Sweet Tamarind Chutney (Imli chutney)

Sweet Tamarind Chutney
Tamarind or Imli chutney is a must condiment for any chaat snack. It can be prepared in advance and can be stored for days.
Ingredients:

• Tamarind (Imli) – 2 cups without seeds
• Jaggery (Gur) – 1 cup
• Sugar – 1 cup
• Pitted dates (Pind khajoor) – 1 cup [OPTIONAL]
• Roasted cumin seeds – 2 tsp
• Red chili powder – 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder – 1 tsp
• Rock salt -  2 tsp
• Water – 2 cups

Method:

1. In a heavy bottom pan, add tamarind, dates and water.
2. Boil it first and let it simmer on medium low heat for 15 minutes. Check, all the dates and tamarind become pulp. Cool it a bit and sieve the pulp through a thin strainer.
3. Put the pulp back in the pan; add jaggery, sugar and all the spices. Cook on medium low heat till the sauce starts to thicken.
4. Dip a spoon in the sauce, if it coats the spoon evenly and is not too runny, tamarind chutney is ready.
5. It can be stored in an air tight container, in the refrigerator for a month.

Enjoy tangy and sweet tamarind chutney with your favorite snack or in any chaat.

Tangy Tomato Chutney

This tangy tomato chutney is my mom's recipe. I have been eating this chutney since my childhood and often love to make it myself.
Ingredients:
For Tomato chutney: [for 4 servings]

• Ripe red tomatoes - 6
• Fresh curry leaves - 6
• Onion - 1/2 thinly sliced
• Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Asafatida powder-1 pinch
• Green chili - 1 (finely chopped)
• Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tbsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar or gur - 2 tbsp
• Olive oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt as per taste
• Fresh cilantro - 1 tbsp for garnish

Method:

1. Dice tomatoes in small cubes. Keep aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Let it crackle. Then add asafatida powder and sliced onions. Saute it, till turns light golden.
3. Add ginger-garlic paste, chopped green chilies and fresh curry leaves. Cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add diced tomatoes, red chili powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder and let it simmer for 10 minutes on medium-low heat.
5. Add sugar or gur to the gravy and simmer it on low heat for 5 more minutes.
6. Tomato chutney is ready to be served.

Serving Suggestions:
Garnish tangy tomato chutney with freshly chopped cilantro. Enjoy with methi paratha or any other paratha of your choice.

Hot and sweet Lemon pickle

Hot and sweet Lemon pickle
This recipe is for very spicy and sweet lemon pickle. It is a condiment that can be served at breakfast with any kind of parathas or with the meal.

Ingredients:

• Lemons - 15
• Lemon juice – 1/2 cup
• Mustard seeds (yellow split) - 1/2 cup
• Fenugreek seeds (methidana) - 2 tsp
• Fennel seeds - 2 tbsp
• Asafetida (hing) – 2 tsp
• Red chili powder  - 1/2 cup
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp
• Salt  - 1/2 cup
• Vinegar - 2 tbsp
• Sugar  - 2 cups
• Cooking oil - 1 cups

Method:

1. Wash and dry Lemons thoroughly.
2. Cut each lemon into 8 pieces. Keep them in a large bowl.
3. In a pan, dry roast fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and fennel seeds. Grind the roasted spices in grinder and keep aside.
4. In a large bowl, take the above roasted spice powder and also add red chili powder, turmeric powder and asafetida powder to it.
5. Heat oil in a separate pan and add it to the spice mix. Mix well.
6. Add all the above mixture to cut lemons. Once again mix well.
7. Now add lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and salt. Mix again.
8. Take a clean jar; fill it up with the above pickle.
9. Shake the jar every day for 10 days.
10. Store it in a clean and dry place. Pickle is ready to eat in a 2 weeks.

Serving suggestions:
Enjoy Hot and sweet lemon pickle with garma garam parathas (Indian bread) anytime of the day.

