Namaste

Namaste and a warm welcome to all.

As you can see my blog is about food and recipes. I love eating and trying out new recipes all the time.

Very often we mum's think of healthy and interesting food options that we can make for our kids especially when they are back from school knowing that their lunch boxes never come back home empty. Hence I always feel its important to give them a healthy and wholesome snack once they are home. When my kid comes home from school I always try and give him some source of carbohydrate combined with proteins along with this, a fruit and milk, or puddings made from milk. Kids normally can't eat too much at one time, so the portions can be small but giving them a little from each of these food group ensures a balanced meal.

I have some interesting ideas that I'd like to share with you all. You might find some of my recipes very basic but I am hoping that my blog is helpful not only for Indians but for people all around the world! Indian food is quite popular and enjoyed by most, so hopefully you can attempt recipes from here and make it yourself now, in your kitchen. Please do go through my recipes and give it a shot at trying them. Let me know how things turned out and if you enjoyed your experience of cooking.... Feel free to get in touch, share your experience, leave a comment or ask any questions you may have. Thank you for stopping by and taking a look! I do hope its helpful.

Happy cooking!

Monday 27 August 2012

Chutneys

SWEET AND SOUR CHUTNEY:
Ingredients:
1 Cup Dates


1/2 Cup tamarind (available at most Indian and Asian food stores).
1 tspn red chilly powder
1/2 tbspn roasted cumin powder

Method:
Soak the dates in water overnight or at least for 4-5 hours.


Remove the seeds from inside the dates.


Put all the dates in a blender. Keep aside the water used for soaking the dates.


Now soak the tamarind in the same water that was used for soaking the dates. Soak tamarind for 1/2 to 1 hour. (You can also soak the dates and tamarind separately but use less or just enough water needed for soaking, otherwise when grinding the chutney will be too watery).


Squeeze the tamarind well with your hand so to get its sourness/pulp into the water that you used for soaking.


Now strain the tamarind water pouring it into the blender (which contains the dates) discarding all the tamarind (after squeezing it well with hand so you get all the sour juice from it).



Blend to get a nice smooth and thick consistency.


Pour into a container.


Heat on a medium flame and bring to a boil stirring occasionally.


Add red chilly powder.


And roasted cumin powder.


Stir well.


Boil for another 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally. Switch off the gas and allow to cool. The chutney is now ready.


You can freeze additional chutney and use later. Thaw before using.



GREEN CORIANDER CHUTNEY.
Ingedients:
1-2 bunch of fresh coriander leaves (wash well).

1/2 medium red onion or 1 small red onion (chopped).

1/2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice.

1-2 green chillies (or more if you like it spicier).
1 tsp sugar
Salt as per taste.
1/2 cup water.

Method:
Wash the coriander leaves well and put into a grinder. You can see the amount of leaves I have used and get an idea of the quantity used (they are loosely packed). Add the chopped red onions.

Add salt as per taste.

Add sugar.

Add lemon juice. I have used a lemon squeezer.

Add green chillies.

Add just about enough drinking water to start the grinding process as we want a thick consistency and not a thin one.

And now grind to make a smooth paste.

The chutney is now ready. Refrigerate and store. The chutney can be used for a week to 10 days.
The Lemon juice gives a really nice fresh green color to the chutney. There should be a good balance between the salt, sugar and lemon, not too sweet yet you should be able to taste the subtle sweetness and the sourness of the fresh lemon juice.


More chutney recipes soon....

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