The Tastes of South India: Amaranthus (Dantu soppu) Pachadi

Pachadi is a very simple dish prepared using Yogurt and Coconut. It can be prepared in few minutes yet is really tasty and is soothing for the stomach too. We have a huge choice of the vegetables which may be used for preparing Pachadi. Okra, Brinjal, Potato, Cucumber (Requies no cooking at all...just grate it and use!!!), Capsicum etc...

I'm using Amaranthus . It was my Mothers idea to try out pachadi with these leaves, unlike the Sasmi (recipe coming soon) which we always prepare. It definitely is worth a try and is a very healthy dish for sure.

Ingredients:
Chopped Amaranthus leaves- 4 cups
Oil- 1 tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Red chilly- 1 (Broken into peices)
Curry leaves- Few
Yogurt- 2 cups
Salt to taste

To grind:
Grated Coconut- 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Green chillies- 2-3
Curry leaves- Few

Method:
In a pan, heat oil. Add Urad dal, Mustard seeds and Red chilly. When the Mustard seeds start to splutter, add the Curry leaves. Now add the Amaranthus leaves. Sprinkle some water and cover with lid. Let it cook. The leaves will shrink to less than half their volume upon cooking...[so dont worry if you have huge quantity of leaves :) ]. Once its cooked, remove from heat and let it cool completely. Meanwhile grind the above mentioned ingredients to a fine paste and mix it with yogurt. Once the cooked leaves mixture has cooled down, add it to the yogurt-ground paste mixture.