Pudina Thogayal, Mint Chutney for rice

Heat little oil in a pan and add in the urad dal and chana dal. Use unpolished lentils for this pudina thogayal recipe. Try to use unpolished dal as they are more healthy and minimally processed. Roast the lentils on a low flame till they are nice and golden. Low flame is key. If you cook on a high flame, the lentils might burn and the flavour of the pudina thogayal will not be very palatable.

Once the lentils are half done, add in the dried red chillies and the curry leaves. I have used Guntur chillies or the long dried red chillies for the recipe today. The Tamilnadu chillies / Gundu chillies also works well in this pudina thogayal recipe. Adjust the quantity of the chillies according to your taste. If you want a spicy pudina thogayal, add more chillies and vice versa. Saute for a few seconds. Add in the tamarind and the fresh shredded coconut. If you want to make the thogayal without coconut, just omit the coconut. The fresh coconut adds a nice richness and body to the pudina thogayal.

Add in the salt and Jaggery. The little jaggery is optional in this pudina thogayal. If you do not want to add jaggery, just omit it while making the pudina thogayal. Jaggery nicely rounds the flavour of the pudina thogayal. I love to add jaggery to my thogayal.

Remove the sauteed ingredients and set aside on a plate / mixie to cool. Add half a cup of water to the mixie and set aside to cool.

In the same pan, add in the cleaned and washed pudina leaves / mint leaves. Add only the leaves. The stems are very fibrous. Discard the stems. Saute for a few seconds until the mint leaves are wilted. Do not cook the mint leaves for long. The pudina thogayal will become bitter if the mint leaves are cooked for long. Remove the mint leaves and set aside to cool.