Aawle ka Murabba~

A trip to the local market is always a satisfying experience for anyone who loves to cook. The look and feel of fresh produce, new crops and seasonal flair completely churns you and let's your mind explore the possibilities. One such trip last week to #MatungaMarket I ended up with two bags full of pickling veggies. Six varieties of pickles from chillies to mix veg were nailed. The real hero of this expedition turned out to be the sweetness of gooseberry. Slow cooked in saffron sugar syrup until a honey like consistency, the #AawleKaMurabba as it's locally called in North India turned out to be the real show stopper!
Recipe for those of you who wish to try~
Ingredients
1kg Amla/Aawla/Gooseberries
1 and 1/2 kg Sugar
1 tsp Black cardamom seeds crushed
Saffron/Kesar a few strands

Method

Place amla in a pan, add two cups of water and cover and cook on low heat for 10-15 mins till amla is tender and water has reduced to half the quantity.

Drain, reserve the cooking liquid.

Heat sugar with cooking liquid and additional 1 ltr of water in a thick-bottomed pan, til sugar dissolves completely and forms a syrup of one string consistency.

Add amla and continue to cook. Add crushed black cardamom seeds and saffron.

Continue to cook, uncovered, on low heat till the mixture is thick and translucent. The syrup by now should be of two-string consistency, almost ressembling a golden syrup or honey. 

Cool and store in airtight jars.

The sweet and sour taste of this pickle tastes great with Rotis, Parathas and Breads.  A great replacement for Jams...Aawla is filled with healthy antioxidants! And for anyone who is a sweet tooth like me...you can sneak in a piece of murabba even after your meal to satisfy a sweet craving.

Enjoy :)

~The Chutney Diaries

Over these years I have had many people come up to me and ask me for Chutney recipes. I mean the ones typically served in restaurants with Idli Dosa variety... And finally today, I had a tricolor chutney orgy at home and decided that it was the ideal time to post recipes for all three of my favorite chutneys. You can call it a Chutney marathon.... But for me it is a triathlon like no other!

Coconut Chutney (aha yes the white one!)

1 cup freshly grated coconut (no substitutes please)
2-3 fiery green chillies (adjust to taste)
A small (1/2 inch) piece of tamarind
1 tsp cooking oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp urad dal
A few curry leaves
A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
Salt to taste

Grind coconut, green chillies and tamarind together with minimum water. Add salt and mix well. Temper the remaining ingredients and add to coconut chutney.  Adjust salt and water if required.  Ready to serve at room temperature.

Takkali Chutney (tomato or the orange one!)
3 ripe fleshy tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic (optional, could substitute with 1 medium onion if you do not like garlic, or avoid this step for a Jain version)
2-3 kashmiri chillies
A small 1 inch piece of tamarind
1 tbsp Dalia (chutney dal)
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi)
A few curry leaves
A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
Salt to taste

Chop tomatoes. In a pan add 1/2 tsp oil, add garlic and sauté, add tomatoes, dalia and tamarind. Add salt to taste. Cook until tomatoes have lost their raw smell and taste.  Grind to a fine paste when cool.  Temper with remaining ingredients and add to tomato chutney.  Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Cilantro Pudhina Chutney (the gorgeous green one!)

1 cup packed cilantro leaves (coriander)
1/2 cup packed mint leaves (pudhina)
2-3 green chillies
1 medium sized onion (optional)
1/4 cup freshly grated coconut or 1 tbsp Dalia (chutney dal)
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp urad dal
Few curry leaves
A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
Salt to taste
Dash of lemon juice

Wash and dry cilantro and mint leaves. Grind cilantro and mint leaves, chillies, coconut or Dalia into a coarse paste.  Add salt. Adjust consistency with water. Add lemon juice to taste and temper with remaining ingredients.  Serve at room temperature. 

These recipes will ideally serve 3-4 people if you make only one Chutney at a time. Or can serve 7-8 people if you make them all at one go.  And only 2 voracious chutney eaters like the ones I live with! ;)

Enjoy and do let me know if you tried them!

Now back to the grind! ;)

The famous gunpowder~ Molagapodi!

Molagapodi (Chutney Powder, Gunpowder)

A great accompanyment with Idli and Dosa, this podi (coarse powder) is quite a regular affair at every South Indian household.  Can be stored for a few months.

