Spinach, Roasted Peanut And Tamarind Chutney "Spinach Thogayal"

I love greens. I have been eating one kind or the other since I have been very young. While it was more because of mom's compulsion before, I have to say I genuinely enjoy eating greens now. Furthermore, I have developed a healthy respect for their iron-rich properties. These days Spinach, Broccoli Rabe, Collards, Kale, Swiss Chard, Fenugreek Leaves are all consumed enthusiastically by the whole family. Yup Yup. We do. :)
You see,  I was raised a Lacto Vegetarian till I was 18, so we had to rely heavily on legumes, greens and dairy products for a balanced diet. Mom would make umpteen varieties of Kurma, Chutneys, Dips and Stew to please my palate as I was a super picky-eater. One of my favorite chutney was "Pulicha Keerai Thogayal(= Sorrel Leaves Chutney)". Mom would get a fresh bunch or two from the street hawker and make this chutney that I used to eat with warm rice topped with thick yogurt, like in the picture below..
Since I couldn't find 'Sorrel Leaves' I decided to use Spinach which is available in abundance where I live. :). This is a large batch that will keep well for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Ingredients(For 6-8 Servings):

• 8 Cups Packed Spinach, cleaned and completely drained of moisture
• 1/4 Cup Peanuts minus the shell
• Golf-Ball sized Tamarind, soaked in water plus seeds removed, if any
• 5-6 Dry red Chili or less if you can't take the heat
• 2 Roma Tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1/2 Medium Yellow Onion, finely chopped
• 2-3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 4 Tbsp Split Chick Pea/Bengal Gram
• 4 Tbsp Red Lentils or Split Pigeon Peas(Tuvar Dhal)
• 2 Stalks Curry Leaves
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil for saute-ing the veggies + 1 tsp each for wilting the spinach in batches + 1 Tbsp for frying the Lentils/Pulses
• Salt as needed

For Seasoning the chutney(Optional, but highly desired)

• 1 Tsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 tsp each Cumin Seeds, Mustard Seeds, Split Black Gram Seeds "Urad Dhal"
• 1 Red Chili
• Curry Leaves

Procedure:

• Roast the peanuts in a skillet over low-medium flame, stirring now and then for about 10 minutes. When its warm enough to handle, remove the skins from the peanuts. Do resist the temptation to eat them up.

• Keep the ingredients handy.

• In a tbsp of oil, fry the split chick pea. When it turns light brown add the red lentils and continue to fry.

• Add the red chilies when both the pulses have turned brown and fry for a minute. Switch off the stove and let it cool down. Soak the tamarind in warm water.This helps the tamarind to become soft and facilitates easy grinding.

• In a wide pan, add a tbsp of oil and saute the garlic, onions. When the onions are translucent, add the chopped tomatoes and saute till it loses the raw smell.

• Add the curry leaves, fry for a minute more and switch off the stove. Move it to a plate and let it cool before grinding.

• Divide the spinach into 3 batches and wilt them separately with a tsp of oil for each batch. Don't wilt it for more than a minute. It starts leaving water.

• Move the spinach to a plate and allow it to cool before grinding! Use the water it releases to grind the chutney.

• Add the toasted peanuts, softened tamarind(remove seeds if any), fried pulses + dry red chili mixture and grind them to a paste with very little water.

• The paste should look something like this:

• Now add the spinach to the above paste and "pulse" grind with little to no water until the it comes together as a coarse chutney. Do not make a smooth paste- it looks so very unappetizing that way!
• Seasoning the chutney(An entirely optional but highly desired step): Fry all the ingredients under "Seasoning" in the oil and pour over the chutney. Mix gently and serve with rice and yogurt or just with hot rice.I have never tried it as a dip with pita bread but its an exciting idea as well.

Makes 6-8 Servings.

If you are a lover of greens like me you would love "some" of my Spinach dishes too..Seeing an awful lot? Well atleast now you know I wasn't lying about my love for greens. LoL 
Spinach Dishes: Spinach, Veggie and 3-Cheese Lasagna, Spinach and Lentil Dry Curry with Grated Coconut Garnish,  Spinach And Artichoke Frittata,   Moroccan Chickpea, Spinach, Raisin and Couscous Stuffed Red Pepper,  Saag Paneer,  Puff-Pastry Spinach And Cheese Swirls.Pinwheels,  Spinach and Split-pea Stuffed Flat bread/Paratha,  Spinach Pesto with Pignoli,  Turkish Borek With Yufka leaves,  Microwaved Spinach and Malai Kofta.

Enjoy!