Category Archives: Chutney

Chutney, Food

Hibiscus Spice Mix

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Hot spice mixes and sauce are just the thing for me…a jar of a hot spice mix is a start to many a delectable dishes. My spice closet ( yes closet!) overflows with amazing varieties from all over the world. I try and make a concoctions over the weekend that can be used in meat or vegetarian dishes or jus as a spice dip.

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My first time using Jamaican dried hibiscus flowers in a dry mix. Just amazing!!!

So with my Indian roots this mix had to be spicy so some good old fashioned dry red chilies did the trick.

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I had dried tomatoes from my harvest last year and was grateful to use them in this dish. They were dried and frozen at the end of the season

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Make sure you roast all the ingredients slowly on a low flame and not burn them. This will be perfect sprinkled over anything or add some hot water and glugs of olive oil to make a paste.

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  • 2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 2 tsp Cumin seeds
  • 2-3 whole star anise
  • 10 whole dried red chilies
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
  • 7-8 dried hibiscus flowers
  • 1 ½ tablespoon paprika 
  • A handful of dried tomatoes
  • 1tsp dried Lemon peel
  • Pink salt to taste

On a heavy bottomed on medium heat add red chilies, coriander, cumin seeds, whole star anise, garlic cloves and hibiscus until you start to smell the aromas. Use a wooden spoon to move them around to toast evenly.

Take off the heat and let the spices cool.

Add the rest of the ingredients and start blending in a spice grinder.

Serve sprinkled over anything (try breakfast boiled eggs ;)) or make a dip with olive oil and a couple of tablespoons of hot water.

Chutney, Food, Kashmir, Pickles, side dishes

Pickled Vegetables – Kashmiri Achar

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Fermented foods are  probiotic powerhouses  boosting the good bacteria in your gut and helping with overall health and immunity

“Achar” is a form of fermented food in the Indian subcontinent and essentially is a pickling process. It is one of the oldest methods of food preservation, sustaining communities through changing climate and seasons where the life of the crop could be extended by preserving it.

achar-1Kashmir with it’s cold winters is very conducive to pickling a variety of vegetables such as Kohlrabi, carrots, radish,  peppers etc. There is no vinegar in these pickles. Mustard oil is the main carrier in which fermenting agents like mustard and carom seeds are added. This will last a long while on your shelves.

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The basic recipe was for Monji Achar ( Kohlrabi pickle) from which I strayed a bit and added the crunchy turnips and carrots. The Kohlrabi leaves I had already cooked in another dish, otherwise I would have chopped and added them.

The key would be to dry out the cut vegetables in the sun for a day or so just to reduce the moisture. I am in the dead of winter here in Virginia so sunshine is scarce. I left it out for another day….48 hours.achar-2

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Kashmiri Achar - Pickles

  • Servings: many
  • Difficulty: easy
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Beautiful fermented winter vegetables

Credit: https://foodforthesoul00.com/ 

Ingredients

  • 1-2 large bulbs of Kohlrabi ( Monji is Kashmiri)
  • 1-2 large turnips
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 table spoon sea salt ( adjust to taste)
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
  • 1 tablespoon carom seeds ( Ajwain).
  • 1 cup mustard oil.
  • 2 table spoons red chili powder
  • 1 tsp ginger powder

Directions

  1. Peel and cut the bulbs of kohlrabi into 1 inch pieces.
  2. Do the same with peeled turnips and carrots
  3. Wash the veggies and spread them on a cloth to dry out in the sun for one day. This can be 2 days if there is no sunshine.
  4. In a large glass bowl mix the spices with the oil.
  5. Add the vegetables and mix well..
  6. Put it in a large glass pickling jar and seal tight.
  7. You need to leave the jar in a sunny place for a week to ferment. If you are in a cloudy wintery place like me, then it will take another week.

Sharing at Fiesta Friday  which is be co-hosted this week are Jhuls and Ginger

Chutney

Gand Chetin – Kashmiri Onion Chutney

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This is a traditional Onion Chutney that accompanies many a feasts and dinners in Kashmir. The process is a quick pickling process which is very simple bringing out the tart and savory flavors.

IMG_2420The recipe call for dry mint but fresh would be fine if you are out of stock. I dry my mint in summer and fall and it lasts me at least 6 months. Dry mint does have a unique taste that it imparts to many Kashmiri dishes.

I serve it as a side to rice and savory dishes but you will find that it was be used in many other ways such and sandwiches kebabs.