Hari Mirch ka Achaar (Green Chili Pickle)

Ingredients:
For Green chili pickle

Green chilies - 25
Lemon juice - 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds (yellow split) - 1/2 cup
Coriander seeds - 1/4 cup
Asafetida (Hing) - 1/4 tsp
Cumin (Jeera) - 2 tsp
Fennel seeds - 2 tbsp
Red chili powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp
Salt - 3 tbsp
Vinegar - 2 tbsp
Cooking oil - 1 cup

Method:

• Wash and dry green chilies thoroughly.
• Cut green chilies into small pieces. Be careful to either wear gloves while cutting green chilies or use a pair of scissors instead of knife.
• In a pan, dry roast cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds. Grind the roasted spices in grinder and keep aside.
• In a large bowl, take the above roasted spice powder and also add red chili powder, turmeric powder and asafetida powder to it.
• Heat oil in a separate pan and add it to the spice mix. Mix well.
• Add all the above mixture to the green chilies. Once again mix well.
• Now add lemon juice and vinegar. Mix again.
• Take a clean jar; fill it up with the above pickle. Also add some hot oil on the top.  So the pickle is completely submerged in the oil.
• Store it in a clean and dry place. Pickle is ready to eat in a week.

Serving suggestions:
Enjoy green chili pickle with garma garam parathas (Indian bread) anytime of the day.

Bhutte ke bhajiye [Corn fritters]

Rainy or gloomy weather calls for something hot, something crispy. What will be the better option than Spicy Fritters: Garma garam bhutte ke bhajiye with a cup of tea. Enjoy this easy recipe for corn fritters.

Ingredients;
For Corn fritters [Approx. 4 servings]
Corn kernels [Bhutte] -2 cups (frozen or fresh)
Gram flour [Besan] – 2 tbsp
Green chilies -2
Cilantro -1/2 cup (leaves only)

Dry spices:
Cumin seeds [Jira] – 1 tsp
Garam masala powder-1 tsp
Salt as per taste

For Garnish:
Chaat masala -2 tsp
Freshly squeezed Lemon juice -1 tbsp

Method:

• Thaw frozen corn kernels in microwave for 2 minutes. For fresh corn, carefully cut the kernels using sharp knife.
• In the food processer, add corn kernels and green chilies and pulse 4 times till it becomes coarse mixture. Keep aside.
• In a large bowl, add processed corn mixture, besan, cilantro and all dry spices. Mix well. Do not add water or it will make the batter runny.
• Heat cooking oil in a frying pan. Drop fritter batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil, and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Garnish:
Sprinkle chaat masala on the fritters and also add some lemon juice. Serve immediately. Enjoy with green chutney and a cup of hot tea.

Note: You can also make chaat of these fritters, just add green chutney, tamarind chutney, finely chopped sweet onions, finely chopped tomatoes, chopped cilantro, nylon sev and some chaat masala. Viola! Chaat is ready.

Hariyali Bhel Puri[Mumbai style street food/ Chaat]

Bhel puri or Bhel is a very common Western Indian Street food. This bhel is named Hariyali bhel as it calls for more Green Mint-cilantro chutney than the sweet tamarind chutney. Also it has abundant fresh cilantro for great flavor.

Ingredients:
For Hariyali bhel puri [6 servings]

Dry Ingredients:
Puffed rice – 2 cups
Papdi – ½ cup crushed [home made or store bought]
Ratlami sev – ½ cup
Namkeen mixture – ½ cup
Nylon sev – ½ cup

Wet Ingredients:
Boiled potatoes – 2 cups chopped
Sweet Onions -1 cup finely chopped
Tomatoes -  1cup finely chopped
Cucumber - 1cup finely chopped
Cilantro -1/2 cup finely chopped
Raw mango – ¼ cup finely chopped [if available]
Green Chutney – 3/4 cup
Sweet tamarind chutney -1/4 cup

Spices:
Chaat Masala* – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – ¼ tsp
Salt as per taste

Method:
Green Chutney : Pls. follow the link for Green chutney recipe.
http://shvetasrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/03/mint-cilantro-chutney-green-chutney.html
Tamarind chutney : Pls. follow the link for Tamarind chutney recipe.
Papdi : Pls. follow the link for papdi recipe.
http://shvetasrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/03/namkeen-papdi-for-papdi-chaat.html


For preparing Hariyali bhel puri:

• In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients. Mix well.
• Now add all the wet ingredients and spices. Mix well. Garnish with chopped cilantro and Nylon sev.
• Serve immediately or it will get soggy.

Enjoy this quick recipe as your evening snack.

*Chaat Masala, Nylon sev, Ratlami sev, Papdi and Namkeem mixture is easily available at all Indian grocery stores.

Chole tikki: An utimate Chaat

Chole Tikki: An ultimate Chaat
Chole tikki is one of the most common mouth-watering street foods. It is a kind of Chaat [Spicy and tangy snack] which is flavorful and filling at the same time.

