Athamma is known for her expertise in making chutneys. And Dad is very fond of chutneys. Of course, Andhra is known for its chutneys or pachchadi. So there is no denying fact that an Andhrite loves pachachdi. Infact, my aunt who lived in Vijayawada for a decade became more of a Telangana than a Rayalaseema born. We normally don't eat podi annam or pachchadi annam for daily meals, though we are very fond of it. But we do have these in stock for rainy days! But Dad is a passionate lover of the different chutneys that Amma makes. And when he came to know that my Athamma makes these, it became mandatory that we prepare these every week for him. So when Athamma used to visit us, she used to prepare only pachchadis for us. Talk of a vegetable and she will make a chutney out of it. Infact, Dad used to say she is Chutney queen.
When I started this blog, Dad was telling me that I should make Athamma prepare all the chutneys and post it. He is very keen on anything Andhra and its specialties. So when he saw that I wasn't posting anything in that line, he asked me to address this. And when we visited them, the first thing that Amma asked us was, for Athamma to prepare some chutney especially Curry leaves chutney or Karivepaaku pachchadi. Karivepaku pacchadi is very tasty and a sure way to intake the goodness of Curry leaves. Curry leaves or Karivepali as in Tamil is normally used for Tadka or tempering and removed while eating. So Amma makes Karivepaaku podi often for eating with Rice. That's another wonderful podi to eat with hot rice and ghee. That's just amazing. So this pachchadi is something that goes great with Rice.
So Athamma got down preparing it and since we weren't storing it for the next day she added onions. If you want to store, then prepare minus the onions. She normally selects the tender leaves as these are the best candidates for this chutney or pachchadi. All her chutneys, she normally roasts, so she as an iron tawa or skillet just for this. I think infact that gives a unique flavour to the chutney too. Amma used to have the "Rubrayyi" or the flat stone that we used to have in the olden days for grinding chutneys. Pachchadis made from that tastes great! Even now hubby dear asks for chutneys made in that fashion. The ingredients are not very smoothly ground and you can kind of feel all the ingredients as you eat, unlike the smooth paste that we end up, while using a mixie. Since we decided that its going to be curry leaves chutney, I got my camera in action. For once, I was able to get the ingredients before getting ground!
Parents just loved the chutney, moreso because they were eating something authentic andhra after few months! I believe Curry leaves are not abundantly available in there or maybe they haven't found the right place. So just for this chutney they had to search far and wide. But the search brought in smiles to all who had this wonderful Karivepaku pachchadi
Tender curry leaves - about handful or about a cup
Tamarind - 2" size (If you have paste, then about quarter tsp)
Red chillies - 5 - 6 nos
Garlic - 4 pods
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 small
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Seasoning
Mustard seeds + Urud dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Wash curry leaves and let them dry for a while. Soak tamarind in water to extract pulp from it.
Chop onions and peel garlic
In a hot tawa, add 1 tsp oil, and roast all the dry ingredients separately. Let it cool. Meanwhile extract the pulp from tamarind.
Once its cool, all everything half of onions. Run for two rounds until its kind of simi smooth paste. Then add the remaining onions and ensure it doesn't get all ground. Chunks of onions gives a zing to the chutney.
Finally give a tempering of mustard seeds along with whole curry leaves.
Note:
If you want to store this, don't use onion.
Adjust the tamarind according to your taste. We don't normally eat too sour.
And the consistency of the chutney should not be a smooth paste.
Serve this with hot rice and ghee, you won't want anything else after that!
Curry leaves are known for its excellent curative properties, taking this in some form or the other is very important. It is said to prevent hair loss and helps in new hair follicle growth and also in controlling diabetics. So having it as a chutney gives lot of curry dose!
