Pudina Thogayal, traditional South Indian mint chutney is a heavenly comfort food when mixed with hot rice with a dollop of ghee. This tamil style mint chutney recipe is straight from my mother-in-law’s kitchen and needless to say, it is a flavor-bomb! For years, I never bothered to learn the recipe from her but last month when we were in Chennai, I got a chance to see her make this and back in my kitchen I had to recreate the magic. And I also fulfilled my long-time dream of owning an Ammikal – a traditional mortar pestle or grinding stone used to make chutneys & thogayals. Over the last two weekends, I tried to ace the process of grinding and while it is not easy, the thogayal tastes out of the world.
Pudina Thogayal in Ammikal
Pudina Thogayal – South Indian mint chutney/mint thogayal is an excellent accompaniment for hot rice and a dollop of ghee. There are many versions and a number of recipes to make this simple chutney using fresh mint leaves and the one I am sharing is how my mother-in-law makes. This doesn’t have a lot of coconut but instead lots of onions and garlic. It is so flavorful, aromatic and when ground in a traditional mortar-pestle/ammikal, it yields the best texture.
The thogayal doesn’t get heated up unlike when it is blend in an electric appliance and hence, it retains all the nutrients values and of course, it is tasty too.
Serving Suggestions
Pudina Thogayal is best served with hot rice and a dollop of ghee. It also goes well as a side dish with sambar rice, rasam rice or curd rice too. It stores well in fridge for a couple of days. Check out other chutney recipes
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Pudina Thogayal Recipe with Step by Step Pictures
In a pan heat 1 teaspoon oil. Add 8-10 garlic cloves along with 1-2 green chillies and 1-2 dry red chillies. Fry for a minute.
Add chopped onions (use pearl onions/shallots if available) and fry until translucent.
Add 2 cups fresh mint leaves (tightly packed) along with marble sized ball of tamarind. Remove from heat.
Let the leaves wilt in the heat and cool down completely.
To this add ¼ cup fresh chopped coconut and salt as needed.
If using a mortar pestle, grind coconut first. If using blender, pulverize everything together until coarse.
Add the rest of the ingredients in batches and start grinding slowly. Don’t add any water.
When the thogayal is coarsely ground, remove it onto a bowl.
Serve immediately with hot rice and a dollop of ghee.
Recipe Notes
Adjust the number of green chillies and red chillies depending on the spice preference. Don’t add a lot of coconut as it changes the texture of the thogayal. It is okay to skip it altogether too. When grinding in blender, add water little by little as needed for easy blending.
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📖 Recipe
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