Gongura Pachadi or Sorrel Leaves Chutney

Finally it’s time to share ace of chutneys and one of the most awaited recipes in my blog  –  “ GONGURA PACHADI or SORREL LEAVES CHUTNEY ” , a signature dish from my hometown. Gongura or Sorrel leaves is one of the quintessential ingredients in Telugu cuisine. Different regions call these leaves with different names. Gongura is a very rich source of Iron, vitamins, folic acid and anti-oxidants essential for human nutrition. It is highly recommended for sugar and heart patients to maintain their diet. It is a summer crop, and the hotter the place, the sourer the leaf gets.

Whenever I find these greens I never miss a chance to prepare Gongura Pacchadi as it is my favourite. I have not posted any of the recipes using gongura or sorrel leaves because I don’t find them here in Germany. Now you must be wondering how I’m preparing today’s recipe?….Anybody who wants to know this must personal message me…I can’t confess that here . Btw….I’m trying out this summer to grow them in my vegetable garden. Let’s see what happens!!

Gongura or Sorrel leaves come in two varieties : one is white stem gongura and the other is red gongura. Both of them tastes extremely good. We can even combine both the varieties while cooking. For preparing chutney, only the leaves are used. The green stemmed one isn’t that sour and is mostly used to make the pickle version, which lasts longer. The red stemmed one is sourer and used to make chutney. This has a shorter shelf life.

This gongura pachadi or sorrel leaves chutney can be prepared using dry red chilies or green chilies. When red chilies are used, the consistency of chutney will be little hard (hence, more oil is needed in tempering) compared to green chilies, which give a moist consistency. I somehow like the one with red chillies.

So, my dear friends, recreate this chutney with a whole riot of flavours and pamper your senses to toast to a spicy deliciousness leaving you asking for more. I am head over heels in love with this droolicious chutney and so wanted to share it with you all lovely people. I am sure you will love it as much as I do if not more.

Off to the recipe!!

Step-by-Step Process in making Gongura Pachadi or Sorrel Leaves Chutney:

Click HERE for the video!!

• You will need:

• Heat oil in a pan over medium heat to roast these ingredients first and then the sorrel leaves.

• First add dry red chillies, coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds to the oil and roast till you get a nice aroma and the fenugreek seeds and coriander seeds turn light brown.
• Transfer to a plate and let it cool.

• In the same pan over medium heat, add gongura or sorrel leaves.

• Sauté them till soft.
• The leaves might release a little water. So sauté till all the water evaporated.
• Allow it to cool.

• In a blender add garlic, cumin seeds, roasted dry ingredients from above (Only red chillies, coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds), required salt and grind to a fine powder.

• Now add sautéed gongura or sorrel leaves and grind very coarsely.
• Make sure not to add water otherwise the shelf life will be reduces and you get a slimy texture of the chutney. The moisture from the leaves aids in grinding.

For the tempering:

• Crush or chop garlic pods. Heat oil in a small pan over medium heat. Once oil is hot enough, add garlic.
• Then add lentils, red chillies, mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
• When mustard seeds splutter add curry leaves and turn off the heat.

Now you have 3 options to serve the chutney:

• Turn off the heat and let it cool. Transfer the tempering to the Gongura Pachadi or Sorrel Leaves Chutney. This way the chutney stays for 2 to 3 weeks.
• Add finely chopped raw onions to the Gongura Pachadi or Sorrel Leaves Chutney and mix well. Pachadi prepared in this method should be consumed immediately. (OR)

• Add finely chopped raw onions to the tempering and sauté till the onions turn translucent and then turn off the heat. Allow it to cool and transfer the tempering with onions to the Gongura Pachadi or Sorrel Leaves Chutney. This has a shelf life of a week.

• Transfer the Gongura Pachadi or Sorrel Leaves Chutney to an air-tight container and use within the day. Store in the refrigerator for longer shelf life.
• Mix it with piping hot rice and a dollop of ghee and you can’t ask for anything else. That’s the only way I love to enjoy this chutney though you can have it with idli, dosa or roti.

How to prepare Gongura Chuney

Print Recipe

Gongura Pachadi or Sorrel Leaves Chutney

An ace Chutney Gongura Pachadi or Sorrel Leaves Chutney is quintessentially a authentic delicacy of the Telugu cuisine which is a part of many feast or festivals.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Author: Padma

Ingredients

• To roast:
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 10 to 12 dry red chillies
• 2 Tablespoon Coriander seeds
• ½ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
• A big bunch of Gongura or Sorrel leaves Wash, pluck leaves from the stalks and leave them to dry
• Other Ingredients:
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 1 red onion finely chopped (optional)
• For seasoning:
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves crushed or cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon Black gram Urad dal
• 1 teaspoon Split bengal gram Channa dal
• 2 to 3 dry red chillies
• ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds

Instructions

• Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and roast dry red chillies, coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds till you get a nice aroma. The fenugreek seeds and coriander seeds turn light brown. Remove them to a plate and let them cool.
• In the same pan add gongura or sorrel leaves and sauté them till soft. Allow it to cool.
• In a blender add garlic, and cumin seeds under the section "Other Ingredients", roasted dry ingredients, required slat and grind to a fine powder.
• Now add sautéed gongura or sorrel leaves and grind very coarsely.
• For the tempering: Crush or chop garlic pods. Heat oil in a small pan over medium heat. Once oil is hot enough, add garlic. Now add lentils and fenugreek seeds. Once garlic starts to turn light brown add red chillies, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds splutter add curry leaves.Turn off the heat and let it cool.
• Transfer the tempering to the Gongura Pachadi or Sorrel Leaves Chutney.
• Transfer the chutney to an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for longer shelf life (for about 2 weeks).
• You can also include finely chopped raw onions to consume immediately or you can fry onions till translucent in the tempering and then transfer to the chutney. You can refrigerate this chutney for about a week.

My Notes:

1. Adjust spice levels with red chillies to suit your requirement.
2. Take care while roasting fenugreek seeds, they should turn light brown and not black. Otherwise you get a bitter taste in the chutney.
3. Do not add water while grinding. The moisture in the leaves will aid grinding.
4. The quantity of red chillies depends on how sour the gongura or sorrel leaves are.
5. Be generous in using garlic and curry leaves in tempering. That’s what gives a nice aroma to the chutney.
6. If you do not like garlic, substitute with asafoetida while tempering.
7. Skip onions if you do not like them.
8. If you want to store it for longer period use another tablespoon of extra oil.

You might want to check out other popular posts on various chutneys on my blog-

• Ridge gourd Chutney
• Zucchini Tomato chutney
• Onion chutney
• Coriander Mint chutney
• Peanut chutney
•  sweet and sour tomato chutney
• carrot chutney,
• snake gourd yoghurt chutney

And many many more to come!!…..Stay Tuned!!

Happy Cooking 🙂

Padma