Gongura Pachadi is a spicy, tangy and flavorful chutney from Andhra cuisine, prepared using sorrel leaves (gongura/ambadi), red chillies, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, oil and a few ground spices. The leaves are sautéed and blended with roasted spices to create a bold, sour, earthy and delicious chutney.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 6
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Andhra, South Indian

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup oil (- sesame oil, sunflower oil or peanut oil)
  • 6 cups gongura leaves (- green stemmed or red stemmed sorrel leaves)
  • ½ teaspoon pink salt (or edible rock salt, add regular salt according to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons oil (- sesame oil, sunflower oil or peanut oil)
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • ½ teaspoon asafoetida
  • 7 to 8 Kashmiri chillies (- medium-sized, I used 5 large sized kashmir red chilies)
  • 2 sprigs curry leaves (or 30 small curry leaves, optional)
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

Method

Prep Sorrel Leaves

  1. Pluck the gongura leaves from their stems. Rinse thoroughly in water to remove any dirt or grit.
  2. Spread the rinsed leaves on a clean kitchen cloth to air-dry. Do not sun-dry; instead, dry them in the shade or indoors in your kitchen.Note that drying the leaves takes a few hours.
  3. Ensure the leaves are completely dry. Any residual moisture can spoil the pachadi.

Sauté Ingredients

  1. Heat ¼ cup oil in a pan.
  2. Add the dried gongura leaves and sauté. The leaves will first wilt, then slowly release moisture.
  3. Continue sautéing until the oil starts to separate and leaves are well-cooked.The cooking time for the leaves will vary from 10 to 12 minutes on a low to medium-low heat.
  4. Set aside and let the sautéed leaves cool.

Temper Spices

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the same pan or in another pan.
  2. Add mustard seeds. When they begin to crackle, turn off the heat.
  3. Add fenugreek seeds and asafoetida. Mix gently and let the fenugreek change color slightly.
  4. Add dry red chillies and curry leaves. Turn the heat back on to low and sauté, stirring often, until the chillies turn crisp and changer color to a slightly darker red.
  5. Turn off the heat. Add turmeric powder and mix. Let this tempering cool completely.

Make Gongura Pachadi

  1. Transfer the cooled tempering mixture to a mixer-grinder. Grind to a coarse powder.
  2. Add the sautéed gongura leaves along with any oil remaining in the pan. Add salt.
  3. Pulse or grind in short bursts until you get a coarse or semi-coarse texture.
  4. Transfer to a clean, dry glass jar or a ceramic bowl.

Storage

  1. Refrigerate the pachadi in air-tight glass or ceramic bowl or jar and use as needed.
  2. Always use a clean, dry spoon when serving to maintain shelf life. It keeps well for about a few weeks when refrigerated.

Serving Suggestions

  1. Serve Gongura Pachadi with hot steamed rice with a light drizzle of ghee or sesame oil.
  2. The spicy and sour flavors of Gongura Chutney also pairs well with curd rice or sambar, rasam and plain dal with steamed rice.
  3. It can also be enjoyed as a side with idli, dosa, or chapati.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.