Ingredients:
For the Aloo tikki: [Approx 8 tikkies]
 

Potatoes –3 medium [boiled and peeled]
Bread – 2 slice [cut the brown sides and use the white part only]
Green chilies –2 finely chopped
Cilantro – 2 tbsp finely chopped
Roasted Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Black pepper –1/2 tsp
Salt as per taste
Oil for shallow frying

For Chole:
Kabuli Chana or Chole [Garbanzo beans]dry – 1.5 cup
Tea bags- 2
Dry Ingredients for gravy:
Whole garam masala – 1 tbsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
Chana Masala -1.5 tbsp

Wet Ingredients for gravy:

Onion -3/4 (pureed or finely chopped)
Tomato puree -1 cups
Ginger paste – 1 tbsp
Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Green chili -1 tsp (finely chopped) [Optional]
Olive oil – 2 tbspn
Salt as per taste

Method: to make Aloo Tikki

• In a bowl, take boiled and peeled potatoes. Add bread, green chilies, cilantro, cumin powder, black pepper and salt. Mix very well and form a smooth dough if it. 
• Make 8 equal portions of the dough. Take each portion in your palm make a tennis ball sized ball. Now flatten it to make tikki. Tikkies can be round or oval shaped. Smooth out the edges of the tikkies and keep aside. [Apply little oil on your palms to avoid tikkies sticking on your hand].
• Heat griddle or pan, add 1 tbsp oil and fry the tikkies golden brown on both the sides. Keep the heat medium high. Drain them on kitchen towel and keep aside.

Method: to make Chole

• Wash dry Kabuli Chana or Chole a couple of times and soak them overnight in water.
• Add soaked chole, turmeric powder, salt and 4 cups of water and tea bags in the pressure cooker. Pressure cook it for 30 minutes on medium heat.
• For gravy, heat olive oil in a pan. Add whole garam masala. Let it crackle. Then add pureed onions and sauté it, till turns light golden. Add ginger paste, garlic paste and chopped green chilies (optional). Cook for 2 minutes.
• Add tomato puree, red chili powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder in the gravy and let it simmer for 5-6 minutes on medium-low heat.
• Discard the tea bags from the boiled chole. Add the gravy to the boiled chole and add a cup of water and simmer it on low heat for 10 minutes.
• Finally, add chana masala and let it simmer for 2 more minutes.
• Chole is ready to serve.

Garnish  and serving suggestions:
Place 2-3 Aloo tikkies on a serving plate. Pour 1-2 ladles full of Chole. Garnish it with sweet tamarind-date chutney, green chutney and spiced yogurt. Also add chopped red onion, namkeen sev and chopped cilantro.

Yummy Tikki-Chole is ready to eat.

Navratri Special: Singhara paratha with Aloo subzi [Potato curry]

Singhara Paratha with Aloo subzi [Potato curry] 

During fasting, one can only eat certain things. Singhara flour is one of those. Here I'm sharing with you my mom's recipe for making parathas from singhara flour [singhara atta] and simple aloo subzi.

Ingredients:

For making Singhara parathas:

Singhara flour - 1 cup
Potatoes -1 cup [boiled, peeled and mashed]
Green chilies- 1 finely chopped
Cooking oil for shallow frying

Salt as per taste

For making Aloo subzi [potato curry]:

Potatoes - 2 medium (boiled and peeled)
Tomatoes - 1 small (chopped)
Green chilies - 1 (finely chopped)
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Fresh cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped
Cooking oil - 1tbsp
salt as per taste

Method:

For making singhara paratha:

• In a large bowl, add singhara flour, boiled and mashed potatoes, green chilies, salt. Mix well. Add little water as needed to knead it into a smooth dough. Keep aside for 5 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 6 even parts. Make balls of each part nad very carefully roll them flat into parathas. If it is difficult to roll, try using parchment paper. Place the dough ball  between two sheets of parchment paper and gently roll. Later peel the parchment paper from both sides and shallow fry it on the griddle or frying pan using very little oil on both sides.
• Fry parathas till they trun golden brown on both sides. Parathas are ready to serve.

For making Aloo subzi:

• In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add cumin seeds and green chilies to it.
• Saute for 2 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and cook it for 5 minutes till tomatoes get little soft.
• Add red chili powder. Mix well. Now add 1 cup water to it. Bring it to a boil.
• Add boiled, peeled and chopped potatoes and salt. Also add 1/2 tsp sugar to neutralize the sour taste from tomatoes [optional].
• Cook for 5 more minutes and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

Enjoy garma garam parathas with aloo subzi.

