Allam Pachadi | Inji Thokku | Ginger Chutney

Andhra Pradesh is famous for it’s spicy delicacies that are packed with flavors. Personally I LOVE Andhra Style food. How can one forget “Podi”(lentils powder) with ghee on piping hot rice, or the “pappu”(dal/lentils) which is rich, tasty with whole lot of greens in it served with ghee on steamed rice which will surely make you have the 2nd servings. Not to forget the gongura pachadi(chutney made from greens which is a specialty of Andhra Pradesh. Then there is this allam pachadi or ginger chutney which is served as an accompaniment. And then there is The world famous Hyderabadi Biryani which needs no introduction.

Allam pachadi is a famous Andhra chutney recipe which uses ginger as the main ingredient. Make it with no onions the shelf life of this chutney is about a week when stored correctly. Andhra cuisine is know for being spicy and delicious. This chutney is spicy with a slight sweet to balance the spice. Ginger has a lot of medicinal benefits. Fight cold, cough and throat problems with consumption of ginger.

We South Indian can’t get enough of chutney’s. There are so many varieties and each one tastes amazing in it’s own ways. For me morning breakfast is incomplete without a chutney on my plate while i’m having idli, or dosa.

Making allam pachadi is very easy and it’s healthy too. Just saute the ingredients and grind them. The chutney is best paired with pesarattu(savory crepes made from green gram).

P.S. the curry leaf arrangment is made by my 6 year daughter. She assists me in a few things while I’m clicking and she loves doing that. If you like the styling of curry leaf please give credit to her. She insisted me that I keep that styling as in the first place I wanted to remove it..:P. Sorry baby, here it goes, photos styled by you! 😀 <3

Here’s allam pachadi recipe(my version)-

Ingredients:-

Ginger -¼ cup(chopped into small pieces)
Garlic – 10 cloves
Dried red chillies – 6-8 (adjust as per requirement)
Channa dal/Bengal gram – 1 tbspn
Urad dal – 1 tbspn
Onions – 2 tbspns(optional)
Jaggery – 1 tspn
Tamarind paste – 2 tbspn
Salt to taste
Oil – about ½ to 1 tspn

For temper-

Oil – 1 tspn
Mustard seeds – ½ tspn
Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Instructions:-

1. Heat oil in a pan(add only ¼ tspn at this point). Add channa dal and urad dal and fry till they turn golden brown. Remove from pan and keep them aside.

2. Next add red chilies and garlic cloves into the same pan and saute till the garlic turns golden brown and the raw smell of the garlic is gone. Remove and keep aside.

3. Now add ¼ tspn of oil again and then add chopped ginger, saute till raw smell is gone(on low flame). Remove keep aside.

4. Saute onions if using and saute till they turn translucent. Remember adding onions will reduce the shelf life of the pachadi.

5. Transfer all the content into a blender along with tamarind paste, jaggery, salt and grind into smooth paste without adding water. If you plan to consume the pachadi the same day you can add water and grind, remember adding water will reduce the shelf life of the chutney.

6. Now temper all ingredients mentioned under the list ‘to temper’. Add the temper to chutney.

7. Serve it with peserattu, idli or dosa.

My Notes-

1. If you don’t like strong taste of ginger you can add tomato and onion, but Remember adding onions will reduce the shelf life of the pachadi.

2. Consume it fresh or store in refrigerator for 2-3 days and use it as and when required.

3. Change the quantity of tamarind paste and jaggery to make it as tangy or sweet as you like.