Mint & Coriander Thogayal / Pudina Kothamalli Thogayal

Everyone in my family is a fan of mint. I am thankful for that, because I know some that hate the smell and flavor of mint! I can't even imagine how people could hate mint! Anyway, this is a very common side-dish that's prepared at home. My mom loves green chutneys and thogayals, and everything green, and she makes them well too (my husband has his answer for why I'm obsessed with all things green ;)). And pudina (mint) thogayal, cilantro thogayal, and curry-leaf thogayal are her specialties.

Now that summer is in full swing, there is no shortage of herbs, fruits, and vegetables, especially mint. They take over your yard in no time and are so hard to control or get rid of (if you really wanted to). So with fresh mint galore, this is a wonderful way to make a flavorful, fragrant condiment that perfumes the entire house as it cooks. Every year, I wait for summer to make rich mint chutneys and thogayals. So, here it is!

Zucchini Thuvayal / Thogayal

Zucchinis and squashes are similar to many of the commonly available Indian squashes, so they fit well with Indian cuisine. I usually stir fry zucchini with common Indian curry powders to make a dry curry. Sometimes, I also make a thogayal (a thicker version of chutney) that is (I am told) very similar to peerkangai (ridge gourd) thogayal. I have heard that my husband's grandmother (my grand mother-in-law) makes a very tasty thogayal with zucchini. So, it's nice to record this recipe here.

So, here's how this simple thogayal is prepared.

Cabbage Thuvayal / Thogayal

Cabbage thogayal / thuvayal is one of my mom's recent innovations in the kitchen. It is a coarser and more tart version of chutney. Shredded cabbage is ground with tamarind, chillies, ginger, and black gram to make a thuvayal that tastes different from the usual ones.

Coconut Thuvayal / Thogayal

Coconut thogayal, known as Thengai thogayal is an extremely common South-Indian side-dish. Since coconuts are available aplenty in South-India, they are featured extensively in most of our cooking. This is super simple to prepare and so delicious when mixed with rice. This thogayal is what people resort to when there aren't enough vegetables or when they lack lack the time to make an elaborate meal. Sounds like a thursday night dinner option?

Ingredients (serves 4):

1. 1.5 cups grated coconut (if using frozen shredded coconut, thaw for a coupe of minutes in the microwave)
2. 3 dry red chillies
3. 2 inch piece of tamarind, torn into pieces
4. 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida / hing
5. 2 tablespoons split de-husked urad dhal /split black gram
6. 1 teaspoon salt or as needed
7. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add urad dhal, red chillies and hing and fry on medium heat until dhal begins to change color slightly. 
2. Add coconut and fry just for a minute to soften the coconut and make it begin to release some oil. Remove from heat. Allow to cool and then grind with salt and tamarind with about 1/3 cup of water or as needed until the coconut is ground with the tamarind, dhal and chillies. The thogayal need not be completely smooth - a little crunch adds to the texture. Also, make sure to not add too much water to convert the thogayal to chutney. Thogayal will be thicker and denser than chutney. 

Mix with rice with a dollop of ghee or a little sesame oil.

Paruppu Thogayal / Thuvayal

Paruppu Thogayal/thuvayal is a South-Indian side-dish that can be described as thick lentil chutney that is ground with red chillies, lots of black peppercorns and a pinch of asafoetida. It is simple, it's deceptively tasty, healthy, and such a comfort food!

Ingredients (serves 2-4):

1. 1 cup uncooked thoor dhal / yellow lentils / thuvaram paruppu
2. 1 red chilly (add more for a spicy version)
3. 1.5 teaspoons black pepper corns
4. 1/4 teaspoon hing / asafoetida
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil / olive oil
7. 1/4 cup water or as needed to grind the thuvayal

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a medium sized skillet
2. When hot, add red chilly, peppercorns and hing and fry on medium heat for a minute.
3. Add thoor dhal and fry on medium heat until the dhal begins to slightly change color to an orangish shade. Remove from heat and cool.
4. When cool, grind the dhal with salt, by slowly adding water as needed to grind the thuvayal to a slightly coarse paste. Adjust the quantity of water as needed to get the thuvayal to your desired consistency. The thuvayal should be thicker than chutney in consistency. 

