Mint chutney is extremely flavorful with the sweet taste of coconut and red onion. The chutney is sweet and spicy. This is usually an accompaniment for snacks like samosa or pakoras. You can always get this readily from stores, but the flavor from a freshly made chutney can never be beat. Another variation is you can substitute red chillies with the green ones.
Preparation time:10 minutes
Serves up to 3 people
Ingredients:
1 small bunch of mint leaves
handful of coriander leaves
1 red onion
3-4 dried red chillies
3 pieces of coconut
1 tsp of oil
salt as required
Preparation:
1.Heat a tsp of oil, add the ingredients to the pan (except coconut). Saute for 1-2 minutes. Transfer it to a plate.
2.Allow them to cool. Grind the coconut first and then add the cooled ingredients in to a paste.
3.Mint chutney is ready.
Raitha (or Thayir patchadi) is a side dish in Indian recipe primarily with a yoghurt base. In this version of raitha, I have used the Japanese eggplant. The soft texture and taste of the fried eggplant is overwhelming. It goes really well with any spicy dishes/ rice varieties. Japanese eggplants have sweet and delicate flavor. The skin is very nimble compared to the regular Indian eggplant. In India, this recipe can be tried with long aka 'neetu' kathrikai in case Japanese eggplant is not readily available.
Ingredients:
1 cup of yogurt
1 Japanese Eggplant/ long brinjal
1 dried red chilly
1 tsp of roasted gram dhal
1/4 tsp of mustard
pinch of asafoetida
oil for deep frying
salt as required
Preparation:
1.In the kadai, add oil. Cut the brinjal in to circles(thin slices).
2.Once the oil is heated add the brinjal/ eggplant. As the eggplant starts to wilt and turns light brown, turn to the other side. Wait till it turns golden brown.
3.Transfer to a plate.
4.Add a tsp of oil in a pan and add mustard, roasted gram dhal, asafoetida and dried red chilly to the pan. As the mustard sputters, transfer to the yogurt.
5.Add the fried eggplant to the yogurt and mix them. The raitha is ready. You can use with pulav/biriyani or parathas.
Radishes have numerous varieties, varying in size and color. I used the red/pink-round radish. You can also use the white radish instead, but need to put some effort to cut the radish into uniform sizes. In terms of flavor, I do not find a lot of difference between white and red ones. The red ones have a slightly sharper taste.
Ingredients:
300 grams of radish
1 medium red onion
1/2 tbsp of grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon of red chilly powder
1 pinch of turmeric
1/4 teaspoon of mustard
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 sprig of curry leaves
1 tbsp of oil
salt as required
Preparation:
1.Cut the radish in to small circles. Fine chop the onion.
2.Heat the oil in the pan. Once the oil is heated, add mustard, cumin seeds and curry leaves. As the mustard sputters, add onion. Fry till the onion turns golden brown.
3.Add ginger, turmeric, red chilly powder and salt, saute for a minute. Now you can add the radish and mix well.
4.Add 1/4 cup of water and close the lid. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Do it in the shallow pan so that the radish are roasted.
5.Radish fry is ready.
1 small bunch of mint leaves 
