vathal

Milagai Chutney

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Milagai chutneyAs most of you know, Idli is one of the most popular breakfast dishes in South India, especially Tamilnadu. It is the staple breakfast food in most south Indian homes. A dish as popular as Idli should have countless accompaniments, right? Yep, these accompaniments or chutneys, as locally known, come in all varieties and made from different ingredients. Here I have posted the recipe of one such chutney called the Milagai Chutney, as learnt from my mom.

Milagai chutneyMilagai Chutney, as the name suggests, is a very simple but tasty chutney made from chillies. Milagai is the tamil word for chilli. And Milagai chutney is made from dried red chilli, also known as Vaththal in Tamil. I know, making a chutney from just dried red chilli sounds ludicrous but trust me, it tastes heavenly with hot idlis. The first time I had Milagai Chutney was in Madurai back when I was a kid. Our neighbor aunty used to make tasty Milagai Chutney and I always pestered my mom to make it exactly the same as the neighbor aunty did.

Milagai chutneyMilagai Chutney is my favorite chutney, hands down. After several attempts, I think I have perfected my mother’s recipe. The best kept secret of this recipe is the correct balance maintained between red chilli and tamarind. A slight variation might change the taste completely. Though Milagai Chutney pairs well with idli, it can also be had with Dosa, chapati etc. Try this spicy and tasty recipe at home and let me know if it is indeed the best chutney to go along with hot idlis 🙂

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Milagai Chutney
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 3
 
Ingredients
  • Shallots – 8 to 10 nos
  • Red chilli – 10 to 12 nos
  • Tamarind –1/4 lime size
  • Grated coconut – ½ tbsp
  • Salt as required
for the seasoing:
  • Gingely oil – 1 ½ tbsp
  • Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
  • Urad dal – 1 tsp
  • Curry leaves – a sprig
Instructions
  1. Grind all the above ingredients in a blender without adding water.
  3. Season with mustard, urad dal and curry leaves.
  4. Have the spicy and tasty milagai chutney with hot idlis or dosas. Enjoy! 
Notes
1. You can store this chutney in the refrigerator for 10 days.
2. You don’t have to sauté the ingredients before or after grinding them. Just add the seasoning on top.
3. This milagai chutney is super spicy and so I would recommend adding a tsp of gingely oil on top before serving.

Milagai chutney

ADAI

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Adai dosaAdai is a dosa like dish synonymous to Tamilnadu (specifically from Chettinad cuisine, I believe) and is made using different varieties of Dal (Moong, Urad and Channa). It is a very healthy dish and usually eaten for breakfast and sometimes for dinner. I started making Adai mainly as an alternative to dosa. For dosa, as you know, the main ingredient to make the batter is rice and rice is rich in carbohydrates which in turn is one of the contributing factors in weight gain (if the intake is often, of course).
062My HB is very health conscious (and that has rubbed off on me as well, sometimes ;)) and so I started my search for a healthy and easy alternative for the usual fares that we have at our home. Then I came across this Adai from the web and found it to be the perfect alternative. Making the Adai batter does not involve fermentation. So the entire process of preparing the batter to cooking Adai is very quick. Also, you don’t need a grinder to prepare the batter. A blender will suffice.
068In our home, we normally have Adai with coconut chutney but by making the batter a little bit spicy (described in the cooking instructions below), you can have Adai without a side dish (how awesome is that!). In restaurants, Adai is often served with butter and Avial (another south Indian dish for which I will post the recipe sometime soon).
So try this very healthy and easy to make Adai in your home and let me know your comments.

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ADAI
Recipe type: Breakfast/Dinner
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
Adai is a dosa like dish synonymous to Tamilnadu (specifically from Chettinad cuisine, I believe) and is made using different varieties of Dal (Moong, Urad and Channa). It is a very healthy dish and usually eaten for breakfast and sometimes for dinner.
Ingredients
  • Toor dal - ¼cup
  • Moong dal -1/4 cup
  • Urad dal - ½ cup
  • Idli Rice or Raw Rice - ½ cup
  • Whole Red chillies - 6
  • Salt-as per taste
  • Shallots(small onions) – 2 (chopped)
  • Hing - 1 tsp
  • Cumin seeds - 1 tbs
  • Chopped Coriander leaves – ¼ cup
  • Water as required
  • Oil required to smear around adais
Instructions
  1. Wash and soak urad dal, moong dal, toor dal and rice together in water for 4 hours.
  2. Grind the soaked dals and rice, along with half a tsp cumin seeds, whole red chilli, salt and hing together until smooth. - like dosa batter.
  3. To the ground adai batter add chopped shallots, coriander leaves and little water.
  4. Mix well the batter, the consistency should be similar to dosa batter. Set aside the adai batter to rest for atleast 30 mins.
  5. Heat a dosa tawa, add a ladle full of adai batter to the center of tawa and start spreading the batter from center in circular motion like making dosa or pancakes.
  6. Smear 1 tsp oil around adai and cook on medium heat until both sides of adai are golden brown and crisp.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 2 to 3

Adai dosa