Pudina Thogayal is a tangy and thick chutney made with fresh mint leaves or pudina, tamarind, lentils and a few spices. This Mint Thogayal is best served with steamed rice or a side dish with any cooked rice variety like Lemon Rice or Curd Rice.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 5 minutes
  • Total time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 2
  • Category: Condiment, Side Dish
  • Cuisine: South Indian, Tamil Nadu

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil ((gingelly oil))
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon urad dal ((husked and split black gram))
  • 1 teaspoon chana dal ((husked and split bengal gram))
  • 1 dry red chili (- seeds removed)
  • ¼ teaspoon asafoetida powder ((hing))
  • 1 cup mint leaves ((tightly packed), fresh pudina)
  • ½ tablespoon tamarind ((without seeds))
  • ¼ to ⅓ teaspoon salt (or add as required)
  • 4 teaspoons water (or add as required)

Method

Preparation & frying lentils, spices and pudina

  1. First remove the leaves from the pudina stems. You will need about 1 cup tightly packed pudina.
  2. Rinse the leaves using a strainer or colander a couple of times. Drain all the water and keep aside.
  3. Heat gingelly oil (sesame oil) in a small pan. Keep heat to a low. Add mustard seeds and let them crackle
  4. When the mustard seeds start crackling, add urad dal and chana dal.
  5. On a low heat stirring often, fry the dals until they turn golden and become fragrant.
  6. Then add the dry red chili (broken and seeds removed) and asafoetida powder (hing).
  7. Mix and fry for a few seconds till red chilies change color. Take care that the chilli does not burn.
  8. Now add the rinsed mint leaves.
  9. If the pan has become very hot, then before adding mint leaves, you can even switch off heat and then add the mint leaves. The mint leaves will get cooked from the residue heat of the pan.
  10. Mix very well. Sauté mint leaves for a minute on a low heat
  11. Switch off heat and add ½ tablespoon tamarind. Make sure there are no seeds in the tamarind.
  12. Mix well. Let this mixture cool at room temperature.

Making pudina thogayal

  1. Then add everything in a chutney grinder or small mixer-grinder jar or a small blender.
  2. Add ⅓ teaspoon salt or add as required. Also add 4 teaspoons water or add as required.
  3. Grind with less water. While grinding scrape the sides and continue to grind.
  4. First grind to a coarse paste or a semi-fine paste. Do not make the pudina thogayal too coarse.
  5. Remove in a bowl and serve Pudina Thogayal as a side dish with steamed rice or with a south indian meal.

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.