Ingredients:
1 cup - urad daal
1 cup - channa daal
8 to 10 - red chillies
1 tbsp - white sesame seeds, dry roasted
1tsp - hing powder
1inch piece of tamarind
a small piece - jaggery (optional)
salt to taste
1 tsp - oil

Method:

Roast the daals together in a teaspoon of oil, till golden brown.

Add red chillies and roast for two minutes.

Add the tamarind, hing powder, sesame seeds, jaggery and salt. Let it cool completely.

Grind the mixture coarsely.

Store in an airtight container.

While serving mix 1 tbsp powder with ½ tsp sesame oil and serve as an accompaniment for idlis and dosas. Note: Can be stored for two to three months.

Watermelon Jelly~ a successful experiment!

Ingredients:

1 cup Watermelon puree
1 medium Peach, skinned and pureed
1 Tbsp Lime juice
6 tsp Sugar
1 tsp gelatin soaked in Tbsp warm water

Method:

1. Add pureed watermelon and peach to a sauce pan.
2. Mix in lime juice and sugar. Stir continuously.
3. When water begins to evaporate, add gelatin mix and continue to stir for 10 – 15 minutes till all water evaporates.
4. Transfer this mixture to a plate and let it set in the refrigerator for a few hours or at room temperature overnight.
5. Cut into pieces or store it as a jam/preserve in a bottle.

Happy Cooking :)

Tangy Tomato Time!

While some of us are still recovering from yesterday's blog post (Mango Mania), I know I still am (drool drool!!), here is another recipe that has been my childhood favorite and continues to be loved by each and everyone who has tasted it!  This recipe is one of my mother's original and sort of a legacy she passed down to me through her hand-written recipe book (awwww!) It is finger licking good, and I’m sure all of you would cherish it as much as me and the rest of my friends and family do ~Tomato Rice~

This is a simple, no frills or fancies, easy to make recipe.  Yes, it does require ample patience and a little bit of cleaning your kitchen after your done, coz it tends to splash and splutter quite a bit, so watch out and keep your flame on low! But while you are at it, I would suggest, double the recipe and make a big batch, coz you won't regret it ;)!!! 

Mama’s Tomato Rice

Ingredients:

For Tomato Chutney/Pickle:

1 kg ripe tomatoes

 1 cup green peas (optional)

A few curry leaves

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp hing (asafoetida)

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp chili powder (adjust to taste)

2 ½ tsp salt (adjust to taste)

1 tsp sugar

4 Tbsp oil

For Rice:

1 cup Basmati or any other long grain white rice, cooked al dente

Cilantro to garnish

Method:

1)      Puree 1 kg tomatoes and keep aside.

2)      Heat oil in a wok or large pan, when hot, add mustard seeds and let them pop.

3)      Add hing and curry leaves followed by tomato puree.

4)      Add peas (optional), turmeric, chili powder, salt and sugar and stir well.

5)      Let it cook on a low flame for 30 minutes, till all the water has evaporated and the tomato puree now looks like a thick tomato paste. (Note: you will see the oil very well separated)

6)      Reserve half of this tomato chutney for a future date to be relished with Roti, Bread, Dosas or even on crackers (yummm!)

7)      For tomato rice, mix the other half of chutney with cooked rice (when rice is cool) making sue the rice does not break in this process.  Re-heat and serve with Papadoms and Raita!

...and I can't wait to dig into the rest of it...my most favorite being Tomato Roti rolls (ahhh heaven!!)

Happy Cooking :)

It's gotto have Cilantro!

I often get calls from people asking if they can speak to Cilantro, or if this is Cilantro’s kitchen. No, my name is not Cilantro and also for the record I’m not married to a Spaniard!

The one question I’m most regularly asked by friends, family and strangers is how I came up with ‘The Cilantro Kitchen’ as a name for my venture. My instinctive answer is to say, “Coz I love to cook with it” seconded by, “I can’t do without Cilantro” and then I go about giving a lengthy (not called for) speech on how it is the best herb in my kitchen. Honestly, I don’t care for any other herb…the excessive sharpness of Parsley or overpowering Thyme and probably Rosemary can very well remain the name of a sweet little girl I once knew. It’s gotto to be Cilantro!

