Dal Coriander Chutney

A little twist on standard coriander chutney, I decided not to use coconut and groundnut and lemon juice so the chutney can stay longer in fridge. I had left over cilantro so I added that in but my intention was not to use that much cilantro. In any case giving the recipe for what I made. You can improvise and make it without cilantro. It will taste very good.

Ingredients:

2 tsp chana dal

2 tsp urad dal

2 tsp moong dal

1/2 cup chana dhalia (softer version used in chiwda)

1 full packet of curry leaves

3-4 red chillies

tadka: oil, mustard seeds, asofeotida

cilantro as per taste

salt as per taste

1/2 tsp amchur powder

In a pan, make tadka (oil, mustard seeds and asofoetida), add curry leaves (as much as you want, i added full packet from patel).

add all the dals, chana, urad and moong, add the red chillies and dhala and fry for

few minutes. Picture shown.

Once cool transfer the contents to mixer, add amchur powder and salt and grind in

to powder.

At this point, this can be eaten as is like the dry chutney powder.

To make it into idli or dosa chutney, add fresh cilantro and water and blend it nicely.

You can add tadka on top or yogurt or serve as is.

 

By Priya Vaidya

 

Bottle Gourd (Lauki) Skin Chutney

 

1 Lauki skin only grated (fine side of grater)

2 tsp sesame seeds

2 tsp dry grated coconut

salt to taste

1-2 green chillies

curry leaves

for tadka: oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asofeotida, turmeric powder

If you are making lauki subji, instead of throwing away skin, grate it using a grater and put it in ample water, so that it does not discolor. In a frying pan make tadka (standard, oil, mustard-cumin seeds, asofoetida, turmeric powder, curry leaves and add cut green chillies to taste). Squeeze out water from the grated lauki skin and add it to the tadka. Keep stirring on medium flame, until the water is dried and it looks toasted. Add sesame seeds, dry grated coconut and salt to taste. Keey stirring and toast the mixture for another 5-10 minutes. When it looks nice light brownish color, chutney is done.

This is a dry chutney, tastes amazing, nice way to not waste the skin. You can also make similar chutney (exact same receipe) from snake gourd skin. That comes out amazing as well.

 

By Priya Vaidya

 

Tofu Spinach Paratha

Ingredients:

7-8 cubes hard tofu
1 cup spinach puree or finely chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 green chilli
1/2 tsp amchur powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder (optional)
1/4th cup very finely chopped onion (optional, with onion the dough leaves water, you need to be careful)
fresh cilantro chopped
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 tsp oil
salt to taste
Water to mix the dough

Instead of paneer I tried tofu parathas with spinach and they came out nice and tasty.

Method:

Crumble the tofu with hand or you can blend it with spinach into paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead dough to roll out parathas.

YOu can also add 1-2 tsp soya bean powder (you get in indian store, good for protein supplement) anytime you make any parathas or even plain rotis.

Also add avocados if you want to, to the dough.

By Priya Vaidya

Green Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:

2-3 medium size green tomatoes

1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds, ground to fine powder, a little more

sesame also tastes good (like tahini), use this amount by your choice after a few experiments.

2-3 green chillies

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

1/4 cup jaggery (adjust quantity per taste, since the tomatoes inherently are sour)

salt per taste

for tadka/tempering

2 table spoons oil

Approx couple of pinches of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asofoetida, curry leaves
Method:

Cut the tomatoes in big chunky pieces and set aside. Toast sesame seeds and grind them into fine powder.

Add oil to the pan, once heated add mustard and cumin seeds (pinch of each). Add hing and curry leaves and green chilli pieces. Add cut tomatoes and jaggery and keep the lid and let it cook for few minutes via steam. Only about 5 mins is enough on low-flame. Add fresh cilantro.

Transfer all the contents and sesame powder to a blender and blend into chutney like consistency. The chutney is ready to serve.

 

By Priya Vaidya