Zucchini Pachadi

Zucchini pachadi is a spicy, tangy Indian chutney, seasoned with Indian chilies, some basic Indian spices and tamarind. A great condiment and a side dish for rice & dosa. It also works great as a spread for sandwiches and rolls.

Course Condiment, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian Cuisine, South Indian Cuisine, Telugu Cuisine

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Servings

Calories 128kcal

Author Usha Rao

Equipment

1 Knife & Cutting Board
1 Frying pan and mixing spoon
1 Food processor or Indian Mixie or Mortar pestle
1 Spice Grind optional and require it if using a food processor to gring the chutney

Ingredients

1½ - 2 tablespoons Oil can use less
8-10 Curry Leaves
4 small Green Chiles adjust to taste
3 big Cloves of Garlic
3 Dry Red Chilies
½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
½ teaspoon Ground Fenugreek
¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
2 medium Zucchini 360 grams and 3 cups after cutting
1 ½ teaspoon Salt adjust to taste
1 ½ tablespoons Roasted Sesame Seeds
1 tablespoon Roasted Peanuts
Gooseberry sized Tamarind about 1 heap of or use 1 - 2 tablespoons homemade tamarind paste
¼ cup chopped Cilantro | Kotmir

Instructions

Roast sesame seeds and peanuts separately. Cool and make a powder. I always keep roasted sesame and peanuts handy in my pantry as I use these two ingredients a lot in my cooking.
In a spice grinder, grind dry red chilies and fenugreek seeds to powder. This step is optional. Skip this step if using an Indian mixie.. These ingredients do not grind well in US blenders and food processors. Hence I do this additional step.
Heat oil in a pan. Add curry leaves, green chilies, cumin and saute until chilies change color. If using whole dry red chilies (skipped above step), add in this step.
Add garlic, spices powder (red chilies and fenugreek powder), salt, turmeric and stir.
Add zucchini pieces, stir until spices coat the veggies and are lightly roasted.
Add tamarind and give it a good stir. If using tamarind paste or concentrate, add after the zucchini is cooked.
Cover and cook until the zucchini is tender. Zucchini cooks very fast and keep an eye on it.
Remove cover and continue cooking until the mixture is dry. If using tamarind paste or concentrate, add at this step.
Add sesame powder and peanut powder and salt. Stir and turn off the heat.
Let the mixture cool completely and grind to a coarse paste. If necessary add some water. I ground in a food processor as I wanted a coarse texture and did not add any water.
Transfer to a bowl, taste the pachadi and adjust salt. If the chutney is not tangy enough to your taste, add homemade tamarind paste/concentrate to taste. Or add a few drops of lime juice.
Serve chutney with rice, dosa or use as a spread for sandwiches.

Notes

Food processor - for a coarse texture, use a food processor or a mortar pestle.
Red chilies and fenugreek seeds do not grind well in a food processor. Hence, first grind these in a spice grinder and then add with the rest of the spice powders during the preparation.
Color - color of the chutney depends on the chilies used. For a brownish color use more red chilies and for a light color, use more green chilies.
Variation - For a variation, use tomatoes for a zucchini tomato pachadi and depending on how sour the tomatoes are, cut back on tamarind.
Substitutions - Substitute zucchini with ridge gourd (turai | beerakaya) or ivy gourd (tindora | dondakaya) or even red bell pepper.
Sesame & Peanuts - use combination or only sesame seeds. If you do not have sesame seeds, than use only peanuts.
Nutrition - values mentioned below are approximate values.

Nutrition