Carrot - Cabbage Chutney

In a quest to look for non-raw food, working with chutneys and raitas is one of the biggest challenges. In that search, I came across this recipe at https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/carrot-chutney-recipe/ for Carrot chutney which suited my purpose.
I tweaked it a bit and added cabbage for good measure as well.

CARROT-CABBAGE CHUTNEY

Ingredients:
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tso
Carrots, roughly chopped - 1 cup
Cabbage, roughly chopped - 1/4 cup
Green chili - 1, medium
Dry red chili - 1 medium
Asafoetida (Hing) pwd - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Tamarind - 1 pea size
Coconut, dessicated (readymade one works best than fresh) - 1/4 cup
For Tempering:
Sesame oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves, a few
Method:
1. Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a kadhai, add the urad and chana dal, green chili and red chili along with hing. Fry a bit till lentils turn golden brown. Remove and keep aside.
2. Add another 1/2 tsp oil, now add in the carrots, salt and cover-cook for 7-8 minutes or till carrots are semi-soft.
3. Now add the cabbage as well and cook for 5 mins more.
3. Remove, let cool and grind to a paste. Transfer to a bowl.
4. For tempering, heat 1/2 tsp oil, add mustard seeds and let splutter. Add the urad dal and curry leaves and pour over the chutney.
Serve as accompaniment with Idli, dosas, or chapatis too.

Moong Dal Idli

Idli is one of the traditional Indian breakfasts that is guaranteed to give you that instant energy boost, thanks to its carbs content. While we have many options around for Idlis, using Idli rice, raw rice, Millets, let's try one with Green gram. I have used whole Green gram in this for added goodness.

The batter needs to ferment, as with any Idli batter. If you are going to make this at nite, then grind the batter in the morning itself. Best for use within a day.
Serve with this Carrot-Cabbage Chutney

MOONG DAL (GREEN GRAM) IDLI

Soaking time: 6-8 hours

Fermentation time - 6 -8 hours

Serves - 20 idlis approx

Ingredients:

Whole Green gram (Sabut Moong dal) - 1 cup

Whole Black gram, without husk (Dhuli sabut Urad dal) - ¼ cup

Green Chili -1, medium

Ginger - ½ inch piece

Salt to taste

Fenugreek (Methi) seeds - ¼ tsp

Method:

1. Soak the moong dal overnight. Soak the urad dal along with methi seeds for 2 hours before grinding the batter. 

2. In a mixer jar, add the moong dal with a little water, green chili and ginger and grind till you get a frothy batter. Remove to a bowl.

3. Now add the urad dal + methi seeds to the mixer and grind to a smooth and frothy batter, as for idli. Add this to the ground moong dal, add salt to taste, mix well and leave to ferment for 6-8 hours.

4. Apply oil to idli plates, pour ladle-ful batter into each pocket and steam cook for 15 mins or till done. If you wish to add veggies to this, add it just before making idlis.

Serve hot with red chutney or Carrot-cabbage chutney

Dhaniya-Curry Leaves Chutney

A quick and tasty chutney, goes well with any main dish...


                                                 DHANIYA-CURRY LEAVES CHUTNEY

Ingredients : 

Dhaniya leaves - 1 cup
Curry leaves - 1 cup
Dry red chili - 1
Urad dal (split black gram) - 1 1/2 tbsps
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Tamarind - 1 inch piece

Method : 

1. Heat a pan and dry roast urad dal and red chili till slightly brown. Add hing and remove from fire. Let cool.

2. Grind to a paste along with the dhaniya and curry leaves, tamarind and salt. Add very little water in order to get a thick chutney. Check for salt.

3. Serve as desired.

Turai (Ridge Gourd) Chutney

Turai or Ridge gourd chutney is an excellent combination for almost any dish...especially Dosas, Idlis and Rotis.
Here's how to make it....

 TURAI CHUTNEY

Ingredients :
Turai or Ridge Gourd - 1 medium
Dry Red Chilies - 2
Urad Dal (split black gram) - 1 tbsp
Tamarind - 1 small piece, about pea-sized
Salt to taste
Hing (Asafoetida powder) - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tsps

Method : 
1. Peel the thorny skin of the ridge gourd but do not remove the peel completely. Wash and chop into small pieces, keep aside.

2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add red chilies and fry for a minute. Now add the split black gram or urad dal and fry till it turns golden brown. Remove the dal and chilies from the oil and keep aside.

3. Add 1 tsp oil more to the pan and cook the chopped Turai or ridge gourd till they become tender. Remove and cool to room temperature.

4. Blend together the black gram, red chilies, cooked Turai and the tamarind in a mixer till it is a fine paste.
Add salt to taste and mix well.
Serve as desired.

Kebab Shahenshahi

Found this recipe in my very first recipe diary, written quite some years back. Decided to try it out last evening...True to its name, royally delicious...

