Magdeline’s Chamandi Podi Recipe – Dry prawns chutney

( pic provided  by our resident chef  sherry  after testing the recipe, verdict: yummmm )

Podi is also translated to powder in the south Indian  Malayalam language.  This chutney is also spelt “chammanthi podi”  or “thenga chammanthi podi” by other  food writers online.

It is basically a  dry coconut chutney recipe that you can use  to spice up any meal.

Ingredients for Chamandi Podi :

1 fresh Coconut or 250 grams dry coconut flakes (fresh coconut recommended)
1 inch piece of ginger
5 big dry red chillies
1 tsp red chilli powder (add more if you like it spicier)
2 tsp thick tamarind paste/extract
A handful of dry prawns 
A pinch of fenugreek seed powder
About 15 curry leaves
Coarse sea-salt to taste

PREPARATION:

1. Grate coconut and ginger
2. Dry roast the grated coconut, curry leaves and ginger and dry red chillies on a slow flame in a pan.
3. When it  turns dryish but not yet brown, add the dry prawns and a pinch of fenugreek powder and roast until coconut turns brownish and a lovely aroma hits your nostrils.
4. Turn off the flame, add chilli powder, sea-salt and tamarind extract. Mix it and leave it to cool.

Now here’s the tricky part: At this point Magdeline would transfer it all into a traditional stone pounder and pound it all together to produce the tastiest chammandi I ever tasted!  The stone pounder definitely brought in a special flavor and broke in the flavors into the dry chutney


Since we don’t have those pounders now, use a blender to blend it all together – running it for a few seconds at a time to ensure the chutney stays dry. 

Note: It may take a few trials before you arrive at the right balance to suit your taste, so keep experimenting with the sourness, spice, salt etc… it’s should be worth the effort when you get it right!

This dry chutney goes great mixed up with plain rice or could be used to flavour and spice up just about anything you fancy.

You could convert it to a wet chutney by adding some edible coconut oil. Enjoy!

• Sun Brand Madras Curry Powder, 16 Ounce Cans (Pack of 4)
• Simply Organic Curry Powder Certified Organic, 3.00 Ounce Bottles (Pack of 3)

Other facts:

On another note,  this recipe has nothing to do with the Chrysanthemum flower also known by the same name.

The scientific name of Chamanthi flower is Chrysanthemum, this flower belongs to the Asteraceae (Compositae) family, which is one of the largest families of flowering plants with over 1,000 general and about 20,000 species