“Karbeva Chutney with Putani and Kharik/ Curry Leaves Dry Chutney with Roasted Gram and Dried Dates” … I have never included a tinge of sweetness to any dry powder chutney dishes to date … but when one of my friend said they added a dash of sugar to these chutney powders I was intrigued but at the same time did not want a sugar addition for obvious reasons … recently I had come across the health benefits of kharik ie dried khajoor/ dates and had started eating the same though I had never liked munching them as they are a little bit hard … well when it comes to health we all reason out, do we not?? So decided to add on kharik powder in place of sugar, health ka health aur taste ka taste ho jayega … again you all know sattu ka atta ie roasted gram (putani) powder is also highly nutritious … so in all came up with a different concoction in my own karbeva chutney to be served a large pinch on daily basis … Yummilicious ....
** Karbeva Chutney is as you all know a famous dry chutney powder prepared and stored to be used as and when required in almost every GSB homes. I have included many variations of the same wherein I have given my own twists by addition of different types of ingredients. You can browse through the blog or use search option and you will find them all. This particular chutney is no exception form the others as the basics are the same except for the inclusion of kharik/ kharooka/ dry dates powder. As I mentioned I do not like much addition fo sweets in my chutney powder or elsewhere. I prefer to keep sweet dishes sweet and others spicy as it is is. But then I just though why not add in and check out the same. I did not want to add sugar and I was searching for options when I remembered I had purchase coarse kharik powder, so decided to add in the same and try out a new concoction and for those of you who love a tinge of sweetness, try this one out, tastes great and is nutritious too.
** About Karbevu/ Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta there is absolutely no need for me to write down anything as every home uses it in for tempering or to prepare chutney and some even use it in preparation of hair oil. And then there are many who eat a few fresh leaves every day early in the morning as it is believed to be beneficial to health especially in case of diabetic patients. In my home we always purchase it in bulk as unfortunately I cannot grow anything for lack of sunshine entering my flat, so I need to depend on my friendly veggie vendor for the same. Though I buy them on daily basis for using in tempering, I often purchase them in bulk, so that I can prepare them into powder form and store in fridge as it falls handy when I need to prepare chutney powder. I have already made a separate post on preparation of curry leaves powder to which I will share the link at the bottom of this recipe, you can browse through for more information on the subject. I have used the powder here for this recipe too.
** Kharik/ Kharook, Chaura are basically dry dates ie dates without the moisture which make them look harder and shriveled. These are considered to be auspicious and are often used for religious purposes by placing the same along with other dry fruits. It is a good source of iron, calcium and other nutrients that helps in bowel movement, boosts energy and makes muscles stronger. It is believed to be beneficial for the entire health of the body, skin and even hair. Being an antioxidant it helps to guard the body against various infections and improves blood flow. It is advised that eating dry dates daily is good for the keeping the body and heart healthy as it helps in building stronger muscles. It is believed to be beneficial to women above the age of 50 yrs who may come across uterus issues as it strengthens the same. They are easily available in powder form in stores or you prepare the same at home too and consume it by adding to a glass of hot milk drinking of which rejuvenates the body overall.
** Coming to Sattu ie roasted gram/ putani powder, it’s a storehouse of nutrients. In northern parts of India sattu ka sharbat is always consumed for overall health benefits with addition of jaggery for extra iron benefits. It is high in protein and is very good in case of repairs to muscle tears or for ageing body where muscle issues are faced many a times. Body builders often have them in some form along with other ingredients. It has cooling properties and is good for digestion too. In southern parts of India it is often used in preparation of both wet and dry types of chutney. If you want to detoxify your body sattu helps in flushing out toxins built in the body. Just add it on to a glass of water along with a dash of kala namak/ rock salt and freshly squeezed juice of one lemon and have it, you will feel cooled and refreshed. We always reach out for bottled store bought chilled drinks which actually increases the thirst once done with, try our own home methods, they are not only safer but beneficial too.
** Here is my own concoction recipe of “Karbeva Chutney with Putani and Kharik/ Curry Leaves Dry Chutney with Roasted Gram and Dried Dates” … that’s sure to be beneficial to health as it contains all the wonderful nutrients …
** Heat a thick bottomed kadai and dry roast 3-4 cups of desiccated coconut/ grated khobre/ dry coconut till it turns pinkish brown in color. Remember to keep the fire medium and also keep stirring to avoid it getting burnt. You can use microwave method too but then you need to keep stopping it every minute and mix well for even roasting. I use MW method often, as I used to it. Whichever method you follow, prepare and keep it aside to get cooled down completely.
** In the same kadai add in one cup of putani/ roasted gram and fry on medium to low heat till it is slightly crisp. Do not over fry it or burn the same, you need to keep a keen watch out and keep stirring to avoid such mishaps. Again, here also you can use the Microwave method like how I do, in which case you need to be careful and run the machine for a minute stop, mix the putani and continue, it tastes about 3-4 minutes in MW and a little more in kadai. Whichever method you follow, prepare and keep it aside to get cooled down completely. Then put it in mixer grinder and powder it fine, keep it ready aside.