                                                                     KEBAB SHAHENSHAHI 

Ingredients :

Black chick peas (Kala Chana) - 1 cup
Corn starch - 1 tsp
Chopped Onions - 1/2 cup cup
Chopped ginger - 2 tsps
Chopped garlic - 2 tsps
Salt to taste
Cardamom (Elaichi) powder - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
Chopped green chilies - 2 tsps
Bay leaf - 1
Dry Mango powder (Amchur) - 1/2 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves
Filling :
Chopped mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Chopped cashew nuts - 3 to 4
Green chili - 1
Salt to taste

Method : 

1. Soak the chick peas overnight or for 6 to 8 hours. Drain the water and wash once.

2. In a pressure cooker, add the chick peas, half the chopped onions, ginger, garlic and dry spices - Cardamom powder, cinnamon powder, Bay leaf and Amchur. Mix well and add 1/2 cup water. Pressure cook till the chick peas are tender.

3. Once the pressure has reduced naturally, open the cooker and drain the water completely. Let cool.

4. Grind the chick pea mixture to a semi-fine paste. Transfer to a bowl. Add the remaining onions, green chilies, coriander leaves and corn starch. Mix well and rest aside for 5 to 7 minutes.

5. Prepare the filling by blending together mint leaves, green chili and a bit of salt. Transfer to a separate bowl. Add the chopped cashew nuts and mix well.

6. Take a small portion of the chick peas mixture and make a small indent in the centre. Place a teaspoonful of the filling and seal well. Shape into a round or cylindrical kebab. Prepare the remaining kebabs similarly.

7. Shallow fry in sufficient oil till golden brown on both sides. Serve hot with crisp raw onion salad and chutney.

Mixed Red Chutney

This morning Mum opened the fridge, found a quarter red pumpkin, half a red capsicum, 1 carrot that had very cleverly escaped its family and lodged itself at the bottom of the vegetable tray. Sound familiar? Well...fret not, let's turn all these into an interesting accompaniment that goes well with most dishes. Yup, a chutney.
My mother added a twist to it as well...some watermelon rinds. This is the greenish-white portion in between the outer peel and inner red pulp.
The ingredients used for this are common to most spicy chutneys, we are just using them to our advantage here (and clean the fridge too!!!)

                                                       MIXED RED CHUTNEY

Ingredients :

Chopped Red Pumpkin - 1/2 cup
Diced Capsicum - 1/4 cup
Carrot - 1 (chopped)
Chopped Watermelon rinds - 1/2 cup
(Note :  The above are optional, i.e, it is not mandatory to have all four to prepare this chutney)
Spices :
Split Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Dry Red Chili - 1 large
Hing (Asafoetida) - a pinch
Imli (Tamarind) - size of a half a lemon
Salt to taste

Method :

1. Heat 1/4 tsp oil in a pan. Add the urad dal and red chili to it. Fry for about 2 minutes, taking care not to let it blacken. Remove and add the hing. Mix lightly. Let cool.

2. Heat another 2 tbsps oil to the same pan, add the chopped pumpkin, watermelon rinds, carrot and capsicum and saute. Sprinkle a little salt and cover cook on a low flame till the veggies become slightly soft.
Remove and cool.

3. In a mixer jar, add the urad dal, red chili mixture and grind well to a fine powder. Now add the vegetables along with the tamarind piece and salt to taste. Grind to a fine paste without adding any water.
Transfer to a bowl and serve as desired. This can be stored for up to a week when refrigerated.

Sweet (Tamarind) Chutney

In my recipe for Green Chutney I had mentioned a sweet Tamarind-based chutney as well that is usually served with Indian snacks. Here's the recipe for it......

                                                       SWEET (TAMARIND) CHUTNEY

Ingredients :

De-seeded dates

Tamarind paste - 2 to 3 tbsps

Jaggery - 1/2 cup (You can reduce this if you don't want it too sweet)

Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Jeera (Cumin seeds) powder - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Method :

1. Combine chopped dates, tamarind paste and jaggery and pressure cook along with 1 cup water, up to 2 to 3 whistles. Alternately, you can also use a saucepan and cook till dates become soft. Let cool.

2. Blend to a smooth paste. Strain this into a bowl to remove any lumps and/or impurities.

3. Add water to adjust consistency as required and mix well. Now add the chilli powder, jeera powder, pinch salt and mix again.

Serve as desired. 

Green Chutney

Most Indian savouries, especially in North India are served with two chutneys - a sweet one made of Tamarind and Dates, and a green one made of Mint and coriander leaves.

This recipe is a typical method for the green chutney, which goes very well with Samosas, Kachoris and other chaat preparations. Here goes......

                                                                  GREEN CHUTNEY

Ingredients :

Mint leaves - 2 cups
Coriander leaves - 1 cup
Green chillies - 3 to 4
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Juice of 1/2 a lemon / 1/2 inch piece of tamarind
Salt to taste

Method :

1. Wash and chop the mint and coriander leaves roughly, i.e, not too fine as we will be blending them anyway.

2. Add them to a blender along with all the other ingredients. The idea behind using lemon juice OR tamarind is to cut down the sharp flavour of mint and green chillies and yet enhance the overall taste.

3. Transfer to a bowl and serve. Alternatively, you can also preserve the chutney in the refrigerator for up to 10 days, for use with sandwiches or simply any snack you fancy!!!