chutney – Page 2

Nacho’s Aloo Chat:

August 17, 2018

This 72nd Indian Independence Day, my daughters’ school had organised a fund-raising event and my daughters wanted to make a couple of attractive dishes with no usage of gadgets, on the spot kind of menu. They made a group of 9 kids and chalked down ideas decided to do Nachos. One dish was nachos with dips and deciding one more item was the task. Finally, I also chipped in and after a couple of ideas we all finalised with the Nacho aloo chat.

Now started my headache of deciding on how to make it, quantity of the ingredients etc. Because quantity was huge, and preparation should happen at the early morning as well. Kids wanted to do a food photography for their banner and board to hang in their food stall. I grabbed the opportunity and thought of making Aloo chat for their group which contained 9 students. Last Sunday, made tamarind and date chutney, and went ahead with one kg of potato. So, that I would know, how many plates we can make from this much.

After preparing and plating, it turned out well and kids were happy with the dish as well as they enjoyed the activities of banner making, painting the board and food photography as well.

I was relieved and finalised the quantity. Why I made this post is – it is a perfect dish for any parties and this mixture turned out very good and as a tasty sandwich stuffing as well, with a little grated cheese.

Pic by : Aneesh Navanale

Let us see how I planned and proceeded.

Event was on Wednesday morning.

Sunday, I made tamarind and Date chutney and stored it in a fridge.

Monday, I made Mint and coriander chutney and stored it in a fridge.

Tuesday night before going to bed, cooked whole potatoes, drained and kept it for cooling.

1 kg of potato yields 10 to 12 plates of chat. So, used 5 kgs of potatoes for around 50 to 60 plates.

Wednesday morning peeled the potatoes, diced into small bits and proceeded.

Khatta Meeta tamarind and Dates chutney:

Ingredients :

Dates – 200 grams (please adjust according to its sweetness)

Tamarind – 100 grams (please use according to sourness of the tamarind)

Jaggery – As needed.

Green chillies – 2

Red chilli powder

Black Salt or Sea salt – very little

Roasted cumin powder

Method:

-Mine is home grown, hand cleaned tamarind, so I went ahead as it is. If it is store bought one, please remove any impurities.

-Boil one to two cups of water, soak tamarind and pitted dates in it.

-After an hour, grind this in a mixer grinder by adding 1 or 2 green chillies. You will get very smooth paste.

-Adjust the consistency by adding water and boil. While boiling add red chilli powder, salt, cumin powder and required amount of jaggery.

Once cooked, raw smell of dates, tamarind and jaggery is vanished, switch off the gas.

Cool completely and store it in a refrigerator.

Note:

I usually prefer to make little thicker version. So that, if thicker or thinner version is needed, scoop out a little from this batch, adjust by adding little water.
Adjust the ingredient according to your taste.
One can add more jaggery if mixture is sour.

Green chutney/ Mint – Coriander chutney:

This is my basic sandwich chutney, which I usually make and store it in a fridge for an emergency use.

Ingredients:

Coriander – ½ bunch.

Pudina – 1 small bunch

Green chillies – 1 or 2

Garlic – 2 cloves

Cumin – 1 tea spoon (without roasting)

Dry mango powder – ½ tea spoon

Salt

Sugar or jaggery – ½ tea spoon

Ready sev or boondi – 2 to 3 tea spoons (to give thickness)

Method:

-Wash coriander, pudina, green chillies, drain, chop.

-Put everything and grind in a mixer grinder by adding required amount of water.

-I normally store this as a thick chutney. So that if it is sandwich, use as it is like a spread. If it is chat, adjust the consistency by adding water.

For Aloo Chat:

Pic by : Aneesh Navanale

I am giving here for the quantity of one kg potato. Which will yield approximately 12 plates of ready chat.

Ingredients:

Potato – 1 kg

Tomato – 3 (big)

Onion – 2 (big)

Lemon – ½ to 1

Green Coriander – As needed

Black salt – As needed

Cumin powder – As needed

Chat masala – As needed

Dry mango powder – As needed

Sweet chutney – As needed

Green chutney – As needed

Nacho chips – As needed

Corn mixture – As needed

Thin Sev – As needed

Method:

–Wash potato,cook whole potatoes by immersing in water by adding very little salt ( potato should absorb very little salt) for one whistle in a pressure cooker, drain and keep it for cooling.

