A family favourite, Mrs Surya learnt this delicious pachchadi (chutney) made out of orange peel from her mother-in-law. She says that a good cook uses her creativity to make dishes out of peels & even seeds. Of course, the taste of this chutney is rich enough to make us procure oranges primarily for their peel – A lovely FRUIT peel recipe!
Ingredients:
- Peel of 2 large ripe oranges – chopped fine
- Ginger – 1 tbsp when chopped fine
- Green chillies – 5, deseeded
- Tamarind – small orange-sized piece
- Jaggery – lemon-sized piece, grated
- Turmeric powder – a pinch
- Salt to taste
To tweak this into a Jain recipe, avoid the ginger. |
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The powder:
- Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
- Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
- Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
- Sesame seeds – 2 tbsp
- Peppercorns – 1 tsp
- Red chillies – 2-3, deseeded
The Tempering:
- Sesame oil – 2 tbsps
- Bengal gram (chana dal) – 1 tbps
- Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
- Asafoetida powder – a pinch
- Curry leaves – a few
Method:
1. To prepare the powder, dry roast the sesame seeds. Add the remaining ingredients of the powder & continue to roast for a couple of minutes. Cool & grind into a fine powder. Set aside.
2. Soak the tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes & extract the pulp.
3. Heat the oil in a wok and add the bengal gram. As it starts turning golden, add the remaining ingredients of the tempering.
4. Add the chopped orange peels, ginger and chillies.
5. Saute for 2 minutes, add salt, turmeric, tamarind pulp, 2 cups water and cook for 5-6 minutes. Add jaggery and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
6. Add the ground powder, mix well & take off flame.
Tastes excellent with hot dosas, as a side-dish in a meal or mixed into steaming hot rice. Serves 6-8 persons and can stay fresh for upto a week in the refrigerator.
Mrs Surya says: You can use the powder in this recipe to make other vegetable pachchadis of your choice too. For instance, substitute orange peel with large onions, or with capscium or use a combination of onions, capsicum and orange peel. This pachchadi tastes the same with greenish peel of oranges as well.
Photo Courtesy: Food pic by Manasvi.
This recipe was first featured in Soul Food and Soul Mates – a column in Harmony Magazine. Part-1 of this post is the interview with Surya & Parameshwar Natarajan – a Tamilian couple. |
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