Nags says
i can smell authentic andhra smells from this recipe 🙂 curry leaves are well known for their high iron content, aren't they?
bindiya says
Chutney looks really good, will try this out soon!
vimmi says
all recipes for chutneys are so simple. Its new to me so i am a bit hesitant. would it tatse good with idlis and dosas too
Rajitha says
valli..i second your dad..please do post all your athamma's chutneys..i loove andhra chutney and am never able to reproduce them..this way i can print the authentic ones and enjoy...the karivepaaku chutney looks great..please thank your athamma for making and ur dad for insisting :)..oh yeah! my thnks to u taking the photo and writing 😀
Bharathy says
I second my sister.
My athamma too makes this very well.but none is a fan of this one except me :)..
Here I see the dif of onions added which would suppress the strong flavour of Kariveppaku 🙂
Padma says
Sri, I have to come to India to cook n eat this recipe as curry leaves cost a fortune here 🙁 But I love its flavor, u know my peddamma has a big tree of karvepaku in her front yard, I can try this without onions and bring to US, silly me!
Superchef says
hmm...not a major fan of curry leaves...but i guess this is a very good way to have a decent intake of curry leaves.. 🙂
Happy cook says
I have never had them. But it indeed looks delicious.
I love Andhra food.
Asha says
This looks way different from what I bought from the stores! YUMMY!
I bought a pack of curry leaves pd, tasted really bad!:D
Anonymous says
I am from Hyd and am big fan of any kind of chutnies, this one is very different. I am going to try it soon. Please keep posting more of your attamma's recipe 🙂
Meghana
Cynthia says
I am so happy that your dad asked you the address the chutney issue 🙂
Taste of Mysore says
I love curry leaves podi. I add some curry leaves in normal chutney powder also. This chutney sounds very tasty. I think you must start working on chutney series..:D
ChrisB says
Hi Thanks for dropping by my place. I found this post interesting, especially as my husband is a diabetic. The chutney looks so good.
satya says
Karivepaaku podi{kaarappodi]with ghee and hot rice was the first item to be eaten on most of the days at amma's place.supposed to be a good appetiser and aids in digestion.That is the reason why it is given to convalscents and new mothers.But,it's aroma itself makes our mouth watering and we don't need the excuse of being either.Adding onions to the chutney is a new thing to me.I guess it gives body to the chutney.Thank you for sharing Srivalli.
RAKS KITCHEN says
Very new to me and I love to consume curry leaves more coz of it medicinal properties and ofcourse its flavour!
Thanx for sharing this one!
Sig says
Listen to your dad... 🙂 And post all those chutneys, this one is new to me, and is going to be tried soon... I can just imagine the taste... yummmm
Srivalli says
Nags, thank you. Yes curry leaves are very good for health
Rajitha, thank you..will surely try to get them online!
Bharathy, oh great to know that...yeah onion gives a nice taste to the chutney
Padma, oh is it so??..thats bad...maybe next time you are down you can do that
Happy cook, thank you..try this you will surely love it
Asha, hahha...thanks..homemade always tastes better...try this and you will love it
bindiya, thank you!
vimmi, yeah though they are simple, they taste heavenly...do try this out...it will be very tasty..yeah with dosa it will taste great..though I haven't had with idli, I don't think why not..
Manju, welcome back!...yeah you got it right
Meghana, Welcome to my blog...sure will do it soon...thank you!
Cynthia, hahha...yeah...thanks!
satya, yeah its has lot of value...onion adds that extra taste to this chutney..
Sig, sure madam..will do it...
Lakshmi, sure ...thanks
Chris, welcome to my blog...yes it has lot of curative properties...check out the link I gave!
Rajeswari, try this and you will surely love it! thank you,
Suganya says
Sri, Only in the Southerners relish curry leaves in so many forms and fashion. Love it.
Srivalli says
I agree with you Suganya, we do give lot of importance to this..
Jayashree says
tried it and loved it....i added some jaggery to temper down the spiciness and I also roasted some channa dal along with the other ingredients.
Tasted good...thx.
Srivalli says
Jayashree, Thanks for the feedback..glad you liked it!..I am sure with channa dal it must've been yummy!