-When it is cool, peel outer skin,dice potatoes in to small chunks. Chop onion and tomatoes in to small pieces.

-Chop coriander as well.

-Take one big bowl. Mix in chopped potatoes, onions, tomatoes.

-Pour sweet chutney, green chutney, black salt, cumin powder, chat masala, dry mango powder and lemon juice and adjust the seasoning according to your taste.

-Take a serving plate, spread nacho chips at first.

-As a second layer, spread potato mixture over chips layer.

-Sprinkle corn mixture, sev , chopped coriander and serve.

Potato and cheese / Aloo Sandwich:

If this above ready mixture is available, you can make and serve awesome tasty sandwiches as well.

Just take a couple of breads. Spread aloo mixture over one bread. Grate some cheese and close with another slice of bread. Apply some butter and grill or roast it on Dosa tawa and enjoy.

Garlic Chutney Powder:

July 25, 2018

Basically, it is a very simple garlic flavoured dry coconut chutney. One of the most loved condiments of my kitchen. It works wonders when you sprinkle it on Dosa or onion uthappam while making. When you are lazy to prepare fresh coconut chutney, take this chutney powder and drizzle some coconut oil and relish with any south Indian breakfast items. It works just fine with North Indian Parata as plain or mix it with sweetened curds and relish. It tastes yummy with hot rice as well with ghee. Sometimes I even use this chutney powder as a stuffing for some veggies as well 😉. So, overall it is a multi-dimensional ingredient.

Garlic is intensely high on aroma as well as flavour. When you roast it and use it, aroma increases even more. It is considered as very good for human health. Garlic is widely used in medicinal purpose to combat many illnesses.

As we grow coconut in our coastal area, chutney powder will be made by adding dried coconut and because of its no moisture content, shelf life of the powder increases, and health benefit of dry coconut can be included by this way as well. Health benefit of dry coconut is many, and it contains many essential nutrients, dietary fibres and some important minerals as well.

I use Urad dal for its nutritional benefit as well as for its aroma with added benefits from the Chillies and curry leaves as well as sharing one more version of chutney powder with added neem flower at the end of this post.

Now I will jump into the procedure –

Ingredients:

Dry coconut / Copra – 2

Dry red chillies – 20 to 25 (Byadagi)

Urad dal – 1 to 2 table spoons

Garlic – 2 (whole)

Curry leaves – 10 – 15 strings

Tamarind – 1 tea spoon

Salt – as needed

Sugar or jaggery powder – as needed.

-At first, slice coconut into thin chips.

-I usually air dry these slices for one or two days in open air (optional)

-Wash curry leaves and spread this to air dry.

-Dry coconut has high degree of oil content and while roasting and powdering, it tends to leave oil and becomes wet. When I tried to make after air drying, it never becomes wet and powdering becomes very easy.

-After air drying, make powder by using mixer grinder. This step will help in equal roasting.

-Take one kadai, dry roast urad dal until it becomes light brown.

-Dry roast garlic (I usually clean only loose skin of garlic clove and leave inner skin intact).

-Dry roast air dried curry leaves until crisp.

-Roast Red chillies by sprinkling some coconut oil.

-Dry roast coconut powder.

-Spread everything and cool.

-Take one mixer grinder, powder urad dal, red chillies at first. Then add curry leaves and powder.

-To this add garlic and use “PULSE” option and churn for a short interval.

-Now you will see a mass of masala.

-Take out all this and mix with roasted and cooled coconut.

-Now add salt, sugar or jaggery, tamarind and mix.

-Now take this mixture little by little and “pulse” in a mixer grinder to attain powder form.

-After completing the procedure, use dry hand and mix a whole lot of chutney powder nicely in one vessel.

-Check for salt, sugar, chilli.

-If needed add red chilli powder, salt or sugar and adjust.

-After it cools down, store it in a dry container. It stays good for 3 to 4 months in normal temperature or without any refrigeration.

Garlic Chutney powder with Neem Flower: Perfect for winter months.

Same recipe to follow and If you want to add Neem flowers in this chutney recipe, you can use dried neem flowers with all the other ingredients of garlic chutney powder.

