Thenga Chaar
Every family will have their own signature dish and this is one such. This is a spicy tangy accompaniment made in my hubby’s family. My mom in law and her sisters are an expert in making this. I too learnt to make this from my mom in law. Though mine is nowhere close to hers, but this is a humble attempt from my  side to recreate the same. This goes very well with Idli and dosa. It is made with onions, tomatoes and coconut along with spices. This is a combination of coconut chutney and tomato chutney and sambar, a very unique and tasty dish 🙂 Try it out once and do let me know the feed back. The proportion of chillies and pepper can be altered according to one’s taste.
Ingredients:
- Fresh coconut scrapped 1/2 cup
- Onion 1 big
- Tomatoes 2 medium
- Shallots/Madras onion 4-5
- Mustard seeds 1 tsp
- Curry leaves 2 sprigs
- Salt to taste
- Pepper corn 8-10
- Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
- Chilli powder 1-2 tsp
- Coriander powder 2-3 tsp
- Oil 2 tbsp
Method:
- Finely slice the onion and chop the tomatoes and keep aside. Chop the shallots into fine rings.
- Cook the chopped tomatoes with the turmeric powder and salt in 1 cup water till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
- Fry onions, pepper corns in 1 tbsp oil till its golden. Add chilli powder and coriander powder and saute till the raw smell of the spices goes off. Remove from the stove and allow it to cool.
- Grind the fried onion mixture into a smooth paste. Add this to the cooked tomatoes and boil till the masala is nicely cooked.
- Grind the scrapped coconut into a fine paste. Add this to the boiling gravy and cook for a minute. Adjust the salt. Remove from fire.
- Crackle the mustard seeds in 1 tbsp oil and add the curry leaves. Fry the chopped shallots till its crispy. Pour the tadka over the cooked gravy and cover with a lid for all the flavours to be absorbed into the gravy.
