Ginger Chutney/Inji Pachadi

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This Ginger/Inji chutney is a spicy accompaniment to our Southern district of Tamilnadu, Tirunelveli’s special Sodhi aka Mappillai Sodhi. The underlying reason to have this ginger chutney with Sodhi is that ginger aids digestion as Sodhi is too heavy to digest due to its richness from coconut milk. Also, this spicy chutney is a heavenly pairing to the subtle Sodhi. This is named inji thuvaiyal/pachadi in the local community where inji in Tamil translates to ginger, while thuvaiyal/pachadi is a chutney kind of preparation that can be used as an accompaniment to tiffins or mixed with steamed rice. It’s highly versatile.

Ginger chutney can be prepared in various methods, especially every region has its own version. In Andhra, it’s renamed to Allam chutney which is a great combo for Besarattu dosa (my future recipes, keep tracking). Ginger basically has a lot of nutritional value, health benefits that cannot be easily ignored. But feeding kids will be a tougher task for its strong pungent, spicy flavour. This chutney will be bliss as kids may not feel the strong flavours in it as it’ll be mellowed down after cooking. Also, they’ll get the nutrition directly as ginger is the key ingredient as the name suggests. Whereas in other gravies and curries ginger is added in negligible quantity which hardly has any significance.

This recipe is fully packed with nutrients as it has whole black urid dal as another healthy inclusion. I have also used gingelly/sesame oil which has more nutritional value. As a whole, this chutney is a powerhouse of nutrients.

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Heat 2 tbsp of Gingelly oil/sesame oil in a pan or skillet. Add a small piece of asafoetida and sauté for a minute till it puffs up. Then add curry leaves,

Then add chopped ginger, and sauté 2-3 minutes till it turns brown slightly. Transfer everything to a plate, straining the oil.

Then in the same oil, add the black urid dal and sauté for a minute, then add red chillies and sauté for another minute. Later add tamarind, stir well for a minute.

Finally add the grated coconut, sauté for a minute and switch off the flame.

Transfer this mixture to the same plate containing ginger, let it cool.

Then convert this mixture into the mixie jar and grind it dry.

Later add little water.

Then add required salt, jaggery.

And grind it again till it combines well into a semi coarse mixture.

For tempering take the same pan, heat 2-3 tbsp of Gingelly oil, then add mustard seeds. Once it crackles, add split urid dal, and once it turns brown, add curry leaves.

Then add this ground chutney with little water.

Stir in medium-low flame, for a couple of minutes or till oil starts separating from the chutney.

Your spicy, tangy, sweet Ginger or Inji chutney is ready to serve with Tirunelveli Sodhi, steamed rice.

As an accompaniment to Aappams idli, dosas, even with rotis, naan.

Recipe card

Preparation time: 1 minutes

Cooking time: 10- 12 minutes

Cuisine: Indian, South

Category: Chutney

Yields: 1 cup

Author: Manimala

Ingredients:

For Chutney:

Ginger chopped – ¼ cup

Black urid dal – 2 tbsp

Coconut grated – 2 tbsp

Tamarind – 1 ½ tsp

Whole red chilli – 5

Asafoetida/ hing – a small piece

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Salt – to taste

Jaggery – 1 tsp

Gingelly oil/sesame oil – 2 tbsp

For tempering:

Gingelly oil/sesame oil – 2-3 tbsp

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Split urid dal – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Instructions:

1. Heat 2 tbsp of Gingelly oil/sesame oil in a pan or skillet. Add a small piece of asafoetida and sauté for a minute till it puffs up.
2. Then add curry leaves, chopped ginger, and sauté 2-3 minutes till it turns brown slightly. Transfer everything to a plate, straining the oil.
3. Then in the same oil, add the black urid dal and sauté for a minute, then add red chillies and sauté for another minute.
4. Later add tamarind, stir well for a minute, finally add the grated coconut, sauté for a minute and switch off the flame.
5. Transfer this mixture to the same plate containing ginger, let it cool.
6. Then convert this mixture into the mixie jar and grind it dry.
7. Later add little water, required salt, jaggery, and grind it again till it combines well into a semi coarse mixture.
8. For tempering take the same pan, heat 2-3 tbsp of Gingelly oil, then add mustard seeds.
9. Once it crackles, add split urid dal, and once it turns brown, add curry leaves, then add this ground chutney with little water.
10. Stir in medium-low flame, for a couple of minutes or till oil starts separating from the chutney.
11. Your spicy, tangy, sweet Ginger or Inji chutney is ready to serve with Tirunelveli Sodhi, steamed rice, idli or dosas, even with rotis, naan.

Notes:

• As I said early there are various versions, here I added few ingredients and made a simple but tasty chutney.
• This recipe is fully packed with nutrients as it has whole black urid dal as another healthy inclusion. You can still try with split urid dal or channa dal, each dal has its own flavour.
• Here, I used whole tamarind. Few people take tamarind pulp or juice, add it to the pan while tempering then add the ground chutney and cook till the raw smell goes off and combine well with the ground mixture.
• I have also used gingelly/sesame oil which has more nutritional value. You can use any other oil, but gingelly oil nullifies the heat of the ginger.
• Feel free to increase or decrease the number of chillies while grinding. As the taste and heat of chillies vary from place to place.
• Finally, adding jaggery gives the extra kick to the chutney.
• The spiciness from ginger, red chillies, tanginess from the tamarind, and sweetness from coconut and jaggery gives the chutney a profoundly complex flavour.