Peanut Chutney Powder

Peanut chutney powder, from the cuisines of North Karnataka and Maharashtrian, is also known as shenga chutney pudi or shengdana dry chutney. This tasty version of chutney pudi is actually a quick fix when compared to typical lentil chutney pudi. With just a few ingredients you can easily prepare this versatile mix and use it with anything. Serve as an accompaniment with your dosa,idlis,jowar rotis,chapathi or sprinkle a spoon of it to perk up your stir fries,salads or quickly use it to thicken your curries and gravies. Infact, I use it in vadapavs and sometimes in sabudana kitchdi too. Wow!! Isn’t this spice powder really handy?? Here goes my recipe of peanut chutney powder, aka magic powder, a teaspoon of which can work wonders!!

Health Benefits

1. Peanut is a major ingredient in this chutney and it has quite a number of health benefits. It contains protein and fiber and research has shown that eating peanut actually help dieters lose weight. Peanuts also contain other nutrients like Vitamin B6, vitamin E, iron, magnesium, etc.

Ingredients

Peanuts: 2 cups

roasted chana dal / bhuna hua chana / putani: 1/2 cup

cooking oil: 1 tsp

red chillies (use a mix of both spicy + red color chilli varieties, such as guntur + byadgi varieties): 10 - 18

Lime-size tamarind

A handful curry leaves

cloves garlic: 8 - 10

salt to taste

How To Make Peanut Chutney Powder

1. Dry roast peanuts in a kadhai or microwave until the skin peels off or brown spots appear on them.
2. Dry roast chana dal a little, until they get crispy.
3. Add a teaspoon of oil to the frying pan. Keep the heat on low and roast red chillies and tamarind.Mid way, add curry leaves, and continue to roast until red chillies, tamarind and curry leaves have turned crisp.
4. Add garlic and fry the mixture for another 1-2 mins and take off the heat. Garlic will not get crisp. Allow the mixture to cool completely before grinding.
5. Transfer the mixture to a grinder. Add salt and pulse it to a medium coarse powder; don't make it too smooth. Store peanut chutney pudi in an airtight container. If handled properly, it can be stored for a few months.
6. To serve, mix a spoonful of peanut chutney powder with a dash of ghee / butter /oil /curd and serve as an accompaniment for idly /dosa/ paniyaram/ jowar roti, etc. ... even hot rice.

Trivia

1. There are six cities in the U.S. named Peanut: Peanut, California; Lower Peanut, Pennsylvania; Upper Peanut, Pennsylvania; Peanut, Pennsylvania, Peanut, Tennessee; and Peanut West Virginia.