- Submitted by Dahlia
(Groundnut Chutney, Verkadalai chutney, Moongphali chutney, Nilakadalai chutney)
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Peanut Chutney or Groundnut Chutney is another common chutney that is made in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to be served with spongy idlis or dosas. It is known as Verkadalai Chutney in Tamil, Kappalandi chammamdhi in malayalam, verusenaga pachadi in telugu and shenga chutney in kannada.
Though this chutney is not something that I grew up eating, I loved it the very first time I ate it in Coimbatore. The chutney has a creamy texture with a nutty flavor and goes well with all tiffin items. I love peanuts in any form - masala peanuts, peanut chikki (kadala muttai) or boiled peanuts. I always have a box of roasted peanuts in my pantry. I love to add it to salads or sidedishes (replacing coconut).
To make this peanut chutney, we start off with roasting the peanuts. The process of roasting is the only time consuming part in preparing this chutney since you have to roast it on low flame for about 15 minutes. Of course you can roast it in the microwave in 3-5 minutes. Then you have to peel the skin. For this traditionally peanuts are rubbed between the palms. These days, people rub inside a towel or crush inside a ziploc bag till the skin comes off. Then you can just blow off the loose skin into a trash bin. To avoid all this I just use store bought roasted unsalted skinless peanuts. These roasted peanuts are then made into a chutney along with some onions, garlic, chilies and tamarind. If you follow a sattvic diet, then you can skip the onion and garlic.
Recipe For Peanut Chutney
Ingredients
- Peanuts - 1 cup
- Dry red chilies - 5 - 7
- Shallots (Sambar Onion) - 5 (or 1/2 of a big onion)
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Tamarind - blueberry size
For Tempering
- Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Curry leaves - 5-6
- Salt - to taste
Method
- Roast the peanuts on stove top or in the oven. I usually have roasted peanuts without skin on hand so I just roasted it for few minutes to warm up. If using raw peanuts, then roast it on low flame for 10-15 minutes till it gets crunchy. Then rub a handful of peanuts in between your palm to remove the skin.
- Remove the roasted peanuts and leave it in a plate to cool. In the same pan, add few drops of oil and fry the remaining ingredients - onion, garlic, tamarind and dry red chilies.
- Let these items cool a bit. Here I have used dry red chilies and so the chutney will be orange in color. If you like white color chutney, add green chilies instead. Also, sometimes I prefer to add 1 tbsp of urad dal or sesame seeds while roasting which lends a nice flavor.
- After the peanuts are cool enough to handle, grind it in the blender along with required salt, tamarind, garlic, onion and red chilies to a smooth paste. Add water little by little to help grinding.
- Add little more water if needed to get the desired chutney consistency. Transfer it to a serving dish.
- Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves.
- Pour this seasoning over the ground chutney and mix. Tasty peanut chutney is ready to be served.
Serving Suggestion
- Serve the peanut chutney with any South Indian items like idli, dosa, upma, kichadi, medhu vadai, paruppu vadai or white rice.
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