06 Nov Papaya Chatni / Papaya Thoku / Dip
Papaya Chatni / Thoku / Dip. I am a great fan of this vegetable / fruit. I had a semi ripe papaya for 2 days, which never seemed to ripe. To avoid it becoming stale, I decided to convert it to Papaya Chatni (Thoku). Trust me, it won many hearts.
Papaya is available round the year and mostly grow in tropical areas. It is one gift of creation that offers multiple benefits both as raw and ripe. From internal cleansing to glowing skin Raw papaya acts as a super vegetable. Researchers have found that the highest concentrations of the beneficial digestive enzyme papain are found in the raw papaya. If you have ever tasted Raw papaya salad you would agree. On the other hand, Ripe papaya provide a wide variety of health benefits and help protecting a number of health issues.
All Indian homes have their own khazana of chatnis and masalas. In South they call it thoku /pickle / chatni whereas in North they simply call it chatni / pickle. You can make these chatnis / dip / thoku with many different vegetables or even just with lentils. You can store them in the refrigerator for a week maximum. These are in fact short term pickles unless you make it elaborately like a regular pickle adding more oil and pickle spices as preservatives. I would prefer to finish these chatnis before they become stale.
To make this Papaya chatni (thoku) you need semi ripe papaya. Ideally, it should be grated. Since grating makes it mushy, I used my chopper to chop it finely. However, you can either use a food processor or simply use knife.
This chatni goes well with Roti as well as Idli, Dosa. Best with Curd Rice 🙂
Papaya Thoku
Ingredients
- 2 cups finely chopped semi ripe papaya
- 6 to 7 tbsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds (Methi / vendhayam)
- 1 small piece whole asafoetida / 1 tsp asafoetida powder
- approximately 3 tablespoon salt
- 2 + 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
Instructions
- Dry roast the methi seeds and asafoetida in a pan till the seeds become brown. Make sure not to over roast.
- Pound them in mortar and pestle / ammikallu / pulse in a mixer to a coarse powder.
- Precook the cook the papaya in pressure cooker for one whistle / steam for 10 minutes
- Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a pan and add the cooked papaya.
- Keep stirring to make sure that it does not stick to the bottom
- Add salt and chilli powder and keep sautéing further till the mixture absorbs all the masalas.
- Switch off the flame, mix the asafoetida, methi powder.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil and add the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, pour it on the thoku / chatni.
- Store in a clean bottle. Stays for a month in Refrigerator.
Notes
You may look at more dry and wet chatnis and masalas here
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