More falahari recipes on this blog:
Sabuhana vada

Singhada aloo vada

Sabudana Khichadi

Healthy Brunch: Dal ke Parathe

Healthy Brunch: Dal ke Parathe
Dal ka parathe is perfect for Sunday brunch. It is healthy and flavorful. You can use also leftover dal for this recipe.
Ingredients:
For Dal ke Parathe: [5  servings]
Wheat Flour – 2 cups
Moong dal [Split yellow lentil] – 1 cup
Onion -1 cup chopped finely
Fresh chopped Garlic -1/2 tbsp
Fresh chopped Ginger -1/2 tbsp
Green chilies- 1tsp finely chopped
Cilantro -1/4 cup finely chopped

Dry Spices:Cumin seeds (Jira) – 1 tsp
Fennel seeds (Saunf) – 1 tsp
Asafoetida (Hing) powder -1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
Salt as per taste
Cooking oil for lightly shallow frying the parathas

Method:

• Wash Moong dal thoroughly. Boil washed moong dal using very little water and some salt or pressure cook it. When it is done, keep aside. For this recipe you can also use leftover dal for the parathas.
• Combine wheat flour, onions, ginger-garlic, green chilies and cilantro. Also add all the dry spices and finally cooked dal. Mix it all and knead well into dough. If necessary add very little water.
• Divide the dough into 10 equal portions and make even balls of it.
• Roll the dough balls into 8 inch diameter circles. Cook the parathas on hot griddle [tava] or a pan using very little oil on both the sides till it turns golden brown. Drain on the paper towel and keep aside.

Enjoy garma garam parathas with raita (yogurt) and achaar (pickle).

Lemon-Chili Pickle [Nimbu-mirchi ka Achaar]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lemon-Chili Pickle [Nimbu-mirchi ka Achaar]

Ingredients:
Lemons- 8
Green chilies- 15
Mustard seeds [yellow split] – 3/4 cup
Coriander [coarsely ground]- 1/2 cup
Fenugreek [coarsely ground]- 1/2 cup
Cloves – ½ tbsp
Fennel seeds – 2 tbsp
Cinnamon – 2 sticks
Cardamom pods – 5
Black pepper [whole]- 1 tsp
Cooking oil – 2 cups
Red chili powder – 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tbsp
Salt- ½ cup


Method:

• Wash and dry lemon and green chilies separately.
• Cut lemon and green chilies into small pieces. Try to discard all the lemon seeds. Add turmeric and salt to lemon and green chilies and keep it in a glass bowl over night.
• Next morning, mix well and keep aside.
• In a pan, dry roast cinnamon, cloves, coriander, fenugreek, cardamom, black pepper and fennel seeds. Grind the roasted spices in grinder and keep aside.
• In a large bowl, mix all the above roasted spices and also add red chili powder to it.
• Heat oil in a separate pan and add it to the spice mix. Mix well.
• Add all the above mixture to the lemon and green chilies. Once again mix well.
• Take a clean jar; fill it up with the above pickle. Also add some hot oil on the top.  So the pickle is completely submerged in the oil.
• Store it in a clean and dry place. Pickle is ready to eat in a week.

Serving suggestions:
Enjoy Lemon-chili pickle with garma garam parathas [Indian bread] anytime of the day.

Mint-Cilantro Chutney [Green Chutney]

Mint-Cilantro Chutney [Green Chutney]

One of my favorite condiments is green chutney. It is so refreshing; it reminds me of cool summer days. It can be accompanied by most of the appetizers and it is also great with a meal. It is good for health as it helps digest the food properly. You can make this chutney in bulk and freeze for weeks to come. So here comes the simple yet flavorful recipe of Mint-Cilantro chutney.

Ingredients:
For Mint Cilantro Chutney [12 servings]

Cilantro – 2 bunches [Fresh]
Mint – 1 bunch [Fresh]
Sweet Onion -1/2
Green chilies - 1-2
Garlic – 3 cloves
Ginger – 1 inch root [peeled]
Lime Juice – 2 tbsp fresh

Dry Ingredients:

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Namkeen sev [Bhujiya] -1 tbsp
Salt as per taste

Method: 

• Wash thoroughly cilantro and mint leaves and keep aside. Chop sweet onions in big chunks. 
• In the food processor, add all the above ingredients including dry ingredients and grind it to make a thick sauce. 
• Green chutney is ready to be served or store it in the refrigerator for the later use.

Serve fresh with any meal, snack or appetizers.

Sending my entry to:

Herbs and Flowers in my platter - Mint @ Seduce your Tastebuds