Cherry Tomato chutney

Finally, those exams are over and I'm back to blogging. This is just one of our regular tomato chutneys which I wrote earlier. In this chutney, I prepared it with cherry tomatoes and byadagi chilli.

Ingredients:
Cherry tomatoes - 1+3/4 cup
Onion - 1
Garlic cloves - 12 to 13
Red chillies - 3
Byadagi chillies - 3
Salt (to taste)
Sesame oil

To temper:
Sesame oil
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Split white urad dal


Method:

Wash the tomatoes.

Peel and slice the onions. Peel the garlic cloves.

Remove the stalks of tomatoes and cut them into halves.

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the garlic cloves and sauté till they turn light golden brown.

Add the onions and sauté till they change colour.

Add the red chillies and byadagi chillies. Sauté for a few minutes.

Add the tomatoes.

Add the salt as well. Sauté till the tomatoes become mushy. Allow them to become warm or cool.

Add to the mixie jar.

Grind.

Temper with the given tempering ingredients.

Serves as a good side dish for dosai, idlies and uttappams.

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Pasalai Keerai Milagu Kootu/Spinach Pepper Kootu

Expect slower updates since exams are approaching nearby.

Earlier I have posted a recipe of milagu kootu with chow chow and pureed greens. But in this recipe, I didn't puree the greens.

While flipping through a recipe book, I read that the pepper, black gram and coconut were ground and added to kootu in this recipe. My family enjoyed this green dal very much.

Ingredients:
Spinach/pasalai keerai - 300 gms
Tuvar dal/arhar dal/thuvaram paruppu - 1/3 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Salt (to taste)
Oil
Asafoetida powder

To temper:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp.
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp.
Dry red chilli - 1
Oil

To grind:
Urad dal - 1 tbsp.
Peppercorns - 1 tsp.
Grated coconut - 3 tbsp.
Oil

Method:
Boil the tuvar dal with required water, turmeric powder and little sesame oil in a pressure cooker. Keep aside.

Heat the oil in a pan. Add black gram and peppercorns. Saute till the black gram becomes golden colour. Keep aside.

While sauting, the peppercorns would burst. So be careful.

Heat the oil in a big pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and red chilli (break into 2 or 3).

When the mustard seeds crackle, add the chopped spinach leaves.

Saute the spinach leaves. After a few minutes, the spinach leaves would release water.

Meanwhile add the black gram, black peppercorn and grated coconut in a blender.

Grind the mixture without adding water. Keep aside.

Continue sauteing the spinach.

Now add the boiled tuvar dal. Mix well.

Bring it to boil. Let it boil for 4 to 5 minutes while stirring in between. Now add the ground spices.

Mix well. Sprinkle asafoetida and salt. Mix. At this stage, the kootu becomes thick.

Serve as a side dish for rice or chapathi.

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Oats Spinach Paneer Cutlet/Cake

Well, I'll be straight to the point. I was happy to receive a package containing Hudson Canola Oil from Dalmia Continental Ltd. This brand was recently launched into the Indian market. You can Google the brand for more information.

Along with the package came a recipe booklet and a letter from the team who sent me this package. I would like to thank the team members for sending this package to me.

Let's share some facts here. Canola oil is a compound word for "Canadian Oil, Low Acid". It is manufactured from rapeseed oil. The oil is rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, beneficial for our bodies. To know more about Canola oil, read the article here.

Now let's get back to the recipe. Later, I took the booklet and browsed through the recipes. This cutlet recipe caught my eye and I thought, "Hmm...I could make this". Well, the recipe originally accounted for a lesser amount of seasoning and I tweaked the amount to suit my family's taste, which is quite a task to satisfy them 100%.

Moreover, the recipe doesn't contain onions, garlic and ginger.

After trying out the recipe, the cutlets tasted very nice. The children gobbled them up immediately and were happy.

My thoughts about the product:
Canola oil is a very good oil. It can be used in normal Indian cooking and enhances the taste of food in a different manner.

Ingredients:
Cottage cheese (paneer) - 3/4 cup (grated)
Quaker oats (white oats) - 1/2 cup
Spinach - 8 stalks (each stalk having 4 leaves)
Green peas - 1/2 cup
Potatoes - 2 (big)
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp.
Dry kasoori methi (fenugreek leaves) - 1 tsp.
Bread crumbs - 2 tbsp.
Roasted channa powder - 2 tsp.

