Kobbari (Coconut) Pachadi

Pachadi or chutney is a condiment served with rice or with idli, dosa and vadas. There are two kinds of pachadulu (plural); the ones that have a long shelf life, last for months and upto a year and, the ones that are made fresh by sauteing vegetables or fruits and then ground to paste. The pachadi that have a long shelf life are pickles and are also called thokku. The ones made with fresh vegetables and fruits are sauted in oil with some spices and ground to paste in mortar & pestle and in contemporary kitchens in grinders.

Kobbari (coconut) pachadi is one of the pachadulu that was prepared very often when I was growing up. My father use to go to Venkateshwara Swamy temple every Saturday and come home with at least ½ a coconut. Since the coconut was prasadam, it had to be used up and most of the it would show up on the dining table in the form of kobbari pachadi. This pachadi is served with rice though it can be served with dosa or idli. However, I prefer this pachadi with rice. This pachadi is part of my Telangana meal I prepared for Buffet On Table.

Total Time: 10 - 17 minutes
Preparation: 5 - 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 - 7 minutes
Yields: ½ cup

Ingredients:

1 ½ tbsp. Oil
½ tsp. Jeera ~ Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp. Methi Seeds ~ Fenugreek Seeds
5 Green Chilies, cut into pieces (adjust to taste)
2 Garlic Cloves, cut into 2 -3 pieces
3 - 4 Curry Leaves
Pinch of Turmeric Powder
1 cup frozen sliced Coconut (after thawing ¾ cup)
½ tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
1 - 2 tsp. Lime Juice (I used 3 tsp. and it was very sour)
Cilantro to garnish (opt.)

Preparation:

Thaw coconut slices by running it under water or by leaving it in water for few minutes. Cut it into small pieces. If you have a good grinder or a blender that can grind big slices of coconut, then leave the slices as it is.
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin, fenugreek seeds and let the seeds change color.
Add green chilies, garlic, curry leaves and saute for few seconds until chilies begin to change color.
Add turmeric and stir.
Add coconut and saute for few minutes until coconut is lightly toasted.
Add salt and turn off the heat.
Once the coconut mixture cools, add lime juice and grind to a coarse paste. If required add some water.
Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with rice.

Note:

I have a US blender and it does not grind spices to fine paste. Hence, I grind spices to coarse powder before adding it to oil. Here I ground cumin and fenugreek to coarse powder and added it to oil along with green chilies.
Lime juice can be substituted with tamarind paste.
if one wishes, they could do a tempering with some curry leaves, cumin seeds and pour it over the pachadi. Since i already used decent amount of oil to saute spices and coconut, I did not have the heart to temper the chutney.

This day on 2014: Korean Bibimbap, Spicy Korean Cucumber Salad, Korean Stryle Season Beas Sprouts Salad & Seasoned Korean Spinach Salad