Red Bell Pepper Chutney

I always wondered why Red and Yellow peppers are expensive than the green ones. To me, its the same vegetable but just picked at different stages. Then, recently I read an article that had some explaination about it. It said that red and yellow peppers are more fragile and spoil quickly since they are extra ripe, so extra care has to be taken care of them like extra cost to transport etc. Well, that kind of made sense, but still I do not agree that the bell pepper can cost 80 cents per pound while Yellow pepper can cost $2.99 per pound.

Anyway, I like the red bell peppers more than the yellow and green peppers. May be because of that vibrant color and definitely the red one has a different flavor than the other ones. I regularly use this in my pasta, stir-fry noodles etc. Well, here is a yummy chutney recipe made with the red peppers that goes really well with Idlis and Dosas. I enjoy it by spreading this chutney on my dosa along with some gingely oil. Yummy!

Ingredients:

• Red Bell Peppers - 2


• Onion - 1 medium


• Garlic - 2 small cloves


• Red Chillies - 2 or 3 (I make little extra hot)


• Shredded Coconut - 2 tbsp


• Roasted Peanuts - 2 tbsp (I sometimes replace this with roasted urad dal)


• Tamarind paste - 1/4 tsp (optional)


• Salt to taste.

Procedure:

• Heat a tsp of oil in a shallow pan, Simmer the heat, fry the Red chillies until they change color.


• Now add the onions and garlic cloves and fry until the onions change color and become soft.


• Now add the red bell peppers and fry until they lose shape.


• Cool them to room temperature and then blend them together with salt, peanuts, tamarind and coconut.

Delicious Red Bell Pepper Chutney is ready! Enjoy with Idlis and Dosas.

Winter Melon Dosa with Onion-Ginger Chutney

Is the thanksgiving week over already? It seems like just a day ago I was looking forward to the 4 day weekend with lot of things planned and now can't believe it flew off so fast! Though I was looking forward to this holiday, my excitement for the weekend disappeared after hearing the Mumbai horror. It was heartbreaking to see so many innocent people being killed by some crazy bunch of people. To watch it live on TV was even more terrifying. Would we ever be able to defeat the evil and anti-social element called Terrorism once for all? My thoughts and prayers go for all the victims' families affected in this tragedy and hats off to all those commandos who did a terrific job in saving many lives.

I know I've not posted anything for more than a week now. The downside of a holiday weekend is that it makes it so hard to get back to routine after that. We had our friend's family visiting us last weekend and that kept us busy for all 4 days. We were continously out-of-doors moving around the city and had a hectic, but good time. Well, after the weekend, it has taken me a couple of days to recuperate my mood for my usual schedule. Its hard to keep up any kind of routine during holidays and I've been lazing around for a couple of days even after the holiday was over. I am here finally with yet another of my favorite recipe.

I had big plans for cooking while they were here, but nothing really got accomplished. Sometimes, no matter how well I plan my menu ahead, they all end up in vain and I wind up making my own decisions in the last minute. Especially, when we have outdoor plans, nothing gets executed per schedule. This weekend was like that. In spite of having my well-planned menu (atleast thats what I thought), I hardly followed it. But, one good thing is I learnt some new recipes from my good friend who visited us. She is a great cook and I always loved her healthy and authentic recipes! One of the most exciting moments in the kitchen for me is learning new recipes by watching the experts actually do it! I happened to see quite a few recipes like that and can't wait to try each of them on my own.

Have you ever had Poosanikkai Dosai (Ash gourd Dosai)? If you haven’t, don’t worry. I hadn't either until a few days before. And I don't think I'm overstating when I say that its now become one of my favorite dishes! There are several reasons for liking this dish, first of all the batter doesn't require fermentation and can be used immediately. Second, the fact that we're consuming a vegetable too along with dosa. Third and most important, if I have to like a recipe, it has to be simple :) And this is really a simple dish! I learnt this recipe from my friend over the weekend, and today I tried for the first time on my own. My first instinct when I heard about this dish was a bit of surprise that we could combine Poosanikai with Dosa! All I had known to do before with this vegetable was koottu and sambar. But ever since I heard about this recipe, I couldn't wait to try it eventhough I was a little nervous about the dosa batter consistency etc. Fortunately it turned out very good and crispy. A special thanks to my good friend for sharing such a nice recipe!