** I have used curry leaves/ karbevu/ kadipatta powder, which I always prepare separately buying the same in bulk and storing it in the fridge. It last sometimes for about 4 months or so depending on my usage. If not, you can roast about 1 cup of fresh wash and dried leaves in the same thick bottomed kadai separately till they turn crisp and leave it aside to get cooled. You can either crush it well with hand or just put it in mixer, grind coarsely and keep it ready.
** About Kharik/ Dry dates powder too, I have mentioned that in Mumbai we get it in dry fruit stores, but I am not sure about elsewhere as this is the first time I am purchasing. However, I cut a few kharik into juilines and roasted them for a minute in kadai, cooled and then powdered them in mixer grinder and it got done easily, so you can either buy it or prepare the same at home too. Just grind some and keep it ready, however for this recipe we need just a little bit, so you can store the remaining ground powder in the fridge and use it for other dishes too, or just add it along with jaggery to hot milk and give it children or old age members.
** Coming to using of dried red chillies tdo, the same applies here. In my home I buy 2 kgs of Kashmiri Red dry chillies during summer and get it ground to fine powder in mill/ chakki, this lasts me year round. This method is followed in most of the homes, however in recent times people often buy readily available powder from stores too, you may either choose to do so or you can also just roast whole dry red chillies and powder them in mixer grind and use the same. The left over if in excess can be used while preparing other curry dishes.
** I have used easily available Amchur/ Raw Mango powder here in this chutney powder. Usually tamarind/ chinchama/ imly is used and I do so to at times. You can use either one of the two which is available in your home. Coming to salt/ namak/ meeta, I have used Kala namak/ rock salt, you can use any that you usually use at home.
** Important Note : I would like to mention here that do not get upset reading the above notes on powdering and using the ingredients separately, I have just mentioned my method as it is convenient to me as these are all available in my kitchen and I find it easy to just mix them and run in the mixer. You can always roast the ingredients mentioned whole and run them together in the mixer too, to prepare the chutney powder. If you go through my old posts on karbeva chutney, it exactly mentions that traditional method. This method is just what I have adapted to over years for my convenience.
** To prepare the Chutney pitti/ powder : Take a large wide stainless steel bowl, add in the roasted coconut, 1/3 cup of curry leaves powder, roasted putani powder, chilly powder, amchur powder, just 1 tsp of kharik powder, salt to taste and just mix them all together. They should be roughly mixed well. Now heat 1 tsp of oil in a small pan, when hot add in 2 tsp of hing/ asafoetida powder or a small marble piece of gummy hing and fry for a few seconds add this to the ingredients and mix well once again.
** Add in all the mixed ingredients into a electric mixer grinder in batches if the quantity is more and using pulse mode grind a few seconds at a time till evenly mixed and done. Remove and put it into a the bowl and once again mix well with a clean spatula if ground in batches. Store this in an air tight container and it remains good for almost 2-3 months. A little bit of variations in the ingredients does not make difference in the final outcome of the prepared chutney so do not worry about it.
** “Karbeva Chutney with Putani and Kharik/ Curry Leaves Dry Chutney with Roasted Gram and Dried Dates” is done and ready to be served. Tastes great when served as side dish with any dishes like dal-chawal, roti, dosa, idly etc. In my community almost every household has their own recipe for this delicious chutney and almost everyone prepares the same and keeps it handy, as we love to relish it with dal-chawal or pejja/ rice porridge the most as those are the best ways they are served with.
** Personally, I would not recommend this chutney much with Idly or dosa as it is too dry for my taste and in my home we prefer wet chutney for that. But yes, you can roast the idly and then sprinkle the same with this powder and it tastes fantastic. You can also mix it with left over rice and then season the same with any tempering of your choice and serve or take it in lunch box too. Run your own imagines and serve them as and how your family likes. Tastes great with Vada pav to in place of the otherwise served garlic chutney.
** Note : It is very important to roast all ingredients separately as each roasting of ingredient varies in time and we do not want anyone of it to get burnt or over done. Also allow them to get completely cooled to room temperature before running in mixer grinder or else the heat will make the chutney sticky.
** Note : Never run the mixer grinder continuously when you prepare any chutney powder as the same will cause heat within and some ingredients like coconut that have oil content in them will tend to leave out the same and smudge the whole chutney turning it out into a mess. So use pulse mode and stop in between often and mix the ingredients with spatula before you pulse the same again.
** Note : There should be no trace of water in any of the ingredients while preparing the chutney and do not add water while grinding. The texture of the chutney powder is coarse and in dry form so be careful. Also it is very important to check out that the mixer grinder vessel is dry before grinding the same in it. I put it out in sunlight to avoid any moisture that may spoil the chutney, this is also very important to keep in mind along with the spatula you will be using for mixing, that too should be completely dry. Basically all utensils you use should be dry.
** Note : You can add a lemon sized tamarind/ chinchama/ imly broken into small bits while frying the ingredients itself and use it in place of Amchur powder which I mentioned above too. Adding it while frying dries it out properly and removes water content if any. The same can be followed with salt too if you find the salt not dry enough, just add it to any of the ingredients that are being fried toward the end, like coconut once fried and done add the salt and continue to fry for another minute or so.
** Sharing a few links below that will be helpful to browse through for more information on preparation of this chutney which also includes the curry leaves powdering method.
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