Kitchen-Kollections

Dondakaya Chutney

Ingredients

1 cup chopped dondakaya pieces
2 green chillies
1 tsp tamarind paste
1/4 tsp jeera
1 garlic finely chopped or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
a pinch of turmeric
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil

For tempering
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp jeera
1/4 tsp chana dal
1/4 tsp urad dal
a pinch of hing
Curry leaves

For garnishing
Finely chopped coriandar leaves

Method

• In a pan, add 1 tsp oil, jeera, green chillies and chopped dondakaya pieces. Add turmeric and salt and let it cook for 15 minutes. You can place a lid on it so that the pieces are well cooked.
• Blend the cooked pieces along with tamarind paste in a blender and transfer the paste into a bowl.
• For the tempering, in a pan add all the tempering ingredients one by one and pour it on top of the paste. Mix it well and garnish it with chopped coriandar. Thats it..its done! Let me know how it turned out!

I am sure very few people know that there is chutney made out of oranges!!!! Atleast I never imagined that till my MIL made it in front of my eyes. She made it real quick and I was out of words when i first tasted it with hot steaming rice. In california you get oranges almost the entire year..one can make this chutney with either clementines or cara cara oranges. This chutney can be used as a spread too…i am sure kids would love it…so try it out!!

Ingredients

1 orange – peeled and deseeded.
2 dry red chillies
1/2 tsp minapapappu or urad dal
A pinch of inguva or hing
1/4 tsp jeera
2 tbs tamarind paste
3 tbs nuvvula podi or fried sesame seeds powder
1/2 tbs bellam or jaggery
Salt to taste
2 tbs oil

Method

• Deseed and peel off the skin of oranges.
• Take a deep pan and add oil, red chillies, urad dal, hing, jeera. Add the oranges. Add salt. Fry for 5 min till the juice comes out.
• Add tamarind juice and jaggery. Cook for 10 more minutes and let it cool down.
• After its completely cooled down, grind it into smooth paste and the chutney is ready!

This is the first time I tried making this chutney…otherwise i usually make the curry with it. I read somewhere that there are lot of nutrients in the top green layer of this vegetable. Some people cook with the outer layer..but i decided against it..generally lot of chemicals are used…unless you buy organic veggies….so better wash them completely in warm water..or best soak them for 10-15 minutes.

Ingredients

2 cups chopped ridge gourd pieces ( peel off the skin..you can cut in discs or tube shape)
2 green chillies
a pinch of turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp jaggery
Salt to taste

For tempering
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp jeera
2 red chillis
10 peanuts
a pinch of hing or asoefotida

• Take a pan and add 1 tsp of oil. Add chopped green chilies and ridge gourd. Add salt, turmeric and chopped ridge gourd and let it cook. After its cooked, add jaggery and mix it well. Let it cool.
• Take another pan, add 1 tsp of oil. Add the tempring ingredients. Grind both the tempering and cooked ridge gourd in a mixie. Adjust salt accordingly. Ridge gourd chutney is ready

Ingredients

10 green tomatoes
5 green chillies-small
2 garlic pieces
2 red chillies
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
A sprig curry leaves
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
Salt to taste
3 tsp tamarind paste

Method

• Take a deep pan and add fry the tomatoes in pan with 3tablespoon oil till they become soft.

• Now take another pan and add 1 tsp of oil and fry mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chana dal, urad dal, garlic, curry leaves and red chillies. After its done..cool it for a while.

• Grind the tempering into coarse powder..add cooked tomatoes and tamarind paste. Add salt and grind.

• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. This tasty chutney is great when eaten with either raw onion/green mirchi..best with hot hot omelet and rice. Also good with Idlies/dosas…

Hii all..i am again blogging after a long time..i had gone to my sister’s place. My second niece was born last month! I had a great time there..but actually i got some great oppurtuniteis to try out new recipes. I was quite surprised to know that there is something called mooli pachadi too!All credit goes to my dear mother…she is having a gala time playing with hee two small grandkids…she is experimenting with chutnyes (now i know where i got the bug haha ) Its a mouth watering chutney which one can use as a spread on tortillas, bread..and you will be shocked…i am planning to use it as a spread on a pizza!!!

Whenever i get radishes..i only add them in pulusu/sambhar or i make parathas. But this time…chutney!!!

Here it goes

Ingredients

Bite size pieces of radish – 2 cups
Peanuts – 1/4 cup
Tamarind – 2 tbs
Jaggery – 2 tbs

Tadka/popu ingredients

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Jeera – 1/2 tsp
Menthulu – 4
Red chillies – 3
Hing/inguva – a pinch
Urad dal -  1 tsp
Turmeric – A pinch

Method

• Add 1 tsp oil in a pan and fry mooli till tender.
• Take oil in another pan and fry the popu ingredients
• Add the cooked mooli, tamarind, jaggery and salt to taste. Keep mixing for 5 minutes.
• Grind the chutney once its cool. Garnish it with chopped coriandar leaves.

Tasty Maudikaya pachadi or mango chutney

Ingredients

2 to 3 unriped (kachcha) sour mangoes
1/8 tsp turmeric (haldi powder)
2 tbsp salt

For seasoning:
2 tbsp oil;
1/2 tsp mustard seeds;
1 tsp Methi seeds;
2 tbsp red chilli powder;
1/4 tsp hing powder;
curry leaf (optional)

Method:

• Peel and shred the mangoes using a carrot shredder and put it in a bowl.
• If mango has a hard core seed just discard it or use it in some other dish for sourness.
• Add salt and haldi powder to the shredded mango and mix very well using a clean & dry spoon.
• Keep it aside for 30 minutes.
• Heat oil in a small pan or seasoning ladle and add mustard seeds in it.
• When its about to splutter add methis seeds.
• When the methi is turning into golden brown add red chilli powder and hing powder and fry for 2 seconds.
• Add curry leaves (optional) and remove from the stove.
• Let it cool very well.
• Then add this seasoning to the shredded mango and mix it thoroughly.
• Taste and add salt if necessary.
• This pachchadi can be mixed with hot steamed rice adding ghee.
• Also tastes good with chapatis & bread.
• Put it in the air tight bottle.
• It will stay fresh for 2 to 3 weeks if refrigerated.