Fennel Bell Pepper chutney (thogaiyal)

What I wanted to make was this - Bellpepper chutney. But I had gotten a fennel bulb and wanted to use it. Surprisingly it has a nice crunchy taste even eaten raw. Once I sauteed it, it morphed into a slightly sweet tender interesting vegetable. The original plan was to make chutney just with the fennel. I tried that but it tasted a tad sweet and mostly bland and lacked the chutney's 'together' texture. So sauteed a bell pepper and blended with very little coconut and some cilantro. The end result was quite tasty with chawal ki rotis which were more like papads than rotis (was okay taste-wise though). So no point posting that recipe.



Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 green bell pepper, chopped (roughly)
equal amount of fennel (fennel bulb) chopped (roughly)
1 tblp ural dal
2 tbsp chana dal
3-4 dried red chillies
2 tbsp coconut
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tsp dry tamarind/ 1/3 tsp tamarind paste
2 tsp oil

Dry roast urad dal, chana dal, red chillies and transfer to blender/mixie.
Add a tsp of oil and saute the bell pepper and fennel till slightly tender (until they start browning a little bit and release the flavors)
Blend the sauteed vegetables with the dry roasted ingredients, coconut, cilantro, tamarind and salt and water as required.
Transfer back to pan with a tsp of oil and cook till any raw flavor is gone. (just for a few minutes)

Enjoy with rice, dosa or rice roti.


My guess is the fennel tempered the bell pepper's 'peppery' flavor and sweetness while imparting a very subtle 'celery' like favor to the dish.