Allam Pachadi/Ginger Chutney for Idly/Dosa/Pesarattu

I always have a confusion on what chutney to make for our morning idly/dosa. Mostly i would manage with idly podi, whereas hubby needs a different chutney along with podi. The days i have peanuts in hand, then peanut chutney with podi and sambhar it is. Oh yes, it is always 3 sides for idly/dosa. Coz, kuttu can never have idly/dosa without sambhar. This weekend, i made this ginger chutney for a change. Normally this is made to pair along pesarattu, but i served it with Instant Ragi dosa for the weekend and today i had it with jowar adai for breakfast. The spice of ginger along with tamarind and red chilies gives an extra zing, which takes it to another level.

Source : Simply South by Chandra Padmanabhan

Ingredients

1 teaspoon oil

3 inch piece of ginger, shredded

¼ teaspoon cumin seeds/jeera

4 dried red chilies

1 lime-sized ball of tamarind

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoon powdered jaggery

Salt to taste

Tempering

1 teaspoon oil

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon husked black gram dal/urad dal

a sprig of curry leaf

Method

Heat oil in a frying pan, add cumin, grated ginger and red chilies. Fry till it is fragrant. Keep the flame low while sauteing. Transfer the contents to a flat plate. Let it cool for 5 minutes.
To the ginger mixture, add tamarind, jaggery, garlic and salt. Grind to a smooth consistency, adding very ¼ cup of water. Transfer the contents to another bowl.

Heat oil given under "Tempering" in a small kadai, splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves and urad dal. When the dal starts to brown, pour the sizzling tempering over the chutney.
Serve it along idly/dosa/pesarattu. I served with instant ragi dosa.