Ingredients:

• Winter Melon (Vellai Poosani/Ash Gourd) - 2 cups (peeled, deseeded & chopped into 1 inch cubes)
• Raw rice - 1.5 cups
• Urad dal - 2 tbsp
• Methi seeds - 1 tbsp
• Yogurt - 1/2 cup (if its not sour enough, you need 1 cup)

Procedure

• Soak the rice, dal and methi seeds overnight.
• First grind the winter melon to a smooth paste along with a little salt. Set aside.
• Then grind the soaked ingredients with some more salt and mix it with the melon paste. You can also add the melon paste to this mixture and give it a round in the blender, so that they are now mixed thoroughly. Transfer to a bowl.
• Add the yogurt and then sufficient water to make it to a dosa batter consistency. The batter shouldn't be thick nor too thin. You are now ready to start making dosas!

We enjoyed this with a yummy Onion-ginger chutney. I learnt this chutney also from my same friend and the combination was heavenly. Here is the chutney recipe:

Ingredients:

• Onion - 1 medium
• R.chillies - 4
• Ginger - 1 inch
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Chana dal - 1 tbsp
• Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp
• Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup

Procedure:

• Heat 2 tsp oil and add mustard seeds first. Once they pop, add the chana dal and fry until it turns light brown.
• Add R.chillies, Onions, Ginger, Tamarind paste and Coconut one by one in the specified order and fry each of them for about a min.
• Grind the mixture along with salt to a thick paste. Yummy Onion-Ginger chutney is ready!

You can also season with mustard seeds before serving, but thats just optional. Goes well with idlis/dosas.

Tomato - Green Chilli Thokku

I've been slammed at work lately. Moved to a new project recently and its keeping me busy. I came home late, so was feeling lazy to cook today, and I didn't have much stuff in the fridge too . Tiredness makes me low on inspiration, so wasn't in a mood to be creative either . But all I knew was that all of us were hungry and I had to cook something to fill our tummies before any of us turn cranky :)

My fridge usually is stuffed when the week begins, but it was odd to see my fridge empty on a monday. I had so much planned to get done for the weekend, but can't remember getting anything significantly done. Saturday kind of evaporated. Don't know how, and I guess we've been just lazing around too much with absolutely no mood for outdoors. Sometimes it happens. No matter how nice the day is or how much ever time I have, I get the feeling of staying indoors and watch tv, browse or even just lie on the couch and simply stare the cieling:) It may sound ridiculous, but for the past 2 days this is how I've been feeling myself. I'm typically not that kind of person and usually would like to keep myself occupied as much as possible. But I think occasionally spoiling ourselves helps regain that energy :)

Well, with nothing much left in the fridge, I had to comeup with something that can be of a quick remedy. I was thinking of having paruppu podi (the readymade one) and potatoes for dinner, but then I remembered the Long-Live-The-Shelf Event hosted by Roma. That convinced me to might as well make something on my own instead of paruppu podi so that I can atleast send the entry for the event. This thokku (pickle/chutney) requires nothing but tomatoes and g.chillies and I had enough of them in the fridge. Another of my mother-in-law's collection. It could be enjoyed by mixing with plain-rice (instant tomato rice), or as a side for curd-rice. It tastes divine with curd-rice!

This entry goes for Roma's Long-Live-Shelf-Event.

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes: 5 large
• Garlic - 5 cloves (big size) or 8 (medium size)
• G.chillies - 7 or 8
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp (add more if the tomatoes aren't that sour)
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Asafoetida - 2-3 pinches
• Oil - 3 tbsp

Procedure:

• Add the tomatoes to boiling water (or microwave for a few seconds) and leave it covered for 5 mins. Peel off the skin, mash them with hands (or puree them in blender).
• Mix the mashed tomatoes, tamarind paste, chilli powder, turmeric and salt well, along with a cup of water.
• Heat oil, season with mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. Then add chopped garlic and chopped g.chillies and fry until the chillies change color.
• Add the tomato mixture and let it boil. Simmer for 10 mins or until the mixture thickens and oil starts separating. Remove from heat after it reaches a thick consistency
• Mix it with plain rice to make instant tomato rice OR enjoy with curd rice.

This can stay in fridge for a week to 10 days.

