Spicy ginger chutney

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil ½ cup fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 small red onions, roughly chopped 6 red chillies 6 green chillies few pieces of tamarind 1 tbsp fresh grated coconut 2 tbsp coriander leaves 1 tsp salt, or to taste 1 tsp jaggery

For tempering:

2 tsp vegetable oil ¼ tsp urad daal ¼ tsp cumin seeds ¼ tsp mustard seeds 1 red dried chilli a large pinch of asafoetida sprig of curry leaves

Method:

In a frying pan heat the tablespoon of vegetable oil and once hot add the roughly chopped ginger, red onions, red and green chillies and a few pieces of tamarind. Saute for about five minutes on a low heat or until the onions become translucent.

Then add the tablespoon of fresh grated coconut and the coriander leaves and sauté for a further minute. Empty the mixture onto a plate to cool down.

Once it is completely cool, blend in a food processor and add the salt to taste. Add a little water, if needed, to loosen the chutney and to allow the food processor to grind the chutney until it is semi smooth.

Add some jaggery to balance the flavours when you add the water. Put the chutney into a serving bowl.

The next step is the tempering. In a small frying pan (or tempering utensil, if you have one), heat the two teaspoons of vegetable oil. Once the oil starts to shimmer, add the urad daal, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, dried red chilli and asafoetida, along with the curry leaves.

Be careful as the oil will splutter. Once the mustard seeds have popped, pour the tempered oil/spice mix over the chutney. Just before serving, mix well.

This chutney can be eaten with anything to give it a spicy tang, such as idli, dosa, roti or used as a dip.