Chutneys of India Day 1 – Kerala Chammanthi

Chammanthi is a traditional chutney of Kerala, eaten with rice, kanji or puzhukku (steamed tapioca root). It is a thickly ground coarse paste of coconut, spices, flavoring agents and tamarind. I added a few curry leaves. There is no oil or tadka. Nor is any water added while grinding it.

The basic version has red chillies, shallots, ginger, salt, fresh coconut and tamarind ground together. One can fry the chillies, or both the chillies and shallot, skip the coconut, add garlic instead of ginger and the variety is endless.

Some recipes include anchovies and dried fish (Srilankan Sambol is quite close to the Kerala chammanthi). The chosen items are pounded or ground (stone or mixer). It is uncommon for roasted dals to be added while grinding, though a urad dal chammanthi is made too. Asafoetida, fresh coriander, mustard are all not commonly added to the chammanthi.

A chammanthi podi can be made after frying the coconut to a deep brown and powdering with the other ingredients. Chammanthi is typically served like a tiny rolled ball. Somewhat coarsely ground, shiny from the coconut, and semi-dry as no water is added.

Small onions are hard to come by here in Atlanta. I used shallots from the garden. We ate it with mattarisi kanji (Kerala red rice porridge).