Peanut Chutney

Easy Peanut chutney."Chutney" is a sauce popular in India which is usually used as side dish with Indian main dish such as dosai or even rotti . There are many variations of chutneys available. This time I have given a simple peanut chutney recipe. This is an very easy one and I very often make it at home. For my other chutney recipes click here.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Serves - 2 to 3 people

INGREDIENTS:

Roasted Peanuts - 3/4 cup
Dessicated coconut powder - 2 table spoon(optional)
Green chilli -1 no
Dray red chilli - 2 no
Tamarind - small gooseberry sized
Ginger - 1/2 inch sized
Salt - As required

SEASONING:
Oil - 1 teaspoon
Mustard - 1 teaspoon
Urad dal - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida powder - as required

METHOD:

1. Soak coconut powder in water for 15 minutes. Dry roast peanuts in a pan till they change colour. Prepare all ingredients.

2. In a mixer, first grind peanuts,ginger,tamarind and chillies. Then to that add the soaked coconut powder along with water. Grind them all to a smooth paste by adding required water. Your chutney is ready. Next is seasoning part.

3. In a separate pan, add some oil. Add mustard and once it splutters, add urad dal and pour this on the chutney . Sprinkle some asafoetida powder.

4. Serve with dosai /idly / rotti .

NOTES:

1. Coconut powder is purely optional. You can avoid it if you dont want.

2. If you dont like adding tamarind, instead of tamarind, in the end you can add few drops of lime juice for tanginess.

3. If you are prone to get heart burns due to peanuts, add a pinch of jaggery when you grind. It greatly reduces heart burns caused due to peanuts.

cauliflower kurma

Easy cauliflower curry that goes well as side dish with rice or rotti !

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time : 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
Cauliflower - 1 no.
Onion -  1 cup chopped finely.
Tomato - 2 medium sized chopped finely.
Green chilli - 1 no. chopped finely
Garam masala - 1/2 teaspoon(Optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cashews - 7- 10 no.s
Coconut powder - 2 tablespoon

SPICES:
Cardamom - 2 no.s
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch sized
Cloves - 2 no.s
Bay leaf - 1 no
Cumin seeds -1 teaspoon
Fennel seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Star anise - small sized
Oil - 2 tablespoon

METHOD:

1. Cut cauliflower florets. In a large vessel boil water with salt. Add chopped cauliflower in the boiling water and allow it to rest it for 10 -15 minutes. It removes worms and pesticides from the cauliflower .Then filter the water out. This process is called "blanching".

2. Grind coconut and cashews with little water in to a fine paste.

3. In a pan, add some oil. Then add items mentioned in the "Spices" section.

4. Now add onion and green chilli and fry till they get translucent.

5. Now add tomato. Add turmeric and garam masala powder and cook till the tomatoes turn soft and mushy. Now allow the contents to cool and grind them to a fine paste.

6. In a pan, add some more oil. Then add the tomato onion paste which you prepared in step 5. Also add cashew coconut paste which you prepared in step 2 . Also add blanched cauliflower florets and salt. Now add some water to your desired consistency. Allow the contents to boil for 2  minutes. Then switch off the stove. Garnish with coriander leaves.

7. Serve cauliflower kurma with rotti or rice !

SEE ALSO: Green mung dal gravy, Navratan kurma, Channa masala.