Tomato peanut chutney

Ingredients:
Peanuts - 1 cup
Tomatoes (ripe) - 1 cup (chopped)
Garlic - 2 cloves
Green chilies - 4
Coriander leaves - a small bunch
Red chili powder - ½ tsp.
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp.
Turmeric 1 tsp
Salt (to taste)

For tempering:
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp.
Asafetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - a sprig
Oil

Method:
Dry roast the peanuts, remove the skin and powder them.
Heat oil and add the cumin seeds, chopped tomatoes, garlic flakes & green chilies.
Sauté till they become tender.
Add red chili powder, turmeric and salt.
Then again sauté for a minute.
Cool them.
Add this mixture, chopped coriander leaves, powdered peanuts in a blender and grind them by adding required salt.
Finally temper them.
Serves as a good side dish for idlis and dosas.

It took me about 30 mins to do this. Kind of long for a chutney :-)

Chettinad Eggplant with Cilantro (Kathirikkai Malli Pachadi)

Ingredients:

Brinjal-4 medium sized
Big onion-1 or small onions(10)
Tomato-1
Coriander leaves-a small bunch (1 cup cut Coriander leaves)
Sambar powder-1 teaspoon
Green chillies-2
Tamarind paste-1/2 teaspoon (1/4 qty used for sambar)
Toor dhal-1 handful (switch off one whistle short than for sambar)

To season:

Jeera-1 teaspoon
Urad Dal-1 teaspoon
Curry leaf-little



Method:

In a kadai, heat one teaspoon of ghee or cooking oil and season with the items given in'to season’.
 
Add the chopped onions, tomatoes, green chili and cut brinjal pieces one by one and sauté nicely for 3 to 4 minutes.
 
Add the water that is on top of the cooked dal(1 cup) and the sambar powder. Cook for 3 more minutes.
 
The brinjals will be almost cooked now. Add the tamarind juice, salt needed and the cooked dal. Allow it to cook for 2 more minutes.
 
Add the chopped coriander leaves. Wait for one boil and switch off the stove.
 
The curry should be semi solid with the brinjals rightly cooked. Over cooking will make the brinjal pieces smashed.

Adai

Ingredients:

Channa Dal - 3/4 cup
Toor Dal - 3/4 cup
Moong Dal - 1/4 cup
Urdh Dal - 1/4 cup
Par boiled / Idli rice - 3/4 cup
Raw rice - 3/4 cup
Red chillies - 6-8
Saunf - 1/2 teaspoon

Method:

Soak all the above ingredients for 45 minutes(including chillies and saunf)
Grind it to a not very smooth batter.

Add salt, turmeric powder and asafoteda and make adai.

It can be made more special and if you have more time, Add any or all the following to the batter and make Adai.

Small or big onions nicely minced-1 cup
Curry leaves nicely chopped-1 table spoon
Cilantro nicely chopped-2 table spoons
Grated coconut-3 tablespoons