Onion Chutney

South Indian Onion chutney recipe is usually used to as a spicy smear for dosa. This quick sweet red onion chutney goes with mallige idli, chapathis, parathas too. Here is an answer for  how to make red onion chutney.     

Ingredients:

Medium sized onion – 4

Red chillies – 7-8

Tamarind juice – 2 tea spoons

Curry leaves -  10-15

Powdered Jaggery –  2 tea spoons (Ayurveda Health Benefits of Jaggery)

Asafetida – 1 pinch

Mustard – ½ tea spoon

Sesame oil -  2 table spoons

Salt – according to taste

Method - Slice onions into small pieces. Add jaggery , salt, asafetida , red chillies, tamarind juice to onion. Blend it to a fine paste without adding water .Heat a wok or kadahi on stove. Pour sesame oil to it. When oil is hot add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Transfer ground onion paste to wok. Allow the water content to evaporate. Keep turning the mixture in between. When oil starts oozing from the chutney turn off heat. Serve this chutney with parathas, dosas or rotis.

 Health benefits of ingredients-

Onion: Onion help to rejuvenate liver, normalize digestion, relieve constipation and increase appetite. Hence it is very beneficial in piles (hemorrhoids) , constipation, jaundice and indigestion. White onions are recommended in bleeding disorders to reduce bleeding. Hence it is used in conditions like bleeding piles and bleeding through nose. Onions are used in home remedies to reduce cough. Onion and its seeds are known to help in erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation and male infertility. It helps to increase libido, quality and quantity of semen. It is a very good vajikara. It helps to reduce itching on skin.

Curry leaves: Curry leaves have many medicinal properties. They stimulate secretion of digestive enzymes and aid digestion. Adding curry leaves to our diet help to strengthen the digestive system. Curry leaves help in hair growth and slows down premature graying.

Sesame oil: Sesame oil brings aggravated vata to normal condition. When it is infused with various herbs, it almost cures all diseases. According to principles of ayurveda sesame is heavy to digest and increases moistness of tissues. It tastes sweet and has hot potency (ushna). The seeds and oil are used for medicinal purposes.

Roasted Gram Chutney (Canteen Style)

Coconut Chutney
Raw Mango Chutney

 

Raw Mango chutney

Mango chutney goes good with hot cooked rice, curd rice and parathas. Here is a recipe for this tasty raw mango chutney . It is very easy to make.

Ingredients:

1.       Raw Mango – 1 medium sized.

2.       Red chilly powder – 2 tea spoons or according to taste.

3.       Asafetida – 1 pinch

4.       Salt – according to taste

5.       Fenugreek seeds – ¼ tea spoon

6.       Mustard seeds – ¼ tea spoon

7.       Sesame oil – 3 table spoon

Cut the mango into two halves and remove its seed . Grate this mango with a grater. (use large hole side). Heat a wok or kadahi on stove. Pour sesame oil to it. When oil is heated add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and asafetida. When mustard seeds splutter add grated mango salt and chilly powder. Allow this to soften and turn the mango pulp now and then. When mango pulp becomes soft, turn off the heat and allow the chutney to cool. Store this in an airtight container and refrigerate it. It has a shelf life of 15 days when properly cooked and stored in refrigerator.

Read Mango and Male Fertility an Ayurveda View

Also view

Roasted Gram Chutney (Canteen Style)

Onion Chutney
Coconut Chutney

Nutritious tomato cucumber salad (raita)

Fresh vegetable salads are store houses of nutrients. They provide plenty of fiber, vitamins and minerals. They fill the stomach and are very low in calorie content. Salads are ideal food for people who are on weight loss program. Here is a tasty salad recipe which goes good with chapathi , paratha and rice varieties like pulao.

Ingredients:
Tender Cucumber (small size)- 1
Tomato – 2 (med size
Ground nut –  1 table spoon
Curd (yogurt) – 1 cup
Green chilli or pepper powder (optional)
Salt – to taste
Coriander leaves-

Method:

Wash the cucumber and peel its skin. Grate it with the help of a grater on the side with large holes. Cut tomato into small squares. Roast the ground nut and remove its husk. Powder it coarsely. Finely chop coriander leaves. Mix all the ingredients together to make salad and garnish with coriander leaves.

