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Off  Dips, Sauces , Podi’s and Chutneys …

If you have kids in the house I am sure you would have tried Italian or Mexican food multiple times. Or the other favoured cuisine Chinese you would have observed that the waiter brings a lot of salad dressing or sauces on your table much before your starter or main course order. If its Chinese you will find the typical 3 bowls of dark soya sauce , Chilly or Schezwan sauce and Chilly in Vinegar, these to be used in small proportion with your Fried rice to enhance the taste a little more . If you love the steamed dumplings or Momo’s as they are called you will be served a side dish called kimchi This puréed mixture of kimchi seasoning is a simple combination of red pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, sugar, lime juice, water, salt, and fish sauce. It's punchy and sharp, tangy, and incredibly invigorating.

Another dipping which is typically served is the Black Bean-Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce With Maple Syrup Chinese fermented black soy beans are eye-bulgingly salty and all kinds of funky. And the jarred sauce, which is usually spiked with some additional seasonings, isn't exactly the kind of thing you'd want to eat with a spoon. But some unlikely additions anchor that powerful saltiness and let the black beans' more subtle flavors shine. Maple syrup coaxes out a distinctive layer of sweetness, while creamy peanut butter softens the blow of that sharp, fermented tang. Chili oil ties it all together with some warm heat, and a splash of water thins it out just enough. The result is thick and rich, but still very much dipping-friendly.

In Italian and Mexican cuisine dips and dipping sauces are fundamental to most of the dishes / recipes. A dip or dipping sauce is a common condiment for many types of food. Dips are used to add flavor or texture to a food, such as pita bread, dumplings, crackers, cut-up  raw vegetables, fruits, seafood, cubed pieces of meat and cheese, potato chips, tortilla chips, and falafel. Unlike other sauces, instead of applying the sauce to the food, the food is typically put, dipped, or added into the dipping sauce (hence the name).

Dips are commonly used for finger foods, appetizers, and other easily held foods. Thick dips based on sour cream, crème fraîche, milk, yogurt, mayonnaise, soft cheese, or beans are a staple of American hors d'oeuvres and are thinner than spreads which can be thinned to make dips. Alton Brown suggests that a dip is defined based on its ability to "maintain contact with its transport mechanism over three feet of white carpet"

Dips in various forms are eaten all over the world and people have been using sauces for dipping for thousands of years.

More so in our Indian way of life. Growing up in a house hold where most of the food was home made we always had stock of typical side dishes like the dry chutneys which would be eaten during heavy rains when even the standard vegetables become scarse. You could then eat a bhakri with a simple onion and a dry chutney mixed with a little oil. Another  Maharashtrian traditional dry chutney is the  Methkut, a mixture of  rice ,wheat, udad dal , chana dal ,moong dal  in equal quantitities  alongwith small quantinties of coriander (dhania)seeds , cumin( jeera) seeds , methi (fenugreek ) and pinch of khada masala like hing , dalchini , jai fal all finely powdered in the grinder to give a dry chutney. This is best had with soft  a spoonful ghee ans pinch of salt. A filling but soothing dish for the hungry tummy.

These dry chutneys are also called Podi’s in South of India. Dry chutney powders are a kind of chutney which are in dry powdered form. In every South Indian house, it is very common to find at least one or two podi varieties at all times. The Telugu people and Tamil Brahmans mostly like to start off their meal with a little podi rice. A little podi is mixed with steamed rice and some ghee is drizzled on top. After having this, rice is had with other curries and sides. Even in traditional restaurants podi is surely served.

Usually wet chutneys cannot be stored for more than a couple of days. These dry chutney powders can be stored for 3-6 months in air tight jars. It can be served with rice or other food items like idli, dosa, uthappam, paniyaaram etc. It is typically mixed with some ghee or sesame seed (gingelly) oil and consumed. The best thing about having these podis on hand is that they make busy mornings and evenings on a working day very easier. Instead of making a curry, rice or idli or dosa can be instantly served with some podi. Its not only satisfying but very tasty too. These podis come handy during long road trips or train journeys. Rice or Idlis with some podi stays good for more than a day in room temperature. Podi varieties are a good companion to hostelers. College students who are away from home can still enjoy some homemade podi with rice.

There are many varieties of podis made depending on the region. There is the idli podi from Tamil Nadu, kandi (red lentil) podi from Andhra Pradesh, poondu (garlic) podi, chammandhi podi (with roasted coconut) from Kerala, peanut podi, curry leaf (karuvepilai) podi etc. There are also podis made with vegetables which are dry roasted. The shelf life of these may not be very long. There is also podi made with dried fish (karuvaatu podi) and with dried prawns (chemmen chammandhi).

Most widely eaten  podi is the Milagi Podi made famous by the numerous Udipi Resturants serving the hot piping idli’s and dosai’s. There are people like me who love to have this as an accompaniment even if there is sambar, chutney or other curry as a side for idli or dosa. It is so tasty, you have to try it to believe it.

Then again the taste of fresh wet chutney is all to gether different. Mostly in coconut base there atleast 50 varieties in India to make you smack your lips.

The most widely accepted and eaten wet chutney are those served in Udpi restaurants along with Dosa’s and Idli. There is the white chutney with a hint of asafoeteda (hing) and spiked with a tadka of mustard seed and red chilly most likely the southern variety of Bedgi . Then there is the red chutney with a spicy touch best eaten with crispy Rava Sada or smeared on the Mysore Sada. If you order the need dosa that soft velvety dosa made of rice flour and which melts in your mouth while eating , you will be served with 2 more varieties of chutneys the green one made with coriander and a hint of lemon to give it a tangy taste and a simple sweet chutney made from jaggery and desiccated fresh coconut.

If you are in Hyderabad , formerly in Andhra Pradesh and now part of the new state of Telangana ou will be fascinated with their rich culture of chutney’s . Each made of unheard of ingredients and excotic to the person north of the Vindhyas. They have the Carrot Chutney made of sweet carrots which goes well with the Dal wada or the Pessaratu Dosa, then there is the thick an delicious Penut Capsicum chutney which is served even with thier rice preparations. Or some unusal one like the Dondakaya Pachadi or the Tindora chutney as known in Hindi. Another unique chutney is made from Gongura or the sour leaves known as Ambadi in Marathi and Pitwaa in Hindi. A blackish semi dry chutney served with Southern Paratha .

But if you are a fan of the samosa or kachori do head to D.Damodar’s at Dadar TT circle and ask for their kajur (dates) and imli chutney a sweet sour combination which goes well with the hot farsan snack. If you buy fresh fafda a typical Gujarati farsan snack you can ask for the special yellow chutney , a sweet and salty combination with crunchy taste mostly served at Tea time in morning. Fafda made from Gram Flour and Chutney combination of Gram Flour with Curd, Green Chilies.

Another typical regional delight is the sweet curd based chutney served with Maharashtrian fasting snack of Sabu dana wada. A mixture of coconut , peanuts and curd and lightly sweetened to give a unique taste. If youa are the spicy type do try the Kolhapuri thecha a pure fiery chutney made of what else but chillies . Eaten with Bhakri this is sure to put your mouth on fire and smoke through your ears .But you will love the taste so much you will surely ask for more with your teary eyes.

So try these mouthwatering accompaniments with your dished .

Try them one by one and enjoy your meal with Dips, Sauces , Podi’s and Chutneys …