Zucchini Chutney (Thogayal)

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I am sure that every body will agree that vacations are wonderful times. A stress free time when you can recharge and re energize and a great break from the daily grind. These are also times when I can get quite carried away with picture taking and take pictures of almost everything that looks interesting. Later when I take prints and place them in albums, I always think that at some future point, I will go through the albums and enjoy and recapture the mood or euphoria I felt when I was taking the picture. 

But the reality is that when I actually go through the albums I find myself skimming the pictures, especially the landscape only pictures,  and find myself focusing only on those pictures where there is someone I know in the picture. Does that happen to you too? do you find yourself taking pictures of random buildings or trees and plants and flowers because it feels so special but skim over them when these pictures are placed in your album and focus only on the ones with family members and friends. Do share your thoughts on your vacations and your special observations about them , I would love to hear from you and find out your thoughts on vacations and especially vacation pictures :-)

Moving on from vacations to foods I love to have when I get back from a vacation. All the outside food and hearty eating during vacations makes me crave something light, nutritious and tasty.This zucchini thogayal  definitely qualifies on all points, its light, fast to make, nutritious, low fat and extremely tasty. What more can we ask for from our foods? Did I mention it is also very versatile, scroll down to the bottom of the recipe for all the possible combinations this chutney / thogayal can be paired with, although these are by no way limited to the ones mentioned below and I am sure there are many more ways to use this chutney.

I made this chutney on a whim and was heartened at how successful it turned out to be at my place, my father and R both kept asking for seconds and my father who has never tasted zucchini before, and does not take very well to experimenting with food, was surprised at the taste and quite impressed that some unknown vegetable (at least to him) could taste this good.

Click here for a printable view of this recipe 

Ingredients and Method to make Zucchini Thogayal (Chutney)

2 Medium zucchini (ends cut off and cut into little pieces along with the skin)

2 tbsp chana dhal

4 tbsp udad dhal

4 dry whole red chillies

sprig of curry leaves (about 8-10 leaves) optional

1 tsp coconut oil

4 tbsp grated coconut (either fresh or frozen is fine)(see notes)

salt to taste ( I used approx about 3/4 tsp salt for this quantity)

2 thumb sized little pieces of tamarind (or according to taste)

salt according to taste

In a heavy bottomed pan, dry roast chana dhal and udad dhal on medium heat SEPARATELY until they turn reddish. Remove from heat and keep aside.

Add a drop of coconut oil to the same pan and add whole dry red chillies and curry leaves to it. Roast on medium heat until the red chillies change color, remove from heat and keep aside.

Add balance of coconut oil and add the grated coconut and roast until the coconut becomes slightly reddish. To this add cut pieces of zucchini and little pieces of tamarind and saute for a minute or two. On low heat, keeping the pan closed allow the zucchini to cook for a few minutes. There is no need to add any water. When the zucchini is cooked but not mushy, remove from heat and keep aside to cool slightly.

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Grind the entire mixture adding water if and as required until the mixture is ground to a smooth paste.


If you prefer, you can powder the lentils+ red chilies to a fine powder, then add cooked zucchini and tamarind and grind to a smooth paste

Add salt to taste and give the mixture another turn in the blender/ spice grinder.

Serve along with parathas/ rotis  or idlis / dosai  or rice and poricha kozhambu  or just mix a little of this chutney/ thogayal with a little cooked brown or white rice, add a few drops of sesame oil or clarified butter/ ghee to it and you have instant flavored rice.

Notes

If you plan to use frozen coconut, thaw it to room temperature and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Refrigerate the balance of unused chutney / thogayal and use within a day or two at most.