My Encounter With ‘ginger’

Once, every month, my mother prepares, ginger chutney, especially for lunch. And it would be consumed within an hour, during our midday meal.

Varieties of ginger chutney:

Till date, I have come across three types of homemade ginger chutneys. The allam pacchadi (ginger chutney is referred so in Telugu), which my mother prepares, which is perishable and remains fresh for only one to two days. This chutney does not need seasoning. The other variety, which my mother-in-law prepares, is similar to pickle. This ginger chutney aka pickle remains fresh for 3-6 months. Yes, this is true and it tastes heavenly. The third type is, again a perishable variety, with seasoning, which is my version.

Some popular traditional dishes with ginger:

Above all, I love the spicy, piquant, sweet and mildly bitter taste of ginger. Some of the traditional Andhra dishes which ‘must’ incorporate this spice are:

1. Tangy buttermilk kadi (majjiga pulusu in Telugu): a mildly spiced stew with ginger and green chillies made with buttermilk. It is seasoned with mustard and asafetida. It acts as a cooling aid and is mixed with rice and savored, during lunch, especially during the summers.
2. Chitti buri (in Telugu) – mildly spiced, deep fried roundlets made of equal amounts of wheat flour and rice flour, which are mixed with buttermilk and fermented overnight. This batter is then mixed with ginger and green chillies paste. And then little dumplings of this batter are fried in oil.
3. In Karnataka, buttermilk is flavored with slices of ginger and green chilies. This is served with rice and other accompaniments for lunch. My brother who lives in Mangalore introduced this type of commonly ‘flavored buttermilk’, to us. And my father is hooked to this, now!
4. Also, I love to drink ginger flavored tea, especially during the rainy season and chilly winters. Ah! True warmth and divine satisfaction in a cup!

Aha, spicy and tangy ginger chutney – the simple ginger chutney, spruces up a simple and sober bowl of rice, too!

This chutney can be mixed with rice and a dab of oil, or can be used as an accompaniment for idlis and dosas. It is sure to tempt and tantalize your taste buds. The piquant tones of ginger are simply accentuated by the spiciness of the red chillies and the mild sweetness of jaggery in this ‘pacchadi’. Chutney is referred as pacchadi in Telugu.

Did you know?

India is the largest producer of ginger in the world!