top of page

Updated: May 4, 2024


Kobbari Chutney Pudi, or Dry Coconut Chutney Powder, is something I’ve only recently (6-7 years) discovered through an ex-partner. From time to time, his family would send these lovely little care packages brimming with sweet and spicy treats from home (I’m not sure why I never told him this, but it’s one of my fondest memories of him smiling like a 5-year-old with a pocket full of mango bites and Pokémon cards). It was the first time I smelled such an interesting mix of sweet, spicy, and buttery aromas. It had me hooked on learning to cook Indian food after years of only eating the typical dishes you’d find in American “Indian” restaurants in the early 2000s. I say “Indian” like this because a lot of the restaurants American’s call “Indian” are Pakistani and/or Sri Lankan (with the same flavor profiles and slight differences in cooking methods and ingredients).

One of my favorite treats his mom would send was a spicy coconut powder, otherwise known as “Kobbari Chutney Pudi” (or “नारियल की चटनी पाउडर”) that, when mixed with warm rice, was one of the most magical things I’d had in my mouth in a VERY long time (I took a break from cooking before transitioning. I call that period the dark ages).

After we split a while back I decided it was high time to learn to create this amazingly lovely little powerhouse of flavor so I could enjoy is whenever the mood hits. Plus share it with the world! 🙂

Dry Coconut Chutney Powder (Kobbari Chutney Pudi)


Ingredients

  1. 3/4 cup grated dry coconut

  2. 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

  3. 3-4 dry Kashmiri red chillis, seeds removed (powdered chilis also work)

  4. 2 tablespoons chana dal (Bengal Gram)

  5. 1 1/2 teaspoons urad dal (Black Gram)

  6. 2 Stalks fresh curry leaves (3 Stalks if using frozen)

  7. 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds

  8. 1/2 teaspoon jaggery, optional (dark brown sugar, demerara or muscovado would also work)

Instructions

  1. Using a dry sauté pan, place your chana dal and urad dal in the pan and allow to roast for 3-5 minutes on high. Every minute or so, shake your sauté pan so the dal browns without burning. Place browned dal in a bowl once it's browned.

  2. Place the pan back on the heat, and add your grated coconut in an even layer. Allow to roast until a rich golden brown. Shake the pan every couple of moments (regularly?) to allow browning without burning. Set aside in the same bowl as your dal.

  3. Place the pan back on the heat and repeat the same process with the remaining ingredients, minus the jaggery (if you plan to add it). While you shake the pan, make sure to keep an eye on the garlic so it doesn't burn. No one likes burnt garlic! Once browned, place the remaining ingredients into the same bowl as the others, and allow to cool completely. 

  4. Once the ingredients are completely cool, add them to a blender jar, spice grinder, mortar and pestle, etc. and grind the entire mixture into a powder. If you plan to use a mortar and pestle, I would advise grinding the harder ingredients first (like the dal) and then move onto the curry leaves and chilies. Their skins can sometimes take a little more elbow grease then the garlic, cumin seeds, etc. 

  5. Once ground, you can store your coconut powder on the counter for about 2 weeks in a sealed, airtight container or up to 4 weeks in the refrigerator. 

Notes

Some blenders, or grinders, might need a little extra time to fully grind to a powder. This can cause heat to build up at the point where the blades meet the container. This may cause the coconut to release its oil. If you're unsure about whether this might be a problem with the tools you have, you might try grinding the coconut separately so that it retains its flavors a bit longer. 

Did You Make This Recipe?

How you went with my recipes? Tag me on Instagram at @transchef.


164 views0 comments
Andie Yancey

Updated: May 4, 2024


Ratatouille is one of those country dishes that, despite its simple ingredients and appearance, is surprisingly complex to produce well. If you’re not careful it can easily turn into a watery/oily bowl of mushy vegetables. Something no one ever wants! However, with a couple simple little steps you’ll be well on your way to mastering not only ratatouille, but a whole world of wonderfully exciting veggie dishes that will keep your family coming back for MORE!


