lots of pictures and they end up on the hard disk. We take hard copies of only selected family ones.
This is a interesting chitney. Loved the idea of oat coocnut chutne too.

anudivya said...

I usually have a junk load of pictures after a vacation. I tend to overdo it sometimes...
This thogayal is kind of unique and sounds great. I should try it.

Padma said...

Hello Usha,

I have something for you in my blog . Click on this link dear :)
http://padmasrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/05/dhal-coconut-chutney.html

Adlak's tiny world said...

nice thogayal... unique recipe.

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