Dry roast sun dried flowers for a couple of minutes, cool and add with other ingredients while dry grinding the powder and enhance the nutrition value during winter months.

It equally tastes great like regular garlic chutney powder.

Karkali / Arbi leaves Chutney:

July 21, 2018

Monsoon is the time, we relish our dose of colocasia leaves, which is known as “Kesavu” in Kannada. Coastal people relish Pathrode, which is a rice batter smeared steam cooked rolls. Apart from this we usually relish its chutney and with mix veg curry as well. It goes very well with hot rice with a dollop of ghee or coconut oil.

Colocasia leaves has many names in India. It is known as Taro leaves, Arbi leaves, pathra leaves, Alu chi bhaji, kesavina ele and so on. Every state has its own speciality with this iron rich leaves. Because it tends to get itchy, we need to add sufficient amount of tamarind and it should get balanced with the taste.

If you learn the trick of this, half the battle is won, and you can master the art of cooking this leaf for sure. In our traditional preparation, we do use bird eye chilli for this chutney and if you don’t have access, you can use normal green chilli as well.

How to make this flavourful chutney:

Ingredients:

Arbi leaves – 12 to 14

Bird eye chillies – 8 -10 (if green chilli use 4 to 6)

Salt

Tamarind powder or tamarind – 1 ½ tea spoon

Garlic – 8- 10 cloves

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 3 table spoons

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Chopped garlic – 4 to 5

Dried Red chilli – 1 (optional)

Method:

-Wash Arbi leaves as well as its stem and bird eye chillies.

-Chop leaves and stem.

-Take one cooker, add chopped leaves, stem, chillies, garlic, tamarind, salt and cup of water.

-Cook for 2 whistles, when it is cool, grind the content into smooth paste.

-Prepare seasoning, heat oil, splutter mustard, add curry leaves and chopped garlic and fry.

-To this seasoning, pour the ground mixture and boil it nicely.

-Serve this with hot rice and ghee or coconut oil.

Mavinakai Chutney/ Raw Mango and Coconut chutney:

April 24, 2018

There are so many ways to make lip smacking good Mango chutney. This is traditional mango chutney from Mangalore, South of Karnataka and it is mostly ground to a thicker consistency and is also called as Gatti chutney, which means thick raw mango chutney and is served with Kanji (Brown rice gruel) and ghee. It is our comfort food. DSC_0037_Fotor

Ingredients:

Grated Fresh coconut – 1 cup

Grated fresh green mango – ¼ cup

Green chillies – 2 to 3

Salt

Seasoning: Coconut oil, mustard, curry leaves.

Method:

-Put freshly grated coconut, grated green mango, green chillies and salt in a mixer grinder.

-Instead of green chillies, traditionally people use small bird eye chillies too. If you have that, you can use those chillies as well.

– Now blend the mixture in the mixer grinder coarsely, without adding any water. If juice from the raw mango is not sufficient, then add 1 to 2 tsp of water and grind to get this thick consistency.

-Prepare the seasoning and serve with Brown rice kanji and ghee.

Plantain / Banana Flower Chutney:

February 10, 2018

We call Coconut tree as a Kalpavriksha. In my opinion Banana plant also should come under this category, because almost every part of the banana plant is used in some way or the other.

The leaves, flowers, fruits, stem, stem fibre etc. Nothing is wasted over here, and it is very useful in many ways.

The male banana flower is purple coloured, dome shaped, and can be seen hanging at the bottom of every fruit bunch. In banana plant, female flowers appear first and appear as a hand like structure in clusters. These female flowers will develop as the real fruit, which we normally eat, and male flowers will remain intact in layers of purplish outer bracts.

After fruit matures, we harvest the fruit and use the male flower that we see at the end of the fruit bunch in cooking. It is loaded with fibre, anti-oxidants, iron, potassium, calcium, vitamins and all other minerals. Flower is used mainly to treat constipation and anaemia in villages of our native in and around Mangalore.

This Chutney recipe is handed down to me by my amma (mother), and I used to relish this from my childhood. It is a perfect combination with hot rice, topped with fresh home-made ghee. We can feed this to small toddlers as well.

