Tag Archives: Indian

Recipe: Carrot and Peanut Chutney

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My Chutney series continues….

Carrot Chutney 1Last week, while making dosa, a rice-based pancake, we wanted to have a chutney, but were tired of having the usual coconut and tomato chutneys which I usually make. So I decided to experiment and see if I could tweak something we usually make and come up with something else. I decided to tweak my carrot thuvaiyal recipe. It was a hit, with the sweetness of the carrots balanced with the spiciness of the chillies and the tartness of the tamarind.

Carrot and Peanut Chutney

Carrot Chutney 2Ingredients:

  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • ¼ cup peanuts (soak them in hot water for 20 mins so they soften. Then drain and keep aside)
  • 5-6 fresh red chillies (you can use dried red chillies as well as change the amount depending on the intensity of the chillies and your tolerance levels)
  • 2 medium sized onions, chopped
  • 5-6 pods of garlic
  • ½ inch piece of ginger
  • 1 small marble-sized ball of tamarind (or 1 tsp of tamarind paste)
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • Method:
    Heat oil in a pan and when warm, put the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds one by one, stirring it for a couple of seconds each before the next one is put in the pan.
  • Fry the garlic and ginger for a few seconds each and then add the onions and let it soften and brown
  • Add the chillies and fry till it starts to soften and wilt. Then add the drained peanuts and fry for a minute.
  • Add the carrots, stir well and add a pinch of salt to help cook faster. Cover and cook until the carrots are well-cooked.
  • Once the carrots are completely cooked, remove the pan from the fire and let it cool completely.
  • Blend this mixture in a blender or mixture until it becomes the consistency you like. I prefer chutneys to be very fine, but others like a more coarser texture, it’s completely your preference.
  • Check for salt and add if needed. Transfer to a bowl and use for idlis, dosas, rotis and even bread!

Carrot Chutney 3

 

Recipe: Brown Rice Savory Pongal aka Ven Pongal

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IMG_5277Last week, I blogged about the sweet Pongal recipe which I made as a neividhyam or offering to the Lord on the occasion of the festival of Pongal. That evening, I made the salted version for dinner. The method for both is quite similar and you can make both at the same time with little extra effort.

This is often eaten as a breakfast dish, especially in the southern parts of India. This combination of rice and dal will really fill you up and if you, like me, plan on having this for dinner, then go a bit easy as you tend to feel really full sometime after your meal!

Brown Rice Ven Pongal

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Ingredients:

  • 2 cups brown rice (traditionally made with white rice)
  • 1 cup yellow moong dal
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 tsps cumin seeds
  • 2-3 tbsps ghee
  • 2 tsps whole black pepper
  • 1 tsp pepper powder
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 4-5 leaves of curry leaves
  • A handful of broken cashew nuts
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Wash the rice well, drain and keep aside. In a pressure cooker, lightly pan fry the dal till a nice aroma comes.
  • Add the rice, water, milk, salt, peppercorns and cook under pressure for 4-5 whistles.
  • In another pan, heat 1 tbsp ghee and fry the cashewnuts until they brown nicely. Remove and keep aside and in the same pan, fry the cumin seeds, and when it begins to splutter, add the curry leaves, grated ginger and pepper powder and fry for a few seconds. Remove from the flame and keep aside.
  • When the pressure reduces, open the cover of the pressure cooker and check if the rice and dal mixture has become mushy (it should look like a risotto at this point). If no, add more water and/or milk and cook it further till it becomes mushy.
  • Add the remaining ghee here and stir well. When it has achieved the right consistency, add the fried cashewnuts and the seasoning (cumin seeds, ginger, curry leaves and pepper powder) and mix well checking for salt.
  • Serve with sambar or coconut chutney

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Recipe: Brown Rice Sweet Pongal

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Last week was the festival of Pongal, and as is the tradition I made some sweet Pongal in the morning. The only twist to the recipe was that instead of normal white rice, I used the healthier brown rice. It was quite good, though you need to cook it a tad longer than usual.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 3 tbsps yellow moong dal
  • ½ cup jaggery (increase this measure to ¾ cup if you like it sweeter)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups water
  • A handful of cashewnuts
  • A handful of raisins
  • 3-4 tbsps Ghee.