Seasoning:
Red chilli flakes - 1 tsp.
Cumin powder - 1 tsp.
Coriander powder - 1 tsp.
Chaat masala - 1/2 tsp.
Salt (to taste)
Pomegranate (anardana) powder - 1/2 tsp. (I didn't add though)
Tandoori masala - 1 tsp.
Oil (to shallow fry)

For garnishing:
Lemon wedges and onion rings

To serve:
Tomato ketchup or any green chutney

Method:

Boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker.

Peel the fresh green peas.

Boil the green peas in water for 5 minutes. Keep aside.

Blanching of spinach:

Cut the roots from the spinach. Wash the leaves well. Pour the water into a deep saucepan and let it come to the boiling point. During this point, add the spinach leaves. They should be completely immersed in water.

Let it boil for 2 minutes. Strain the spinach and drain the water.

Immediately rinse the spinach in cold water. Place the strainer on a bowl and allow the water to drip off. Keep aside. As of now, the weather is cold, so rinse it with tap water directly.

But during summer pour some water into a bowl and add ice cubes. Toss the spinach into the bowl. After a few minutes, drain the water and use the spinach.

Grate the paneer and keep aside.

Saute the oats in a dry pan for 2 to 3 minutes.

Blend the oats in a blender.

Peel the skin of boiled potatoes. Mash the potatoes while they are still warm.

Chop the blanched spinach and add in a vessel. Drain the water from green peas. Semi-mash the peas. Add it to the spinach. Add the grated paneer, mashed potatoes, powdered oats, chopped coriander leaves and dry fenugreek leaves.

Add roasted channa powder, bread crumbs, cumin powder, tandoori powder, red chilli flakes, coriander powder, chaat masala,and required salt.

Mix all the ingredients to form a dough.

Take a piece of the dough and shape it into a ball. Flatten it into a cake (or a cutlet).

Pour the oil for shallow frying. (I used the pan which was used to shallow fry the oats before). Place the cutlets in the pan.

Shallow fry on both sides till crisp and brown colour. Remove and place them on a paper towel.

Pour the oil for the next batch.

Continue the same with the remaining batches.

Place the cutlets on a serving plate. Garnish with lemon wedges and onions. Serve with tomato ketchup or chutney.

Note:

- Please adjust the spices and seasonings to your desired tastes.

- Don't cook the cutlets in high flame. Cook in medium-low or low flame.

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Onion (Shallot) Chutneys/Chinna Vengaayam Chatnigal

Well, I find it hard to organize my random thoughts about onion chutney....might as well express them in one liners.

I make these two chutneys quite often at home. I love the chutney v1 and my husband loves v2.

My mother used to make these chutneys at home when I was young.

I have posted various chutney recipes in this site, but I haven't posted the shallot chutney yet.

In v1, the onions are first ground and then sauteed along with the tempering.

Also, do note that if you consume the chutney v1, please make sure to brush your teeth and rinse your mouth very properly.

Ingredients:

Shallots/chinna vengaayam - 1 cup

Dry whole red chillies - 2 (or as per taste)

Tamarind - 2 small pieces

Salt (to taste)

Sesame oil

To temper:

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method:

Onion chutney v1

Break the chillies and soak in little water along with tamarind.

Grind the peeled onions along with soaked red chilli, tamarind and water.

After grinding.....

Take a small pan and add oil. Temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Allow the mustards to crackle.

Pour the ground onion into the pan. Add salt also. Saute till the raw smell fades away and the onion paste becomes thick and releases oil. Remove from pan and serve as a side dish for idli or dosa.

 

 

Note: Please take care while grinding and then sauting the onions as they create burning sensations in the eyes and the nose.

Chinna vengaayam chutney v2

In this version, onions are sauteed along with red chillies and tamarind. Then they are ground and tempered.

Ingredients:

Shallots - 1.5 cup

Red chillies - 3 (or as per taste)

Tamarind - a small piece

Salt (to taste)

Sesame oil

To temper:

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp.

Black gram - 1/4 tsp.

Cumin seeds - a pinch

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Sesame oil

Method:

Peel the onions.

Heat the oil in a pan and add shallots. Saute.

Saute till the shallots change colour. Add red chilli and tamarind. Saute for a few minutes. Allow it to cool.

After cooling, add the shallots, red chillies, tamarind and some little water. Grind them. Pour the chutney into a bowl.

Temper the given ingredients. Mix it with the chutney.

Enjoy with idli or dosa.

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