Tomato Chutney

In Bhopal we had a neighbor who was from Orissa. When we were leaving Bhopal for Pune in the summer of 97, D aunty had invited us for dinner. She had prepared tomato chutney. We loved the chutney and asked for the recipe. It was an interesting combination of tomatoes and dates---sourness and sweetness. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
3 tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped dates
1 teaspoon kalonji or Nigella
pinch of fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon oil
salt for taste

Method
Chop the tomatoes into quarters. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add fenugreek seeds, kalonji and turmeric powder. Fry for a minute and add the tomatoes. Add a cup of water and cook till the tomatoes are soft and well cooked. Add dates, chili powder and salt for taste. Cook well for around 10 minutes till the dates are soft. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Double Beans Sabzi

I am not very sure about what these beans called. We call them double beans at our home. But I think they may be also known as fava beans. I soak them for around 8-10 hours and then it is ready to use. I also add them in the minestrone soup and it tastes wonderful.


Ingredients
1 cup double beans (soaked for 8-10 hours)
1 onion
pinch of asafoetida
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon jaggery or sugar
4 tablespoon chopped coriander seeds
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoon lemon juice

Method
Chop the onion finely. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add cumin seeds. Add turmeric powder and asafoetida. Add garlic paste and fry tillthe raw smell disappears. Now add the chopped onions and fry them till light brown. Add the tomato paste and saute for a minute. Add the corianer powder, jaggery, chili powder and the soaked beans. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and pressure cook for 1 whistle or till the beans are soft. If you are not using the pressure cooker cook the beans till they are soft. Garnish with coriander leaves and lemon juice. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Idli

Ingredients
1 cups urad dal or split black gram
2 1/2 cup paraboiled rice or normal rice
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek or methi seeds
1 teaspoon salt

Method
Wash and soak the urad dal for 6-8 hours. Wash and soak the rice and methi seeds together for 6-8 hours. While grinding, grind approximately 1 /3 part of the urad dal till smooth( To check if it is ground well, I put the batter between my thumb and index finger and stretch my fingers apart and check if the batter forms a string. If the string of batter breaks, while stretching into a string, I grind it further). I have also posted some photos here.
Repeat the grinding steps with the rest of the urad and rice.

Mix salt and keep the batter for fermentation in a warm place for 8-10 hours. During winter's I set the oven on the warm setting for around 15 minutes and then switch it off. Then I keep the idli batter container inside the oven for the next 10 hours (don't forget to mix in salt, else the batter will turn sour and smell).


Line the idli moulds in the idli stand with thin layer of oil and put the idli batter in the idli moulds. Steam for around 20 minutes. Leave it on the stand for 5-10 minutes before removing the idlis. I used a "pedavan" or a traditional Konkani steamer.

Serve hot with chutney and/or sambar.

Minestrone Soup

This soup has become a household favorite since quite sometime now. It has all the nutrients needed for a balanced meal. It is not necessary to use all the vegetables listed in the recipe; which ever vegetables available on hand can be used to make this soup.

Ingredients
Vegetables (choose from carrot, potato, cauliflower, beans, peas, corn, spinach)
1 cup chopped celery
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoon Maggi tomato ketchup or any other ketchup
2 tomatoes
5 tablespoon chopped coriander (cilantro) or chopped parsley (whichever desired)
1/2 cup cooked pasta (I use whole wheat pasta)
1/2 cup garbanzo beans or kabuli chana (or any other beans desired) soaked for 5-6 hours in water
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
parmesan cheese (optional)
salt for taste
1 teaspoon oil

Method

Chop all the vegetables, onion, tomatoes and celery. Heat a teaspoon of oil and fry the onion and celery for 4-5 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and 2-3 cups of water and cook for 30-40 minutes till the vegetables and garbanzo beans are soft. Add the tomato paste and ketchup, pasta, parsley, chili powder. Get the soup to a boil till the tomato paste has integrated well in the soup. Add salt for taste. To serve, keep a slice of bread (preferably hard crust bread baked in oven for 10-15 minutes) in a bowl. Pour the soup into the bowl and top it with parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

Peanut Chutney

Peanut chutney is one of the recipes my mom gave me. It is easy to make and goes well with bread sandwich or roti. It lasts for about a month. I am re-posting it and sending it for Let's GO NUTS! event. Here is the recipe.


Ingredients
1 cup peanuts
6-7 byadgi chilies or kashmiri chilies or any other red chili
1/2 teaspoon heeng or asafoetida
3 garlic cloves (optional)
salt for taste


Method
Roast the peanuts and garlic cloves for 10 -15 minutes on medium flame. The garlic cloves should be light brown in color. Cool it down and coarsely grind it with salt, chilies and asafoetida. Store it in a cool and dry container.

Egg Bhurji / Indian Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 medium onion
1 tomato
1/2 capsicum (optional)
3 tablespoon coriander leaves
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 green chilies
salt for taste

Method
Chop the onions, capsicum and tomato finely. Heat oil in a pan. Add turmeric powder and fry for a second. Add finely chopped green chillies. Add the chopped onions and chopped capsicum and fry it till light brown. Add the tomatoes and fry till the tomatoes are soft. Beat the eggs for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs to the pan and stir it well. Add coriander leaves and salt for taste. Stir well till the egg is cooked well and scrambled. Serve hot with roti.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2