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Gand Chetin - Kashmiri Onion Chutney

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of organic red onions sliced thin
  • 3 green chilies sliced thin
  • 1/2 cup of green coriander/cilantro chopped
  • 1/2 tsp black cumin ( different form regular cumin)
  • 1/2 tsp dry mint
  • 1 tsp red chili powder
  • 1/2 cup of organic vinegar ( i used rice vinegar)

sea salt to taste

Salt the onions and keep aside for an hour or so and then wash and drain. You will need to squeeze the water out.

Mix all the other ingredients ( you will not need additional salt) and cool in the refrigerator before serving as a condiment.

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Linked to Angie’s Fiesta Friday co hosted this week by Ahila @ A Taste of Sri Lankan Cuisine and Diann @ Of Goats and Greens

Chutney, Food

Garlic Greens and Cilantro Mint Chutney

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Although it has been incessantly raining, spring is kind of here lurking behind the clouds and walls of rain! I harvested my spring garlic greens stalks to allow the bulbs to grow strong and firm in a couple of months. The smell was intense and heady but much milder that garlic bulbs  and I wanted to put them in just about everything.

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Ended up making  this garlicky cilantro chutney, added some greens to my raw banana kebabs/cutlets and then made a black lentil garlic soup. The rest were chopped up and added to daily omelets and sprinkled on curry dishes.

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This chutney is sparkling with fresh coriander/cilantro, fresh mint and garlic greens. It stores in the fridge really well and can be used in many ways including dipping sauce for cutlets as a salsa for chips, as a sandwich spread as so on. Add some nuts and parmesan and it will become your favorite pesto.

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The recipe is pretty simple and you can adjust the seasoning to taste.

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Garlic Greens and Cilantro Mint Chutney

  • Servings: many
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup chopped garlic greens
  • 1 cup chopped coriander leaves/cilantro
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint
  • 1 or 2 green chilies, chopped
  • 1/2 a lemon juice
  • 1 tsp amchur ( green mango) powder
  • ½ tsp cumin powder
  • Pink Salt to taste

 

Use a power blender to blend all the ingredients together to a paste. Store in a air tight container in the fridge and it will last a while.

Note: Amchur is used to add a sour tangy flavor. If you don’t have it, try chaat masala. If you don’t have that, don’t worry about it – the chutney will still be delicious!

This chutney will be perfect to accompany all the snacks at Angie’s Fiesta Friday where the co-hosts this week are Kaila @ GF Life 24/7 and Laurena @ Life Diet Health

Chutney, Food

Kashmiri Chutney – Dodh Al ( Bottle Gourd in Yoghurt)

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In the series of Kashmiri chutneys, this one is a little unusual and delightful. Made with boiled bottle gourd (Lauki), yoghurt and a dash of honey, it brings a slight sweetness to the table of spicy food.

1-IMG_2733One small gourd or pumpkin – peeled and chopped

About 8-10 cloves of garlic

1 cup of organic greek yoghurt ( or regular yoghurt hung for a few hours in muslin)

2 tbsp organic honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black cumin

a few strands of saffron crushed

1 tbsp of yellow raisins

chopped cilantro and mint leaves for garnish

Boil the gourd and garlic until tender. Drain the water and remove the garlic when cool. You can leave a couple of pieces of garlic in there. Put it in a sieve or muslin and squeeze the water out.

Add this to the yoghurt and mix the other ingredients.

Serve as a side topped with black cumin and cilantro/mint leaves.

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Chutney, Food, Kashmir

Walnut and Radish Chutney

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In the series of amazing chutneys inspired by the Kashmir cuisine, this is the one I make most often. I have made quite a few variations so feel free to experiment.

Walnut Radish Chutney
Walnut Radish Chutney

Walnuts and White daikon radish  are the star ingredient in this recipe both of which are abundantly found in supermarkets. Try and look for the organic versions. Continue reading Walnut and Radish Chutney →

Chutney, Food

Walnut Basil Pesto – preserving summer basil

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Got an abundance of summer basil and parsley and not quite sure how to make it last?

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Try this recipe:

1 cup organic walnuts

6 cups fresh basil leaves( blanched in boiling water for 30 secs and cooled in a water bath)

1 cup parsley

1 tsp salt

fresh ground pepper

i head of garlic – peel the cloves

1 cup of good quality olive oil

 

Add everything but the olive oil into a food processor and pulse to a paste, slowly add the olive oil and blend until smooth. You can adjust the salt and pepper to taste. I added 2 chilies from my garden.

Normally pesto has parmesan cheese in it but I omitted it as I am going to freeze this. You can add it when you decide to use the cubes,

Pour the pesto into a ice cube tray and freeze. You can take out the cubes as you need them for salads, sandwiches, dip and pasta. I used some on a avocado, red onion and tomato sandwich today.

Its a foolproof recipe!