Mullangi Chutney

Mullangi is the Telugu word for white radish, which is also known as daikon. It is known as mooli in Hindi. This is a very simple chutney, which my mother makes. I used to love it so much that, I would eat up the chutney all by itself.

Ingredients:
Daikon/Radish - 11/2 cup, peeled and grated
Onion - 1 medium sized, diced
Turmeric Powder -  1/8 tsp
Tamarind - marble sized ball, soaked in warm water
Chilli powder/Paprika - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad Dal/Bengal Gram - 1/2 tsp
Salt - As per taste


Method of Preparation:
1. Add the grated radish, chilli powder and tamarind to a mixer/grinder and grind to a paste. Add the water used to soak tamarind, if required.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. After they splutter, add cumin seeds, urad dal and fry for 30 seconds, then add the chopped onions and fry till the onions become translucent(for a minute or two).
3. Add turmeric powder and the ground radish mixture to the pan and mix well.
4. Cook till most of the moisture evaporates and raw smell disappears, add salt and take off heat.
5. Enjoy the mullangi chutney with hot steamed rice or rotis.

Banana Peppers Tomato Chutney

Today I wanted to experiment with banana peppers and thought a lot. Finally, I wanted to see how well they would work as chutney. With the ingredients available in my pantry, I made this banana peppers tomato chutney and it tasted quite good. Will definitely make this recipe again using red ripe tomatoes, which will give a good color to it.

Ingredients:

Banana Peppers - 4, deseeded, roughly chopped

Tomato - 1, medium sized, roughly chopped

Green Chillies - 4, roughly chopped

Garlic - 2 cloves, chopped

Bengal Gram/Urad Dal - 1 tbsp

Tamarind - small marble sized

Oil - 1tbsp

Salt - As per taste

For the Tempering:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - few, roughly chopped

Method of Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add urad dal, garlic and green chillies. Fry for 2 minutes, remove from pan and keep aside.
2. In the same pan add the chopped banana peppers and fry for 2 minutes on high heat. Cook covered for 3 minutes, stir in between.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan and cook till the raw smell disappears or the tomatoes become soft.
4. Turn off the heat and let this mixture cool down.
5. Meanwhile, add a little warm water to the tamarind and keep it for 10 minutes.
6. Add the urad dal, garlic and green chillies mixture to a grinder and grind it roughly. Add the soaked tamarind, banana peppers tomato mixture, salt and grind it to a smooth paste. If required, add the water used to soak the tamarind.
7. Adjust the salt and heat oil in a small pan. Add mustard seeds, after they splutter add cumin seeds and chopped curry leaves. fry for few seconds and turn off heat.
8. Add the tempering to the banana peppers tomato chutney and enjoy with steamed rice.

Beetroot Chutney

I usually make beetroot stir fry or curry, few days back, I came up with my own version of the beetroot chutney and the chutney came out wonderfully delicious.

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 1/2 cup, chopped

Green Chillies - 3, chopped

Roasted Peanuts - 2 tbsp

Lime juice - 2 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Cilantro/Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Salt - As per taste

For the Tempering:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Urad Dal/Bengal Gram - 1/4 tsp

Method of Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped beetroot, green chillies and a little salt.

2. Fry for 5 minutes and let them cool down.

3. Add the fried beetroot, green chillies, roasted peanuts, lime juice, salt, coriander leaves to a blender along with a little water and grind to a fine paste.

4. Heat oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and urad dal. Once the seeds start spluttering, switch off the heat and add it to the ground beetroot chutney.

5. Adjust the salt and serve the beetroot chutney with steamed rice, roti, idli or dosas.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Chutney

Red bell pepper is supposed to have higher amount of vitamin C. I made a very simple chutney using roasted bell pepper and the outcome was simply yummy :). I roasted the bell pepper on direct flame, you can also do the same in an oven too.

Ingredients: 
Roasted Red Bell Pepper - 1, medium sized, roughly chopped(discard the seeds, stem and peel off the blackened skin)
Onion - 1 small, roughly chopped
Dry Red Chillies - 3
Bengal Gram/Urad dal - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 2 large pods, roughly chopped
Tamarind - a small marble sized, soaked in little warm water
Roasted Peanuts - 2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt - As Per taste

Method of Preparation:
1. In a small pan heat oil and add bengal gram and dry red chillies. Fry till the dal turns golden brown.
2. Add the chopped garlic and onions and fry till the onions turn transparent.
3. Let the above mixture cool down. Add the chopped roasted bell pepper, the fried mixture, peanuts and salt to a grinder and make a coarse powder.
4. Add the soaked tamarind and a little water and grind to a smooth consistency.
5. Adjust the salt and enjoy the roasted red bell pepper chutney with rotis or rice.

