Thenga Chammanthi with recipie

Thenga Chammandhi is a very old recipe made in every house in Kerala and southern part of Tamilnadu (Kanyakumari District). I remember my grandma making this chammandhi almost everyday in her ammikallu (Grinding Stone), forming it into a ball and storing it in a dry coconut shell. It is like a pickle and a must have at least in a small quantity.

Ingredients
Coconut – 1 cup
Dried red chilies flakes – 4-5
Pearl onions (Sambar Onion) – 4
Garlic – 2 cloves
Tamarind – size of a small lime (refer notes)
Salt – to tasteCurry leaves – 3-5 leaves

Method
Take all the above ingredients in a blender or small mixie jar.Pulse and grind it to a coarse paste without adding any water. You may have to mix it once or twice in between the grinding process. The moisture from the onion and coconut will be sufficient for grinding.Adjust the ingredients to your taste. Usually it is made spicy, with tamarind to add the right amount of sourness and enough salt to balance everything.VariationA variation of this is also made in Tamil Nadu known as Thengai Thogayal and in Andhra known as Kobbari Pachadi. In Thengai Thogayal, 2 tbsp of urad dal is roasted in 1 tbsp of oil along with the dry red chilies. It is then ground coarsely with grated coconut, tamarind, curry leaves, and asafoetida. No onion or garlic is used here. For Kobbari Pachadi, 1 tbsp of channa dal and 1 tbsp of urad dal are roasted and ground along with grated coconut, dry red chilies, asafoetida and tamarind. I have tried all the variations and it all tastes good.