Ingredients:

Banana flower – 1

Cumin – 1 tea spoon

Pepper – 1 tea spoon

Tamarind – ½ tea spoon

Salt

Water – 1 bowl

Curd – 1 serving spoon

Grated coconut – 1 cup

For Seasoning:

Ghee – 1 table spoon

Cumin – ½ teaspoon

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Wash banana flower from outside and remove outer purple bract (remove 2 layers) and discard.

-Now take one bowl of water with 1 serving spoon of curd and mix and keep it ready. (This water will avoid decolouration of the chopping’s)

-Start chopping banana flower from the tip (refer picture)

-Keep on adding chopped part to curd water.

-While chopping, whenever outer shell opens by itself, discard that and proceed chopping.

– After chopping is done, drain the curd water and collect the banana flower chopping’s.

-Take one vessel, add chopping’s, salt, pepper, cumin, tamarind, 1 cup water and cook.

-When it is done, remove from the fire and cool.

-Add coconut, required amount of water and grind the content.

-Now take one tawa, add ghee, cumin, curry leaves and pour the ground mixture and boil.

-This chutney will stay good for a couple of days under refrigeration and can be served either with hot rotis or with rice.

Cucumber Chutney:

January 10, 2018

When I saw this chutney recipe in our Facebook Foodie group, I was attracted mainly because of the veggie. One of my daughters loves cucumber and I tried this recipe by pairing it with very mild flavoured Fresh chick peas Pulav. It was a pair made in heaven, and everyone liked this chutney, not only with the Pulav, but also with rice, Dosa or chapati.

This recipe is by Jayanth Desai one of our Foodie member and all thanks to him for sharing this flavourful chutney of North Karnataka region.

Ingredients:

Cucumber – 2 (grated)

Green chillies – 3 to 4

Curry leaves – 2 strings

Turmeric – ½ tea spoon

Oil – 1 table spoon

Hing – ¼ tea spoon

Cumin – 1 tea spoon

Peanuts – 5 tea spoons

Sesame seeds – 2 tea spoons

Tamarind – gooseberry size

Jaggery – small piece

Salt

Seasoning:

Oil – 1 tea spoon

Mustard – ½ tea spoon

Peanut – 1 tea spoon

Method:

-Dry roast sesame seeds until it splutters.

-Dry roast peanuts. Keep aside.

-In the same pan, heat oil, add hing, cumin, curry leaves, green chillies and fry for a minute.

-Add grated cucumber, turmeric and fry until cucumber changes in colour and cooks.

-Cool the mixture.

– Take one mixer jar, add roasted sesame, peanuts and make powder.

-To this, add cooled cucumber mixture, jaggery, tamarind and salt.

– If necessary, add very little water and blend into smooth paste.

-Do seasoning by heating little oil, mustard and peanuts.

-Serve as you wish.

Ash gourd peel chutney:

October 20, 2017

In our native, we get very good, thick fleshed Ash gourd and usually outer skin (we call it as Odu) will be hard and usually remove ¼ an inch thick. After this we usually scrape the outer green part and use it in a dry curry/Subzi/palya. But what I get it in Bangalore has very thin outer skin and I usually peel only outer green part and use it in a really tasty chutney and it is very healthy as well as pairs very well with hot rice or Dosa or idly.

Ingredient:

Ash gourd peel – Whatever is available.

Green chillies – 2 to 3

Salt

Tamarind – ½ tea spoon

Coconut – ¼ cup to ½ cup

Method:

-Chop the peels and cook this with green chillies, tamarind and salt by adding very little water.

-When it is cooked, switch off the gas and cool the mixture.

-Grind with coconut by adding little water.

-Add seasoning as you wish.

-Serve either with rice or Dosa.

Kumbalakai/Ash gourd Dosa:

October 19, 2017

When I prepared Kashi halwa, so much quantity of the inner fleshy part was left and I was not in the mood to throw it away. I immediately made a couple of breakfast options from the remaining inner fleshy part, which can be made by adding ash gourd pieces as well. I feel that the inner core has more flavour than real ash gourd: D Ash gourd is considered as super food which has many healing properties and it is very good for the human body. It is low in calories hence it is good for weight watchers as well as diabetics.

This Dosa batter is like normal urad dal Dosa and one can prepare paper thin roasted Dosa or thick set Dosa as you wish.

