Tag Archives: Chutney

Recipes: No Onion, No Garlic Tomato Peanut Chutney

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During Navratri, I don’t use onions and garlic in my cooking. My cooking during those 10 days is more satvic in nature and so it sometimes becomes a challenge to figure out recipes to make which don’t incorporate the two almost essential ingredients in Indian cooking. Though, if I am to be completly honest, tambram cooking generally does not use the two ingredients. But we were getting bored of traditional recipes and so I tried this recipe which was an experiment of sorts. It did come out quite nice and was a good accompaniment to not only idlis and dosais, but also as a substitute to sandwich chutneys.

No Onion, No Garlic Tomato Peanut Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 6-8 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
  • 8-10 curry leaves
  • 5-6 fresh red chillies (you can also use green chillies if you don’t have access to red chillies)
  • 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
  • 2 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
  • 1 tsp oil
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Heat oil in a pan and when warm, add the mustard seeds and let them pop.
  • Then add the turmeric powder, asafoetida powder and stir for a couple of seconds.
  • Next, add the curry leaves and red chillies and stir till the chillies start to brown and the curry leaves become crisp.
  • Now add the roasted peanuts and stir well. Then add the chopped tomatoes and some salt and stir well. Keep stirring the tomatoes occasionally until the tomatoes cook and turn mushy.
  • Remove from the flame and cool completely. When cool, blend into a fine paste and serve as an accompaniment to idlis and dosai.

Recipes: Green Apple Chutney

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While making dinner the other day, I wanted to make a chutney to go with dinner. I wanted to make something easy and also try something different when I saw some green apples on the counter. I quickly went online to see what I could do and saw many recipes playing with green apples and coriander and so I decided to make something similar.

Green apples are very versatile and tart Granny Smith apples (which I used) can also be used in place of raw green mangoes. I’ve previously made a version of my instant mango pickle using green apples and though it does spoil faster than the pickle made with mangoes, it is a yummy addition to your pickles at home, especially when you are craving pickles but don’t have mangoes in the house.

Anyway, on to this recipe. I made this recipe similar to my green coriander chutney and even though it was a tad on the spicier side, it was yummy.

Green Apple Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 2 green apples
  • 4-6 green chillies
  • 1 bulb garlic
  • 1-inch piece of ginger
  • 1 small bunch coriander leaves
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Peel the garlic and ginger and keep aside.
  • Chop the green chillies into smaller pieces and keep aside.
  • Core and chop the green apples (keep the skin) and put it immediately into the blender.
  • Add the ginger, garlic, green chillies and coriander leaves to the green apples and blend together to a fine paste.
  • Add salt and the sugar and continue to blend, adding water as necessary to make it into a smooth and fine paste.
  • Eat with idli, dosa, rotis and even as a base for a sandwich.

Notes:

When I first made it, it turned out to be too spicy for S and BB who don’t like spicy food. So I blended a portion of the chutney with some homemade plain yoghurt and it was even better. I would just blend it with yoghurt instead of water. You can also increase the number of chillies if you can tolerate the spice.

Recipes: Tomato Onion Chutney

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The other day while making dinner, I realised I needed to make some kind of chutney to go with dosa or adai. I didn’t want to make one with coconut which is what is traditionally made for these dishes since I didn’t have enough coconut on hand to make it, so came up with this tomato onion chutney which was super yummy!

Tomato Onion Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium-sized onions, chopped
  • 2 large tomatoes, chopped
  • 7-8 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp broken urad dal
  • 1 tsp roasted Bengal gram
  • 1 tsp seedless tamarind (If using tamarind paste, you can use about 1/2 tsp)
  • 6-8 dried red chillies (more or less depending on spice tolerance)
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tsp oil
  • 1/2 tsp grated jaggery (can omit or substitute with brown sugar)
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Heat the oil in a pan and when warm add the mustard seeds and let it pop.
  • Next, add the urad dal and Bengal gram dal and stir for a couple of seconds.
  • Now add the dried red chillies and stir for a few seconds. Then add the sesame seeds and give it a good stir.
  • Then add the tamarind and stir for a few seconds.
  • Now add the garlic and let it saute for a minute and then add the onions. Let the onions become translucent.
  • Once the onions are translucent, add the tomatoes and stir until the tomatoes become mushy and cooked. You can also add in a pinch of salt to help this process. At the point add the jaggery if using.
  • Switch off the gas and let the mixture cool completely before grinding it to a fine paste. Add salt while blending and adjust as per your taste. You can add a bit of water while blending if you feel the need.

Recipes: Tamarind Date Chutney

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img_2125I realised when I shared my recipe for chole that I have not yet shared this easy, piquant yet sweet Chutney. This is great when paired with fried food and also makes a great spread for sandwiches. It does take a while to make but is totally worth the effort.

I made this chutney along with my Green Coriander Chutney and Dried Red Chilli & Raisin Chutney when we hosted S’ colleagues for a Diwali open house.

Tamarind Dates Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup tamarind
  • 1 cup dates
  • 2 tsp rock salt
  • 1 tbsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp cumin powder
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Deseed the dates and the tamarind. Make sure there is no fibre also in the tamarind.
  • Soak the dates and tamarind either separately or together in hot water for an hour or so.
  • When the dates and tamarind have cooled off, blend them, along with the water they were strained into a fine paste.
  • Strain this paste through a strainer into a large pot which you can put on the gas. You may need to blend and strain a few times so that you get all the paste in.
  • When everything has been strained, put the pot on the gas and add the salt, rock salt, red chilli powder and cumin powder and let it come to a rolling boil. You can also check spices at this point and add more if needed.
  • Once it comes to a rolling boil, reduce the flame and let it boil for around 5-10 mins. It will start thickening and once it is almost as thick as you require, switch off the flame. It will become thicker as it cools.
  • When cool, remove to a clean container and refrigerate. It should stay well in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Notes:

  • If you don’t have access to dates, you can substitute them with raisins. Or you can even do a combination of both dates and raisins. Just use the same quantity as above.

 

Recipes: Dried Red Chilli & Raisin Chutney

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I made dosai (a South Indian crepe) earlier this week and wanted a chutney to go with it. I was not in the mood for a coconut based chutney which is what is traditionally made with dosai, so I thought of a dried red chilli one and whipped this up in less than 20 minutes, including prep time. It also has a total of five ingredients, including spices. So let’s go.

Dried Red Chilli and Raisin Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 12-15 dried red Kashmiri chillies
  • 2 tbsp raisins
  • 8-10 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice (or to taste)
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Soak the red chillies and raisins separately in hot water for 10-15 minutes until soft.
  • Drain the water and reserve it to blend.
  • Then blend all the ingredients with reserved water to a fine paste. Check for seasoning (salt and lemon juice) and adjust accordingly.

This was wonderful with the dosai and was also very good as a spicy dip and I have also eaten this with bread and wraps and it was yummy. Enjoy and let me know how you liked it.