Subscribe
Some recipes remain forever favourites and Chammanthi is definitely the one for me. My maternal grandmother hails from Kerala (Kollam district). Malayalis are so fond of the flavour of coconut that it becomes a part of their daily lives. I remember eating Chammanthi for the very first time during my visit to Kerala when my grandma prepared and served it with a dollop of ghee (clarified butter), along with steamed rice. That was the beginning of cherishing what has become a favourite dish.
Chammanthi
One full coconut
Small lemon-sized tamarind
One medium-sized onion (Sliced)
Half a teaspoon of cumin seeds
Salt
Turmeric
Chilli powder
Handful of curry leaves
For tempering
Oil
Mustard seeds
Dry red chilli
Curry leaves
Urad beans
A pinch of heeng (asafoetida) if required
In a blender, chop and add coconut pieces. To this, add sliced onion, a handful of curry leaves, half a teaspoon of cumin seeds, and a small lemon sized tamarind. Now add salt and dry chilli powder as per taste. Blend all the above ingredients with a little water. Now, add oil and put mustard seeds, dry red chilli, urad beans, a few curry leaves and heeng if needed. Once they splutter, add them to the coconut chammanthi.
My Food Story is a collection of stories and recipes that celebrate India’s traditional plant-based ingredients sourced from local biodiversity. You can see these recipes on our interactive dashboard (https://www.cseindia.org/page/myfoodstory).
Join us as we showcase the recipes shared with us by the participants of a recently concluded recipe contest.
Priyanka Ghattu is a teacher from Telangana