Kandi Pachadi / Lentils Chutney

 
This is an example to show that Andhra people can make pickles / chutneys out of anything and everything. The list of ingredients used to prepare this chutney is rather simple and the main ingredient in this chutney happens to be kandipappu / toor dal / lentils. I used to prepare it quite often in my early cooking days as it was a fool proof recipe among the list of chutney recipes I had. I did not have the need to wreck my head over whether all the flavors balanced when it came to this chutney as it had no souring agents nor the sweetener. I just would blindly follow my mother's recipe to the tee.

Ingredients:

Lentils / Toor dal - 1/2 cup

Dried red chillies - 4/5

Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp

Salt to taste
For tadka:
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp cumin seeds

Method:
* Dry fry the dal on slow - medium flame till they turn golden brown / red. Turn off the stove and add cumin seeds and chillies to the dal. (The cumin and chillies turn crisp and would easily grind.) Let them cool.

* Grind the dal, jeera, salt and chillies adding enough water. It should be not very watery or dry. It should be somewhere in between.
* The tadka is optional. Heat oil and add the cumin seeds. When they crackle and turn brown, remove and add to the ground chutney. 

* Mix the chutney well and serve with hot rice and ghee.

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