DRIED SHRIMP CHUTNEY (CHEMMEEN CHAMMANTHI)

I always wanted to make Umma's chemmeen chammanthi. What held me back was the dried shrimp. I wandered up and down the aisles of an Asian supermarket, found what I was looking for, but was deterred by the sight of the shrimp. They had eyes - round, bulgy, black eyes! It freaked me out and I this receipe went on the back burner. Then, a friend gave me a jar of dried shrimp. No eyes. I called my sister Zeenath, who knows most of the family recipes. Shockingly, she told me it’s not something she makes! I scoured the internet. No recipe sounded right – most contained tamarind! There was no tamarind in Umma's chammanthi. I fell back on Ummi Abdullah. From there on, I devised my own recipe, rooted in memories of eating chemmeen chammanthi in the Mavoor Road house with warm rice, dal, and spinach or cabbage.





Ingredients

Fresh coconut, grated - 1 cup (I use frozen coconut)

Dried shrim - 1/2 cup

Garlic, sliced - 2 cloves

Red onion - a few slices

Dry red chilies - adjust for your spice tolerance

Salt to taste





Dry roast the onions and garlic, till the raw odor is gone. Transfer to blender with all the other ingredients. Blend till chutney is smoothly ground.

Enjoy with warm rice, dal, and spinach or cabbage.

Use leftover chutney to make sandwiches for a delicious office lunch. 






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