Benefits of ingredients:

Cucumber: Cucumber is very low in calories and provides plenty of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber helps to reduce constipation and ease bowel movement. Cucumber is rich in potassium. This helps to balance sodium potassium level and reduce hypertension or high blood pressure. There is a strong link between hypertension or high blood pressure and erectile dysfunction. As potassium helps to reduce high blood pressure, it also helps in erectile dysfunction.  Cucumber is mildly diuretic. Its high fiber content and diuretic property help to check weight gain. It contains plenty of anti oxidants which help to boost overall health and skin health in particular.

Tomatoes: Recent studies have shown that tomatoes are good for cancer prevention. Regular consumption of tomatoes help to prevent cancers of lung, prostate, stomach, cervical, breast, oral, colorectal, esophageal, pancreatic, etc. Tomato is also good for liver health. Tomato has detoxification effect in the body. Tomato juice acts as a good rejuvenating and energy drink. It reduces the risks of cardio vascular diseases. Red and ripe tomatoes act as powerful antioxidants.

Ground Nut: Ground nuts are rich in nutrients, minerals, vitamins and anti oxidants. They contain mono unsaturated fatty acids which increase HDl or good cholesterol. These nuts contain plenty of amino acids. The antioxidants in ground nuts protect heart and supply essential minerals like copper, zinc, iron, magnesium, potassium etc.

Curd:  Intestinal infections like cholera, typhoid, amoebiasis etc usually surface during summer. Consuming curd daily during summer helps to increase intestinal flora (friendly bacteria present in intestine). These bacteria increase the resistance of our intestines to these infections. Hence curd is known as a probiotic.

Probiotics are the good bacteria that promote healthy digestion and build immunity. The most common friendly bacteria (probiotics) are lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. These probiotics are easily available in the form of curd (yogurt). Persons who cannot digest milk can digest curd easily.

Consuming curd daily especially during summer, keeps the digestion and intestinal problems away. According to ayurveda curd absorbs water from intestines (hence called as Grahi). By the virtue of this property it is widely used to treat diarrhea and dysentery. It mitigates vata dosha, increases kapha and pitta. Curd helps to increase quality and quantity of semen, strengthens the body, accelerates digestion (agni), stimulates taste buds and acts as an appetizer. Curd reduces irritability of bladder and helps in emptying bladder easily.

Rasam With Dry coconut

Ingredients:

Grated Dry coconut (copra)- ¼ cup

Milk - 250 ml

Water – 350 ml

Cumin seeds (jeera) – 1 tea spoon

Coriander seeds (dhania) – 1 tea spoon

Mustard seeds – ¼ spoon

Black pepper – ¼ spoon

Black gram – 1 tea spoon

Dry Red chilli – 4 (according to taste)

Asafetida – 1 pinch

Curry leaves – 10-15

Finely chopped Coriander leaves – ¼ cup

Jaggery - ½ lemon size
Turmeric- 1 pinch

Pure ghee – 2 tea spoon

Salt to taste

Method:

Heat a small wok. Put ½ tea spoon of ghee to it. Fry black gram, ¾ tea spoon cumin seeds (jeera), 1 spoon coriander seeds (dhania), dry red chillies and pepper, in low flame till black gram turns golden brown in color. Allow this to cool.
Transfer the fried ingredients to small mixer jar, add grated dry coconut and blend this to a smooth paste adding water.

Now place a thick bottomed vessel on stove and heat it. Pour remaining ghee to it. Add ¼ tea spoon jeera, ¼ spoon mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric and asafetida to warmed ghee. When jeera and mustard seeds splutter, add prepared dry coconut masala paste to this and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add water to fried masala and stir well to avoid lumping. Add jaggery and simmer the flame.

When it starts boiling, pour milk and stir . Allow the rasam to boil. Add salt and coriander leaves when milk mixed rasam boils well.

This rasam can be eaten with rice or can be used as soup in winter season.
Persons who are on weight loss program can use sunflower oil instead of ghee.

Precaution: Add salt only when the whole rasam along with milk boils well. Or else the milk will get curdled.