Looking back ratatouille was not a dish I remember anyone every mentioning outside of cooking school. Even then it was basically a bowl of non-descript veggies floating in an oily broth. Which is really kind of sad because that area of the country grew some really amazing produce during those times. Sadly, now even the smaller sellers have mostly moved on to buying wholesale veggies ripened on a truck instead of on the vine. Which I think has played a large part in detaching us from our environment and food, but that’s a story for another time.


While the name “ratatouille” is relatively newish in terms of food history first appearing in print around 1930s, the dish itself has a much longer history dating back to at least 18th century. Originating in Nice in southern France, ratatouille (or as it’s sometimes called “ratatouille niçoise”) is a perfectly lovely way for farmers (and us) to use up leftover and/or damaged summer vegetables. Something else that might surprise you is most ratatouille recipes I’ve seen over the years are VEGAN.

Ratatouille

Serves: 6

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cooking Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients

  1. 1 medium aubergine (eggplant), unpeeled and diced into 1-inch squares (About 16 oz)

  2. 12 oz / 2 cup courgetti (zucchini), diced into 1-inch squares (peeled or unpeeled is fine)

  3. 12 Oz / 2 cup yellow squash, diced into 1-inch squares (peeled or unpeeled is fine)

  4. 1-2 poblano peppers, seeded and ribs removed, cut into large dice

  5. 1 cup diced onion

  6. 3 garlic cloves, peeled and diced

  7. 1 1/2 cups ripe bell pepper, seeded and ribs removed, cut into large dice (red, yellow and orange are fine.)

  8. 3/4 cup fresh sweet basil, whole leaves and unpacked (tarragon works as well, but you'll only want to use about a 1/2 tsp of the dry.)

  9. 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (1/4 - 1/2 tsp dry)

  10. 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme (1 tsp dry)

  11. 6-8 oz good quality black olives, packed in brine or oil

  12. 2 tbsp tomato paste

  13. 4 medium tomatoes, skinned and de-seeded. Chop into 1-inch squares (canned whole tomatoes squished with your hands work just fine if fresh are out of season.)

  14. 1 cup extra virgin olive oil (you may not need all the olive oil.)

  15. 1/2 cup vegetable stock (chicken stock would be fine too for a non-vegan option.)

  16. 1/4 cup dry white wine or French vermouth

Note: In general you will use about 1/2 the total amount herbs when substituting dry versus fresh herbs.

Instructions


Instructions:

  1. Pre-Heat your oven to 300 degrees F.

  2. In a shallow skillet, pour 4 tbsp (1/4 cup) of olive oil into a 12-inch skillet and turn the flame on med-high. Once the olive oil starts to ripple, place one layer of eggplant with small gaps between the pieces. Allow to brown on each side and set aside. Eggplant does suck up a good bit of oil when cooking. So you will most likely need to add up to 1/2 cup in small amounts, to fully brown all of your eggplant. The goal is to brown the eggplant to get color and flavor, but it doesn't have to be fully cooked at this stage.

  3. Add another 4 tbsp and continue to brown both squash and zucchini. Set aside in the same container as the eggplant.

  4. In a Dutch oven, or other heavy bottom pot, add 3 tbsp oil and allow to heat up. Then add the onions, bell pepper, poblano peppers and allow to cook until onions start to turn translucent.

  5. Make a well (an empty spot in the center of your pot) and add tomato paste, rosemary and thyme. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes while mixing into your veggies. Then add tomatoes and allow to cook for another 2-4 minutes. Turn off the stove.

  6. Add eggplant, squash and zucchini along with basil to the pot along with 1/2 cup of chicken stock, or water. Place the Dutch oven in the middle, center, of your oven and allow to simmer slowly for 45 minutes. Make sure to stir the mixture about halfway through the cooking time.

  7. Remove from the oven, uncover and remove stem(s) from any herbs you added. Place  olives over the top of the ratatouille and allow to come to room temperature. Serve with a cooked egg on top or with a side of pasta. Goes well with a crusty farmhouse bread!