Carrot Chutney

Didn't I tell you that I have way too many chutney recipes to publish?? Well, here comes another one! "
"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie." ~Jim Davis.
I would substitute Carrot Chutney instead of Carrot Cake in the above saying :-) Because this recipe deserves it. I am personally not fond of carrots, but I really do love them in this dish. Perhaps because they seem to absorb the flavors of the spices better in this recipe. I haven't really liked any other carrot dishes since childhood. But as I grew up, I realized the remarkable nutritional values in this vegetable. And I do like the fact that there are variety of ways for consuming carrots - raw, steamed, stir-fried, soup, cake, pudding - pretty much anything, and ofcourse through this lovely chutney! I was amazed when I saw a few websites completely dedicated to carrot recipes. Nowadays I make sure I cook carrots often so that atleast my daughter benefits from it.

When I saw the Fortune Cooking Contest, I decided to pickup my beloved daughter's zodiac sign Capricorn. Capricorn's vegetable was picked as Carrots and I thought this was a recipe worth to share. Though coconut chutney is the "all-time favorite" for us, due to cholesterol and other health reasons, my mom introduced this chutney to our family long back. The ingredient list may seem to be long, but they are all tossed in the pan at the same time, and so preparing is not a pain. The taste however is scrumptious! The recipe calls for pretty basic ingredients as in any other south indian cooking. Since the ingredients are fried before making the chutney, this can last in the refregirator for a few days. Here is my entry for Fortune Cooking Contest.

Ingredients:

• Carrot - 1 long
• G.chillies - 2
• Shredded Coconut - 1 tbsp
• Mint leaves - 5
• Corriander leaves - 2 sprigs (about 3 tbsp when chopped)
• Onion - 1 medium
• Ginger - 1/2 inch
• Garlic - 2
• Curry leaves - a few
• Kadalai Paruppu (Chana dal) - 1 tsp
• Ulundham paruppu (Urad Dal) - 1 tsp

For Seasoning:

• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Procedure:

• Grate the carrots and set aside.
• Heat a few drops of oil in a pan and fry the chana dal and urad dal until golden brown. Set aside.
• Chop the onions and ginger and set aside. (No need to chop the garlic and g.chillies).
• Add 1 tbsp oil in the same pan and add the chopped onions and fry until they turn transparent.
• Then add all the rest of the ingredients including carrots (except the ones for seasoning) one by one while frying for a few mins in between.
• Cool, add salt and grind together in a blender to a paste.
• Heat a tsp of oil and season with mustard seeds and asafoetida. Add to the chutney and mix well.

Goes well with Idlis and Dosas.

Tomato Chutney

This is one of my comfort foods - A food item that is very familiar to me while growing up and brings back childhood memories whenever I make it. After a few days of travel, there are a few food items that I crave for after coming home - A flavorful sambar with Potato roast, or Crispy dosas with tomato chutney! Back in my hometown, while having Idlis or Dosas every morning, we are forced to alter the accompaniments atleast twice a week.. Some pair-ups for idlis are - Chutneys, Idly-sambar, Vadakari , Kurma etc.. However, Chutneys are easier to make and fits into a busy weekday morning schedule. A slight change or an addition of a new ingredient to a regular chutney produces a new chutney with a whole new flavor. There are a variety of chutneys that can be made just with tomatoes and all of them taste great. I'm so comfortable with tomatoes that if the chutney contains tomatoes, I am going to like it no matter what! I guess I have way too many chutney recipes to publish :-)

Almost every household in tamilnadu makes a version of tomato chutney unique to their family. Here is a divergent version of the regular tomato chutney that I know of, one more recipe from my sister! I've never made tomato chutney this way. Its very Simple to make and very tasty too. I am sure I will be making this quite often from now on. You can serve this pretty much with anything that needs a little kick - sandwiches, omlettes, chips etc...

Ingredients

• Pearl onions/Shallots-15 nos.(finely chopped) - you can substitute with 1.5 medium sized onions.
• Garlic cloves -5 (finely chopped)
• Red chillies - 3 medium
• Tomatoes(ripe &big) - 4
• Tamarind paste-1tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Procedure

• Grind 2 red chillies and salt in a mixer to a coarse powder.
• Boil the tomatoes,peel the skin, and grind it to paste along with tamarind paste to prepare tomato puree.
• Heat the oil in a pan add mustard seeds,1 red chilli, 1/4 tsp asafetida,curry leaves.
• Then add the finely cut onions and garlic and fry for 5mins
• Add the coarsely powdered red chillies and fry for 5mins.
• Then add the tomato puree and allow the contents to boil for 5 mins.

Goes well with Idli, Dosa, Uthappam, Curd Rice.