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    Home » Recipes » TRADITIONAL

    Narthangai pachadi recipe | Traditional south Indian recipes

    December 13, 2013 by Raks Anand 15 Comments / Jump to Recipe

    Narthangai pachadi is a delicious side dish for curd rice or rasam rice, made mainly in Tamil Nadu. A traditional way I learnt from my Mother in Law, my mom aslo does the same way. You have almost all tastes in this pachadi.

    narthangai pachadi
    Narthangai pachadi

    Wanted to try narthangai pachadi when  I was in Chennai itself,, but could not find time. So yesterday when in-laws came, they got Narthangai (Citron) and I made this today itself to post it. I used to hate this one like anything when I was a kid. Will run miles away when I smell this. But nowadays I am loving it. Hope vj would also like it.

    When I was cutting the narthangai, the whole house was filled with fresh scent of this.  The smell is so so appetising. I am sure it has many medicinal values too. Normally we make a dry pickle (more of vathal- called uppu narthangai) that will be dark in colour  and just coated with salt. I should try making that one later.

    Today I asked the recipe and followed my MIL’s instructions and finally I made it  and had narthangai pachadi. It's easy to make, I never expected that it will be an easy process. I loved it a lot.

    Check my Narthangai sadam (citron rice) and narthangai rasam

    narthangai pachadi
    narthangai-pachadi
    Print Pin
    5 from 1 vote

    Narthangai pachadi

    Narthangai pachadi is a delicious side dish for curd rice or rasam rice, made mainly in Tamil Nadu. A traditional way I learnt from my Mother in Law, my mom aslo does the same way.
    Course Condiments
    Cuisine Indian
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 30 minutes
    Servings 2 cups

    Equipments (Amazon Affiliate links)

    • knife
    • chopping board
    • ladle
    • Pan/kadai
    • Boiling pot
    Cup measurements

    Ingredients

    • 4 Citron, narthangai
    • 2 tablespoon Tamarind A small orange sized
    • 20 Green chillies
    • 1 tablespoon Ginger chopped
    • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
    • 2 pinch Asafoetida generous
    • 1 tablespoon Jaggery
    • Salt - As needed

    To temper

    • 3 tablespoon Oil
    • 1 teaspoon Mustard
    • 1 tablespoon Chana dal Add more if you like
    • 1 sprig Curry leaves
    • 1 pinch Asafoetida generous
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Cut the citron and remove the seeds and chop into tiny pieces. My mom cuts into strips but MIL into tiny pieces. So its up to your choice when it comes to size.
    • Soak tamarind in hot water and extract the juice.
    • Make it 3 & ½ cups by adding more water.
    • Add the chopped citron, salt, turmeric and boil it in medium flame.
    • Temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table, followed by ginger and green chilli and transfer it to the boiling pachadi.
    • Once it reduce to half, add jaggery and mix well, switch off the flame and store in a closed container once cooled down.

    Video

    Notes

    • You can store this outside fridge for 2 days but have to reheat well every night. Otherwise you can store in fridge for 1 month.
    • Balance the tamarind, chillies and salt, jaggery to reduce the bitterness of this lemon.
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    Stepwise images

    1. Cut the citron and remove the seeds and chop into tiny pieces. My mom cuts into strips but MIL into tiny pieces. So its up to your choice when it comes to size.cut
    2. Soak tamarind in hot water and extract the juice. Make it 3 & ½ cups by adding more water. Add the chopped citron, salt, turmeric and boil it in medium flame.2-pachadi
    3. Temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table, followed by ginger and green chilli and transfer it to the boiling pachadi.3-boil
    4. Once it reduce to half, add jaggery and mix well, switch off the flame and store in a closed container once cooled down.4-reduce

    Serve with curd rice, the best. It is good for inducing hunger. The flavor itself will be very appetizing.
    Citron narthangai pachadi

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    • Mothagam recipe, Ganesh chaturthi recipes, Vella kozhukattai

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. jeyashri suresh

      December 13, 2013 at 10:50 am

      We make a similar one with orange peel. Lovrly presentation. Best combo with vathakuzhambhu

      Reply
    2. AparnaRajeshkumar

      December 13, 2013 at 10:50 am

      My Grand ma use to prepare, Even i wont like this , But i like it as a pickle. (narthangai oorukai the black one as u mentioned)

      Reply
    3. Nithya Ravi

      December 13, 2013 at 12:10 pm

      We have this with dosa and it also tastes good when mixed with rice.Simply tangy.

      Reply
    4. Veena Theagarajan

      December 13, 2013 at 12:23 pm

      this looks the one similar to my great grand ma dish with Narathangai.. It used to be one of my fav.. but after coming to SG it has become rare item

      Reply
    5. Sowmya Madhavan

      December 13, 2013 at 12:38 pm

      So tempting .. Yumm with curd rice

      Reply
    6. Sangeetha M

      December 13, 2013 at 3:11 pm

      My Grandma makes only pickle with it, this pachadi sounds interesting and new to me...nice presentation 🙂

      Reply
    7. Geetha

      December 13, 2013 at 5:21 pm

      Good to see your blog being listed in The top 30 Indian food bloggers of 2013 on Rediff. Congrats.

      Reply
    8. Subha kumar

      December 13, 2013 at 6:43 pm

      Looks very tempting………………… Perfect clicks as usual. Thanks for sharing. It will go with anything, sambar satham, rasam satham, thayir satham, arisi uppma……. Yummmmmm. My all time favorite Raji. We used to add fenugreek seeds instead of channa dal. Otherwise, procedure looks very similar. Here in US, I used to make sour oranges pachadi following the same procedure. Do try this too Raji.

      Reply
    9. Torviewtoronto

      December 13, 2013 at 7:46 pm

      looks wonderful lovely pictures

      Reply
    10. anusha praveen

      December 14, 2013 at 4:39 am

      this is truly an enticing recipe Raji my MIL makes this and i have had the fortune to eat it only once. We never get narthankai here but this and a bowl of curd rice can make me go gaga

      Reply
    11. LG

      December 16, 2013 at 8:19 am

      Very yummy pachadi indeed and they are healthy too. Do we get Narthangai here in Singapore? I read your post that your inlaws bought them.

      Reply
    12. usen lat

      January 10, 2014 at 11:29 am

      I like this website but Indian food is very spice and testy like palak paneer, matar paneer it's very testy. If you want this test so go for Indian food in Australia .

      Reply
    13. Kavita Suresh

      January 18, 2014 at 2:32 pm

      I am going to make this with orange peel today. You have not mentioned when to add the 3 generous pinches of asafoetida. Should we add that along with salt and turmeric or should it be added to tempering? Kindly clarify. Thanks so much.

      Reply
    14. Raks anand

      January 18, 2014 at 2:37 pm

      You can add it while tempering. If you like raw asafoetida smell, then half while tempering and half along turmeric

      Reply
    15. Anil Reddy

      January 31, 2014 at 12:54 pm

      This is one of the best Indian recipes guide. Thanks for sharing. Best platform for learners for those who are trying to learn how to cook south Indian recipes.

      Reply

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    Raks anand

    Hi, I'm Rajeswari Vijayanand! I am the person behind Rakskitchen, sharing recipes with pictures & videos.

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    Raks anand

    Hi, I'm Rajeswari Vijayanand! I am the person behind Rakskitchen, sharing recipes with pictures & videos.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Medhu vadai, Ulundu vadai recipe - With video
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    Summer recipes

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