Ingredients:

Dosa rice / White normal rice – 3 cups

Urad dal – ¼ cup

Ash gourd inner soft part – 3 cups (you can use ash gourd pieces as well)

Salt

Method:

-Wash Ash gourd, peel outer skin and remove inner core with seeded part. (Core part can be used to make Dosa batter)

-Remove seeds and take white part and keep it ready.

-Wash rice and dal together. Soak for 2 hours.

-Grind soaked rice and dal with ash gourd core part or pieces by adding sufficient salt.

-Batter should be smooth and consistency is like normal Dosa batter.

-Ferment this ground batter for 8 hours or overnight.

-Next day prepare Dosa as you wish.

-If you like crisp roasted one, spread as thin as possible on heated iron griddle.

-If you wish soft, porous kind, spread like a set Dosa and enjoy with coconut chutney.

Ash gourd Sweet Dosa:

October 18, 2017

Ash gourd or winter melon or white pumpkin has so many health benefits and it is literally the most ignored veggie of all. In our native we prepare so many varieties of dishes from this white coloured veggie. This Dosa is prepared by using the inner core of the vegetable by removing its seeds. You can make it sweet or plain, that is your choice. I like the sweeter version. It is very soft and melts in your mouth. Today we will see how it’s made.

ribbet 3_Fotor

Ingredients:

Dosa rice – 3 cups

Poha – 1cup

Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp

Ash gourd inner soft part – 1 cup (you can use white part as well)

Coconut gratings – ½ cup

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Salt and jaggery- to taste

If you want sweeter versions add jaggery or else you can omit.

Eno fruit salt – ½ tsp

Method:

-Wash Ash gourd, peel outer skin and remove inner core with seeded part. (Core part can be used to make Dosa batter)

Ribbet collage 1

-Remove seeds and take white part and keep it ready.

-Wash, soak rice, fenugreek seeds with sufficient water by putting beaten rice as well.

Ribbet collage 2

-After 3 to 4 hours of soaking, grind this by putting Ash gourd, jaggery, salt, turmeric, coconut into smooth batter. Check for sweetness or salt.

– Keep this batter for fermentation. In Bangalore weather, I usually grind any batter around afternoon, so that the next morning it will be perfect.

-The next morning add Eno fruit salt, mix nicely and keep aside for 10 minutes.

– Then you can start making Dosa on heated iron griddle. Take one serving spoon of batter and pour, don’t spread. Keep gas flame in simmer, spread little ghee, close the lid and cook. Don’t flip the Dosa. Only one side cooking is needed for this. Here I have used half serving spoon of batter for each small roundel. Personally, I like to serve this as small cute roundels.

-This Dosa tastes good with honey or onion and coconut chutney with red chillies.

Breadfruit Peel Chutney:

October 10, 2017

Yes!!! You heard it right. In our household we never throw out nutritionally filled outer peel of the veggie or the seeds. I normally make it a point to use as frequently as possible in one form or the other. Normally vegetable stock is an easy option. If only one variety is available, chutney or relish is an alternative tasty option too.

Don’t throw away organically grown or home-grown veggie skins. These are a real treasure of flavour and vitamins. Normally breadfruit is grown without any pesticide.

This chutney can be relished with hot plain rice with ghee or with any flat breads.

chutney main

Ingredients:

Breadfruit peel – From one fruit

Coconut – ½ cup

Urad dal – 1 tea spoon

Cumin – ½ tea spoon

Dried red chilli – 2

Green chilli – 1 or 2

Garlic – 3 to 4 cloves

Tamarind – ½ tea spoon

Coconut oil – 1 table spoon

Salt

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 tea spoon

Mustard – ½ tea spoon

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Wash bread fruit peel before peeling. Once again wash and remove white latex, which oozed out while peeling.

-Take one small kadai, pour oil, when it is hot add urad dal fry until it is light brown.

Ribbet collage 1

-Next add cumin, red chilli, and fry until chilli puffs and becomes crisp.

– Now add peels, garlic, green chilli and fry until outer peel changes its colour and wilts a little.

-Next you can add coconut, tamarind and salt, switch off the gas. Toss for one minute and cool this mixture.

-Grind this cooled mixture in a mixer grinder with enough water.

– Do seasoning by heating oil, splutter mustard and add curry leaves and pour it over the chutney.