Serve with rice mixed with some ghee/clarified butter or sesame oil. Such a yummy comfort food with Vatha Kuzhambu. 

Cilantro & Tomato Thuvayal / Chutney

Thuvaiyal is a South-Indian chutney/dip/sauce. Thuvaiyals are usually slightly tart and spicy. Cilantro makes a really good thuvaiyal/chutney. It can be had as a dip, a side-dish, or even as a spread on breads/sandwiches. 

Cilantro and tomato make a really good combination. So this version has both elements. If you so desire, you can eliminate the tomatoes, add more cilantro/coriander leaves, a little more tamarind (for the tartness) and follow the same procedure below.

This is my in-law's recipe for really good thuvayal using cilantro and tomatoes.

Ingredients:

1. 3 medium sized tomatoes, cut into small pieces
2. 1 standard bunch of cilantro / coriander leaves, roughly chopped (without the stems)
3. 2 teaspoons split urad dhal / ulutham paruppu
4. 4 dry red chillies
5. 2-3 inch strip tamarind (depending on how tart the tomatoes are)
6. 1/4 inch hing
7. 1 teaspoon salt (as needed)
8. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil / olive oil

Preparation: 

1. Heat oil in a small skillet. When hot, in medium heat, fry the split urad dhal, red chillies and hing until the dhal begins to change color. 
2. Add the cut tomatoes and fry until they are cooked and their skin begins to wilt.
3. Now add the coriander leaves and fry until the leaves wilt. 
4. Grind the fried coriander-tomato spices with salt and tamarind to a desired consistency. It's not necessary to add water because of the tomatoes. If needed, add a couple of tablespoons of water. 

Serve as a side-dish/dip. 

Eggplant Thuvayal / Brinjal Thogayal

Thuvayal is a version of Chutney. They are both ground pastes/gravies of a certain vegetable or fruit that gets fried/roasted in chillies, tamarind, and a few other spices. They can be eaten with rice, can be had as a side-dish, and even be used as a spread on bread/sandwiches. Coconut thuvayal is the most popular kind, but since we were on an eggplant streak, here is the eggplant version of it. 

Ingredients:

1. 2  small-sized eggplants or 1 medium/large eggplant
2. 2 dry red chillies (depends on your preference)
3. 2-3 inch piece of tamarind (depends on the size of the eggplant)
4. 2 tablespoons of split urad dhal
5. 1 teaspoon of bengal-gram dhal (optional)
6. 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder (optional)
7. 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
8. ¼-½ teaspoon of hing
9. 1 tablespoon of oil
10. 1-2 teaspoons of salt

 
Preparation:

1. Make a few shallow long slits along the length of the eggplant (so that they don't explode). Coat the eggplant/s with a couple of teaspoons of oil and broil them for 25-30 minutes (turning them at halfway). You could also roast the eggplants on the open flame of your stove, until the skin is charred.
2. When the eggplants are cooled, peel the skin and cut the flesh into chunks.
3. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot splutter mustard seeds, add the dry chillies, turmeric, hing, bengal gram dhal, and split urad dhal until the pulses begin to brown slightly.
4. Switch off the heat and add the tamarind (tear the tamarind into little pieces). Let the tamarind fry a bit in the remaining heat.
5. Add the eggplant pieces to a blender/mixer and pulse/grind till it becomes smooth. Since eggplants have quite a bit of water in them, it’s not necessary to add water at this stage.
6. Now, add the roasted spices and salt along with the pureed eggplant and grind to a smooth paste.It's not necessary to add water, but if you must, sprinkle just a few spoons worth. Thuvayal shouldn't be runny and should of the consistency of hummus. 
   

That’s it. Thuvayal is ready. Taste and check for seasonings - you can add more chillies, tamarind or salt according to your preference. Some people roast the cut eggplant along with the spices and then grind everything together. I imagine this will taste quite good too, but this method also yields a tasty bowl of thuvayal since the broiled eggplants get cooked/roasted really well.