amla and curry leaves chutney for immunity and skin health


There has been a lot of healing food in my diet lately, thanks to the damage Chikunguniya did to my system. While I am planning to write about how to heal yourself after this dreaded disease and how to be prepared for a long battle with dysfunctional joints, sharing a few quick recipes that I have been trying is a good idea.

One irritating symptom that Chikuguniya has is the way skin peels off during the fever stage and later too. Hair fall follows and it really made me feel like an old woman especially when the aching joints make movements difficult and even the walk and gait changes. Thankfully it heals and I can see improvements slowly. The skin is not peeling anymore but looks dull, the hair fall has now stopped but the damage has been done. 

I got this amla and curry leaves chutney made when my hair fall got alarming. I don't remember when my hair got so bad last time, I had to do something about it of course.


amla and curry leaves chutney

Amla and curry leaves together help with micro nutrients while we kept eating our homemade Chyawanprash and sesame-almond-flax seeds-chia seeds laddus. Making things tastier works better in our case, in most cases in fact, although I know a few people who can eat anything if it is god for health.

This chutney can be served with the parathas or khichdis but the most frequent use it found was in the buttermilk and raita recipes. Just add a tbsp of this chutney to a plain onion raita or buttermilk to get the nutritional benefits. The minerals in curry leaves and yogurt (Iron and Calcium most importantly) are absorbed really well when consumed with amla and green chilies as in this chutney recipe.

Add some sesame seeds to this chutney and make it a wholesome mineral supplement. We have been having this sesame laddu and the drumstick leaves and sesame chutney regularly so I skipped adding sesame to this chutney.

ingredients

3 fresh amlas chopped, seeds discarded
3-4 fat green chilies, the mild hot variety is better
8-10 full grown springs of curry leaves
3-4 garlic cloves
5-6 peppercorns
salt to taste

procedure

Pulse everything together in mixie or food processor till it makes a smooth enough paste.

Empty in a glass jar and keep refrigerated. Use as desired.

This chutney keeps well for 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator.

Here are few ways in which you can use this amla curry leaves chutney.
  1. Add 1 tbsp per serving of plain buttermilk and enjoy a spicy drink. 
  2. Add 1 tbsp of the chutney to 1/2 cup fresh yogurt and 3-4 tbsp chopped onions to make a quick raita. Serve with khichdi or paratha or any Indian meals. 
  3. Add to boiled and cubed potatoes to make a quick potato salad with a drizzle of cold pressed mustard oil.
  4. Add to plain boiled mung dal to make a quick lentil soup. 
  5. Add generous amount of this chutney to the methi paratha dough to pack it with more nutrients.
  6. Add 2 tbsp to 1 cup lentil stock (boil any dal in lot of water and use the extra water for this) and make amla rasam, enjoy in this chilly weather.
  7. Add this chutney to hung curd and make a tangy spicy dip. 
  8. Add to grated radish and make a nice salad for a khichdi or rajma chawal meal.
I am sure you can devise more ways to use this chutney as per  your own taste and that is the whole idea. Do make this chutney even if you don't have any skin or hair problem, it helps maintain a healthy Hb level otherwise too. 


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