  8. Ratatouille does use a good bit of oil when cooking. If you think you have added too much don't panic. Simply allow it to cool and the oil will float to the top for easy removal. Don't throw this oil away though! It will keep perfectly fine in the fridge for up to a week and is a lovely addition to other dishes and salads.

Did You Make This Recipe?

How you went with my recipes? Tag me on Instagram at @transchef.


Recipes and cooking times differ widely depending on who and when you ask, but the common ingredients include tomato, garlic, onion, courgetti (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), capsicum (bell pepper), and some combination of leafy green herbs common to the region like marjoram, and basil, or bay leaf and thyme, or a mix of green herbs like “herbs de Provence”.




54 views0 comments
Andie Yancey

Updated: May 4, 2024



If you’ve eaten Asian food there’s a good chance you’ve had 5 spice powder (wǔxiāng fěn, 五香粉, Pong Palo). Especially if you’ve had dishes with fatty meats, braised dishes or many stir-fried noodle dishes. It offers a deep, rich flavor that helps cut through the fat and I’ve heard it said “it brings harmony to chaos”. (Sadly I don’t remember where I heard the reference.)

The history of five spice powder is rather interesting, although murky and mysterious. The truth is no one is 100% sure when five spice powder was created, but it’s been traced back as far as fourth century BCE where it was used in Chinese medicine because it was seen as a perfect combination of all five flavors: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy.


Also, depending on the recipe you use, five spice powder often has more, or less, than 5 spices. For example, in southern China they’ll sometimes add Mandarin orange peel. Some recipes use white as well as black pepper, some only use Szechuan peppercorns and many even add powdered ginger. The flexibility of the spice can sometimes vary city to city, reign to reign, but there are a base group of spices that are always a “must include”… cinnamon, Szechuan peppercorns, star anise, fennel seeds and cloves.


But again, this seems to vary based on country. For example, the wonderfully talented (and beautiful) Pailin Chongchitnant from Hot Thai Kitchen says “5 is just a guideline. Even the ones you buy from the grocery store don’t always have 5 spices in them.” She also says when making Pong Palo (5 spice powder) it must have cinnamon and star anise, but the rest are optional.”


Finally, one of the niftiest things about five spice powder is it’s not just for Asian food. It’s also wonderful in BBQ sauces, fruit/meat pies and on the grill. So stock up and explore the wonderful world of five spice powder!

Five Spice Powder

Serves: 25

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cooking Time: 2 Minutes

Ingredients

  1. 1 cinnamon stick

  2. 1-2 star anise

  3. 2 tsp of Sichuan peppercorn

  4. 1/2 tsp fennel seeds

  5. 1/2 tsp coriander seeds (Optional, but I always include if I leave out white/black pepper.)

  6. 1 tsp white pepper (Optional, adds fruit flavors and a little heat)

  7. 1 tsp black pepper (Optional, adds mild heat and slight fruity flavors)

  8. 1 small black cardamom, or half of a large pod

  9. 1/2 tsp cloves

  10. 1/2 tbsp dried orange peel (optional, but I always include if I leave out white/black pepper.)

  11. 1 tsp ginger powder

Instructions

  1. Place all of your spices, except for the ginger powder, into a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. Grind completely until everything is a fine powder. If your coffee grinder doesn't mill all of your spices to completely smooth it's fine to pass the spices through a small sieve to remove the larger bits to regrind. (This sometimes happens on black cardamom pods.)

  2. Add ginger powder and stir to mix completely.

  3. Store your 5 spice powder for up to 3-6 months.

Notes

Most recipes ask you to roast/toast your spices BEFORE grinding them. I find that I get a better flavor when I use raw spices and allow them to toast in oil when actually cooking a dish so more of that aroma and flavor is passed into the food instead of potentially going stale in a bottle waiting for me to use it.

Did You Make This Recipe?

How you went with my recipes? Tag me on Instagram at @transchef.




258 views0 comments

© TRANSCHEF, LLC. Powered and secured by Wix

bottom of page