Method:

  • Wash the rice, drain and keep aside.
  • In a largish pressure cooker, dry roast the moong dal for a while till it emits a nice aroma. Do not let it burn.
  • Then add the washed rice, 2 cups of water and 1 cup of milk and pressure cook for 4-6 whistles. Let the pressure come down. You can cook it in a large pot also if you do not have a pressure cooker. In that case, keep an eye on it and add water and milk periodically. You need to cook it till the dal and rice break down and cook, becoming mushy.
  • While the pressure is coming down, in a small skillet, put 1 tbsp ghee and fry the cashewnuts and raisins till the cashewnuts brown and the raisins plump up. Remove and keep aside.
  • Put the jaggery in another container and pour a bit of water over it to cover. It will dissolve in a few seconds. You could also do this in a microwave for 1 minute. Then once the jaggery has dissolved, strain it to remove any impurities present and keep aside.
  • Once you can open the lid of the cooker, add the jaggery, cashewnuts and raisins and cook over a medium flame for 5-10 mins.
  • When the mixture becomes thick, it’s time to remove it from the flame and enjoy!

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Recipes: Broccoli in Red Gravy

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Broccoli is not a vegetable that you will see in Indian dishes. The first time I tasted this vegetable was when I moved to Singapore. Though these days, you find it in markets in most Indian metros.

Both my children love broccoli as a vegetable, but unfortunately when my helper cooks using this vegetable, she loves to cook it to death. That totally spoils the vegetable for all of this. So this weekend, when I cooked for us, I decided to make an Indian sabzi which would go well with both rotis and rice.

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Ingredients:
3 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
2 onions, chopped roughly
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
5-6 garlic cloves,
1 inch piece of ginger
1.5 tsps Cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp carom seeds (can omit if not available)
2 tsps coriander seeds
¼ tsp turmeric seeds
1-2 tsps chilli powder
1 -2 tsps Garam Masala Powder
3 tbsps Oil
Salt to taste

Method:
In a pan, warm 2 tbsps oil and then temper with cumin seeds, carom seeds and fennel seeds.
Next add the garlic and ginger and saute them for a few seconds.
Now add the onions and saute till they turn translucent. At this point add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt to help breakdown the water in the tomato and let it cook well.
Once the tomatoes are well cooked, switch off the gas and blend into a smooth paste.
In another pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and when warm add half tsp of cumin seeds and wait for them to pop. When they pop, add the turmeric powder and stir once.
Next add in the washed broccoli and stir for a couple of seconds. Add some salt and cook on a slightly higher heat than normal so that broccoli cooks, but retains it’s crispness.
When the broccoli is almost fully cooked, add in the blended gravy, chilli powder, garam masala powder and adjust for salt.
Let this come to a rolling boil and finish off this dish with some coriander/cilantro garnish.

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Receipes: Plum Chutney

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I first made this plum chutney on a whim last week. S loved it so much that today he brought loads of Plums for me to recreate it. That’s when I knew it was a winner. This recipe is inspired by Sanjeev Kapoor’s Aloo Bhukare ki Chutney, which I then tweaked to make it my own! This is a super easy recipe with just a handful of ingredients, so read on and enjoy!!

Plum Chutney

IMG_4542[1]Ingredients:

  • 4 red/purple plums
  • 1 small cup raisins
  • 2 tsps cumin seed powder
  • Red chilli powder to taste
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • In a small bowl, soak the raisins in water for while till they plump up and soften. Using hot water may speed this up.
  • Next chop and deseed the plums and blend the plums and raisins together untill they become a smooth purée.
  • Next take a thick bottomed pan and pour this purée in it. Add salt and red chilli powder and let it start boiling.
  • Once it reaches a rolling boil, and cumin seed powder and stir well.  Let it boil for a while till it thickens.
  • At this point, the colour was slightly brownish with a glaze to the mixture. Once it has thickened to your satisfaction, remove from heat and cool. Once cool, it becomes this rich purple colour.
  • Transfer to a covered dish and refrigerate. This should keep well for upto a week in the fridge.

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This chutney tastes sweet, salty and a bit spicy. If you need to make it more spicy, just increase the chilli while cooking it. It goes well with most Indian food and I also loved having it with bread as a sandwich spread.