Pudina Thogayal Recipe | Mint Thogayal

Pudina thogayal is frequently made at my home as all of us at home are big time lovers of pudina (mint leaves). This pudina thogayal is for rice, that can be made with or without coconut according to your preference. Mint thogayal not only goes well with rice but also had as a side dish with idli and dosa at my home. I make this mint thuvaiyal slightly different from the Pudina Chutney that I make for idli usually. I also pack this for my kids lunch box by mixing it with rice and it significantly reduces the morning madness for me. If you wish to use pudina in large quantity that will last for at least 1 week without getting spoiled, you have to check out the Pudina Thokku recipe.

Pudina Thogayal Recipe

Prep time: 10 mins  |  Cook time: 5 mins  |  Serves: 4
Cuisine: South Indian  |  Category: Side Dish

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Ingredients:

• Pudina (Mint Leaves) – 1 big bunch
• Whole dry red chilies – 8-10
• Tamarind – 1 small piece (Betel nut size)
• Ginger – 1 inch piece
• Urad dal – 1 tbsp
• Fresh grated coconut – 3 tbsp
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 1 tsp

To temper:

• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Asafetida – 1 pinch
• Oil – 1/4 tsp

Instructions:

1. Clean the mint leaves bunch. Place the leaves in a big bowl and fill it with water and leave it for 10 minutes. All the impurities and sand will settle at the bottom. Take out the leaves and place them in a colander and leave it for another 5 minutes for the excess water to drip out.
2. Heat a pan with oil. Add urad dal, tamarind, ginger piece and whole red chilies and over a low flame sauté for 3-4 minutes till the dal becomes golden brown in color. Switch off flame and take the pan off the stove.
3. Immediately add the mint leaves and keep sautéing. The heat of the pan is enough and you can see the leaves shrinking in size and changing color. Let the mixture cool down.
4. In a mixer jar or food processor, place the mint leaves mixture, grated coconut, salt and grind it together. Do not add water. Keep mixing it with a spoon in between for even grinding. If you find it very hard to grind to a paste, add just 1 tbsp of water and no more than that. Transfer to a serving bowl.
5. Heat the pan with oil. Add mustard seeds and when it pops, add asafetida and transfer the tempering to the thogayal and mix well.
6. Serve with hot steaming rice. You can either mix it with rice and eat or serve it as a side dish with any sambar or kulambu rice.
7. This will keep well for 2 to 3 days when kept refrigerated.

Notes:

1. Instead of tamarind, you can add a small piece of raw mango when its in season for a different taste.

2. You can skip adding coconut, but it will give more volume and a good taste for the thogayal.

3. When making this thogayal during summer season, to prevent it from spoiling quickly if you are going to pack it for lunch, sauté the coconut also along with urad dal and chilies.

4. You can skip the tempering as it will not change the taste of the thogayal that much.