Gongura pachadi also known as gongura chutney is a Andhra style side dish made with sorrel leaves, red chilies, garlic and other basic spices. Red sorrel leaves are called as gongura or puntikura in Telugu, pulicha keerai in Tamil, punde pale in Kannada and Ambaadi in Marathi, pitwaa in Hindi. These leaves taste sour & can help in alleviating symptoms of cold, cough and fever too. They also increases appetite since it is high in vitamin C.
These leaves hold a special place in the Andhra cuisine especially in and around Guntur region. These leaves are used in various dishes in everyday cooking.
Apart from the pickle, other popular dishes are gongura pappu, gongura mamsam, gongura royalu, chicken curry and dry gongura chicken fry which are prepared with these red sorrel leaves.
I am sharing 2 recipes in this post. One is made like the nilava pachadi or pickle and the other one is a chutney.
Method 1 – gongura pickle
To make this pachadi, I cleaned and plucked the leaves first. Then measured them tightly to fill a 3 liters pot. This is just for you to know how much I used for this recipe.
Rinsed them thoroughly few times in clean water, drained them and then spread them on a clean cotton cloth. The leaves must wilt slightly on their own and no moisture should be left. It just took 10 hours for me on a hot day.
How to make gongura pachadi
1. Heat 3 to 4 tbsp oil in a pan.
2. Add the leaves to the hot pan.
3. Fry until the leaves wilt completely. Set them aside to cool completely.
4. To the same pan, add more oil and fry the red chilies until crisp. Switch off and add cumin/ jeera.
5. When they cool down add them to a blender along with garlic and salt.Blend until smooth.
6. Add the leaves and pulse to get a coarse texture.
7. Traditionally pachadi is made coarse. You can temper with curry leaves, chana dal and urad dal if desired. Adjust salt and spice now. If it is not spicy enough, fry more red chilies & blend. Then mix with gongura pickle.
Transfer to a clean air tight glass jar and store in the refrigerator.
Method 2 – gongura chutney
This chutney is prepared in many ways, but this is how my mom prepares. Many like to temper the chutney with shrimps / prawns (crispy deep fried or tawa fried). Since my mom tempers it with Vadiyalu and majjiga mirapakayalu. You can even use white sesame seeds. If you haven’t tried with this kind of a tempering, do try it.
I have given the recipe in the recipe card below.
for more pachadi or chutney recipes, check
green tomato chutney
beerakaya pachadi
menthakku pachadi
dondakaya pachadi
Recipe card
Gongura pachadi (gongura pickle)
Gongura chutney is a popular pachadi made using red sorrel leaves. It can be served with rice or chapathi or dosa.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Prep Time15 minutes minutes
Cook Time15 minutes minutes
Total Time30 minutes minutes
Servings3 to 4
AuthorSwasthi
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 2 cups red sorrel leaves or gongura tightly packed
- 1 large onion (cut to quarters)
- 3 to 4 Green Chilies
- Salt to taste
Tempering for gongura chutney
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- ¼ tsp mustard
- ¼ tsp cumin or jeera
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 red chili
- 4 to 8 Majjiga Mirapakayalu (curd chilies)
- Vadiyalu as needed (can use minapa (urad dal) or pesara (moong dal) vadiyalu)
Instructions
Pick the leaves from the stalks and Wash them 3 to 4 times in a large pot. Drain them aside for at least 10 mins in a colander.
In a large bowl add leaves, onions, green chilies and 3 tbsp water. Boil all these till the leaves are fully cooked.
After the leaves are cooked, If there is more water left, discard it or evaporate it by cooking for longer. You can even steam cook them.
Once cool, grind all the cooked ingredients with salt.
Tempering gongura chutney
Heat oil in a pan. Deep Fry majjiga mirchi set aside. Deep fry vadiyalu set aside. Remove excess oil and keep only a tsp of oil in the pan, add red chilies, mustard, cumin and garlic. Once they splutter. Off the heat. Mix chutney with all the fried and tempered ingredients.
Serve gongura pachadi with hot rice and a spoon of ghee.
Notes
Vadiyalu can be replaced with Shrimps or cooked soya chunks
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
Nutrition Facts
Gongura pachadi (gongura pickle)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 117Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Sodium 24mg1%
Potassium 232mg7%
Carbohydrates 7g2%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 2045IU41%
Vitamin C 44.8mg54%
Calcium 35mg4%
Iron 0.9mg5%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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