I time and again wonder where I got this obsession for Cilantro from. Apparently, the most obvious answer, it’s gotto be my roots… I’m Indian you see and we can’t do without our Dhaniya. Oh did I mention Cilantro has many many names. One can also know it as Corriander leaves (they have seeds too) or Chinese Parsley, Culantro and Vietnamese Parsley even. Though the latter two belong to a different generic family and should not be confused with Cilantro (Spanish name for the Corriander plant). Indians ofcoz know it best as Dhaniya patha! If you wanna read up more about Cilantro, please do feel free to Wiki it… :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriander

It’s an obsession undoubtedly… no meal I cook in my kitchen is ever complete without a generous garnish of freshly chopped Cilantro! Like Fennel or say even Mushrooms or Aubergine… Cilantro tends to develop an either you love me or you hate me kinda relationship with most people. If you are addicted to Indian, Thai, Mexican, Spanish, Chinese, Cajun or even Mediterranean cuisines… you sure ought to like (read love) Cilantro. And my kitchen surely brims with flavors from these regions and I love how just a sprinkle of chopped Cilantro can lift up a boring soup or spruce up an under-dressed salad. The moment I wash a bunch of Cilantro, run my knife delicately through them, the aroma just captivates me. Well…I can go on and on…simply put…the burst of flavor that Cilantro releases; no other herb could ever match.

Now that I have established my deep rooted love for this herb, you can understand why it’s an obvious choice to name my endeavor after the very ingredient I just can’t do without. It’s this commitment kinda thing I have going on with Cilantro… everything I cook…It’s gotto have Cilantro in The Cilantro Kitchen.

So here is my salute to this herb and I bring you two recipes, where East meets West to celebrate my favorite herb straight from my favoritest hangout spot…The Cilantro Kitchen. Happy Cilantroing :)

Caramelized Onion and Cilantro Pesto Pizza

Ingredients:

For the pizza dough• 2 cups whole meal flour (plain flour can be used as well)

• 1 cup warm water

• 1 sachet active dry yeast

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• ½ teaspoon salt

For the caramelized onions• 3 large brown onions, sliced finely

• ½ cup water

• ½ teaspoon chilli flakes

• salt and pepper to taste

For the Cilantro pesto• 2 cups fresh Cilantro

• ¼ cup Almonds

• ½ cup Grana Padano or any other hard cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan

• 2 cloves of garlic

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

• salt and pepper to taste

1. First prepare the dough. Put the dry ingredients in a food processor. Switch it on and add the oil and water until it combines and forms a ball. Remove and knead on a floured surface until smooth. Coat with olive oil and leave in a warm area to rise for about an hour.

2. Heat some olive oil in a wide frying pan. Put in the chilli flakes and fry until fragrant. Add the onions and salt and cook until softened (but not caramelized yet). Now add the water and turn up the heat a bit. Stir at regular intervals until the water has evaporated and the onions are a rich brown.

3. While the onions are cooking make the pesto. Combine all ingredients in a blender and whiz until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. If you prefer more garlic or a stronger cheese flavor add more of the required ingredient accordingly.

4. Heat the oven to 400F / 200C. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to fit a greased 12” pizza pan or a medium-sized roasting tin. Spread the pesto over the pizza base and top with the caramelised onions.

5. Drop the oven’s heat to 200F / 100C before you put the pizza in. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the base is crisp and cooked through. Slice and serve immediately.

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Coriander, Curry and Yogurt Crusted Tofu with Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup plain yogurt

• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 tablespoon whole coriander seed, crushed

• 2 teaspoons mild curry powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 1 -2 tablespoon olive oil

• 4 pieces tofu, fillets, about 6 ounces each

• Cilantro Pesto (see recipe above) and Lettuce leaves (to garnish)

1. In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, garlic and cumin. In a separate bowl combine the coriander seeds, curry, salt and pepper.

2. In a very large nonstick skillet or sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, dip the tofu into the yogurt mixture to lightly coat each side, and then sprinkle each side with the curry mixture, dividing the seasoning evenly among all the tofu.

3. Immediately place tofu in the hot pan and cook until just done, about 2½ minutes on each side. Serve on a bed of lettuce with a generous layering of Cilantro Pesto.

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