Peanut chutney powder also known as shenga chutney pudi is actually a North Karnataka dish prepared using peanuts, red chili powder, curry leaves, garlic, tamarind, jaggery and salt.
Heat a pan or kadhai and dry roast peanuts on low flame until they get roasted well and brown spots appear on them. Transfer it to another plate. Cool completely. You can also roast the peanuts in the air fryer.
In the same kadai add curry leaves and dry roast on medium flame until they turn dry and crispy. Cool Completely.
Add all the ingredients mentioned in the ingredients section into a mixer jar.
Dry grind it using the pulse mode to make a coarse powder. (*SEE VIDEO FOR REFERENCE)
Transfer it back to the plate, and mix it well. Yields 1 cup of chutney powder.
Store it in an airtight container. Serve it with roti or chapathi. Also tastes great when mixed with oil or curd.
Notes
Tips:
I have roasted the peanuts on the gas top on a Kadai, but you can also microwave for 2-3 minutes till they are roasted, OR you can use store-bought roasted peanuts to fasten the process.
The red color of this shenga chutney pudi mainly comes from the chili powder used. I got this red chili powder made in my hometown (made using Byadgi red chilies + Guntur chilies), but you can also use Kashmiri red chili powder to get this color.
Dry-grind the peanut mixture only after it's cooled completely; otherwise, there is a chance of oil oozing out.
You can also dry roast curry leaves in the microwave for 90-120 seconds; check in between.
Variations:
Jaggery is optional, so you can make spicy chutney powder without adding it too.
You can also use 2 tablespoons of roasted sesame seeds, flax seeds, or dry coconut and reduce the same amount of peanuts from the ingredients for healthier variation.
Please do not remove the skin of peanuts, as they are very nutritious.
Some people also use whole, dry red chilies to make this groundnut chutney powder. But I prefer using chili powder since it's easily available at home any time of the year.
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.