Tip: For roasting the bell peppers in oven, you can refer to this link

Sending this recipe to 'food palette series' being hosted by 'Akheela'

Flax Seed Curry Leaves Chutney

Flax seed is the modern day miracle food. The benefits of flax seeds include lowering LDL cholesterol(bad cholesterol), blood pressure and may also aid in keeping the platelets from becoming sticky thereby reducing the chances of a heart attack. Today's flax seed chutney recipe is a very simple and tasty way of consuming flax seeds. With subtle flavors of curry leaves and ginger, this recipe is sure to take you by surprise. This flax seed chutney works well with hot rice, idlis and dosas.

Ingredients:(Serves 2-3)
Flax Seeds - 4 tbsp
Curry Leaves - 12-15
Dry Red Chillies - 2-3
Roasted Chana Dal - 1 tbsp
Ginger - 1 inch piece, roughly chopped
Lime Juice - 1 tsp
Salt - As Per Taste

Method of Preparation:
1. Dry roast the flax seeds, curry leaves, dry red chillies, one by one separately, till they become crisp.
2. Cool them before adding them to a grinder. Add the roasted chana dal and salt. Grind to a fine powder.
3. Add the chopped ginger, lime juice and half a cup of water. Grind to a smooth paste.
4. Adjust the salt and more water if required.
5. If needed, you can also add tempering to it.
6. Serve the healthy, tasty and flavorful flax seed curry leaves chutney with rice, idlis or dosas.

Tamarind Date Chutney

Happy Vinayaka Chavithi to all !!!!
Today we wanted to make something different for dinner... and ended up making aloo tikki chat. Aloo tikki is my all time favorite. Instead of posting all the different components of the aloo tikki chat, I am posting them as individual posts. Here is the recipe for the sweet, tangy and spicy tamarind date chutney, which can be also used for bhel puri or any other chat.

Ingredients:
Dates - 6(deseeded)
Tamarind - small lemon sized ball
Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/8 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/8 tsp
Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:
1. Boil half cup of water and add the dates and tamarind to it. Remove from heat and keep aside.
2. Once the tamarind and dates become soft, add them along with the water used for soaking to a blender.
3. Add the chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt.
4. Grind to a smooth paste.
5. Adjust the consistency of the chutney by adding water if needed.
6. Enjoy the sweet spicy tangy tamarind date chutney with any kind of chat.

Simple Gongura Pachadi

This weekend I got to purchase fresh gongura/sorrel leaves after a very long period. Here is a very simple recipe for preparing tasty, flavorful and tangy pachadi.

Ingredients:
Gongura Leaves - leaves of a small bunch or a tightly packed cup of gongura leaves
Garlic Cloves - 5 medium sized, roughly crushed
Tomato - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
Chilli Powder - 11/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad Dal - 1/4 tsp
Salt - As Per Taste

Method of Preparation:
1. Wash the gongura leaves and pat them dry using a kitchen towel.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and urad dal. Once the seeds start spluttering, reduce the heat to medium and add the crushed garlic cloves.
3. Ensure that the garlic cloves do not burn and fry for 45 seconds.
4. Add the gongura leaves and fry till the leaves wilt and become soft.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till the tomatoes turn soft and mush.
6. Add the chilli powder and salt and fry for a minute or two.
7. If the gongura leaves are tough, and do not turn into a smooth paste, then add the cooked contents to a grinder and grind for 15-30 seconds.
8. Enjoy the delicious gongura pachadi with rice.

Garlicky Tomato Chutney

There are a lot of recipes to prepare a tangy spicy aromatic tomato chutney. Thanks to my friend Kusuma, I got this recipe to a tasty tomato chutney with garlic flavor.

Ingredients:
(Serves 4-5 people)
Tomatoes - 3 medium sized
Garlic Cloves - 3 large sized
Urad/Bengal Gram - 3 tsp
Red Chillies - 4-5
Tamarind - very little(depending on how sour the tomatoes are)
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt - As per taste

For the Tempering:
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - few

Method of Preparation:
1. Add the tomatoes and tamarind to a small vessel along with half cup of water and let it boil covered for 5-10 minutes(Until the skin of the tomatoes comes off easily).
2. Meanwhile, heat a tsp of oil and fry the garlic and chillies for a minute or two and remove them. In the same oil add the urad dal and fry for 2-3 minutes and keep aside.
3. Peel the skin of the boiled tomatoes and discard.
4. Grind the roasted garlic, chillies and urad dal. Add the water used for boiling the tomatoes and grind to a smooth paste.
5. Now add the boiled tomatoes and tamarind to the ground mixture and grind to a fine paste.
6. Heat oil in a vessel and add mustard seed, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Once the seeds start spluttering, add the ground chutney along with salt and mix well. Fry till the chutney becomes a little thick.
7. Serve the garlicky tomato chutney with hot rice or rotis.

Variation:
Use green chillies instead of red chillies.

This is my entry to the event being hosted by Padmajha - 'Healing Foods -Tomato' and Siri's 'Healing foods


Also Sending it to 'Two For Tuesdays'