Coconut chutney , chocolate

Coconut is a significant ingredient in South Indian cooking which is not surprising as we are coastal regions  with abundant supply. We grate it and add it to our vegetables, use it for flavoring and thickening  our curries, and use the oil for nourishing our hair and skin. Coconuts are placed as offering to our deities in temples.

During the weddings in my community, there is a  ritual where the bride and groom play a game rolling coconuts. Wonder if it symbolically means " ok! All set to drive each other nuts!" Lol !

 An accompaniment for most of the savoury items in Tamilnadu is the humble coconut chutney.

Humble because its a no-cook simple recipe that needs few ingredients and can be whipped up in a jiffy.

Add coconut, red or green chillies, salt and some fried gram to a blender and you get the basic version. Flavor can be enhanced with ginger, garlic, coriander or mint. There are no-coconut versions like onion chutney, tomato chutney and so on. I love experimenting with chutneys in my kitchen. We do carrot chutney , capsicum chutney , ground nut chutney and once i even tried using cabbage !

Food from other lands: 

I love chocolate. As a kid , any type of chocolate candy was an attraction.  Later i developed a liking for dark chocolate and now thats always my preference and i find the sweeter milk chocolate less appealing. Chocolate sauce, chocolate cake, chocolate icecream, chocolate gelato, almonds coated with chocolate name it and I love it. Period. 

I remember times in my college when if my day felt lousy, i would buy a whole bar , sit in my room and eat it. Sitting on my bed with a 'To hell with the world' feeling and focussing purely on the moment; on the joy the brown bar was giving me offered a good amount of self-help !

Have you tried it ? It works :D 

But chocolate is a dominant flavor that tends to suppress anything else that goes in. Recently I tried coconut icecream with chocolate sauce and that was one rare instance when i wished it were not there. The coconut was struggling to make its presence felt! 

Food for thought: 

There is a song from Tamil movie Roja that goes...

Chinna chinna Aasai

which means small small wishes.

Every person on earth will have some small wish tucked at the corner of his mind. Some may not be fulfilled due to lack of time or lack of opportunity or simply self boundaries set due to fear of embarassment or ridicule. It could be trying out jeans for some sweet lady who has always adorned sarees. It could be getting drenched in the rain. It could be going on a long bike ride ( oh yes , not all have the luxury) . It could be sporting a newhairstyle or look. It could be owning a pet.

Sometimes life is all about these small wishes that may seem trivial in the big scheme of things but they make life worth living ! What is a small wish that you have ?