Mango Pickle - Aavakaya

This is my first time trying to make a pickle at home! It was a result of my disappointment from several store bought Avakaya pickles and the very mild pickles that were sent over from India. I like my pickles extra hot and I used the Extra Hot Red Chili powder and the pickle turned out really hot. You can use a medium or hot chili powder based on your preference for heat.

This pickle is a bit of work and it tastes best when it's left to marinate for at least a week. That is, if you can control yourself!!!!

It's really difficult to find really raw hard mangoes here and the ones I used were not as hard or sour. However, the pickle tasted great even with those mangoes. The most trouble I had was chopping the mango with the seed. 

Ingredients:

Raw Green Mangoes - 2 Big or 4 small

Red Chili Powder - 2 cups

Salt - 1 cup

Garlic Cloves - 15

Fenugreek Seeds - 3 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 Cup

Gingelly Oil - 2.5 to 3 Cups

Wash and cut the mangoes into bite sides pieces. Make sure to cut the pieces with the seed attached. Dry these mango pieces in the sun till they are completely dry.

Grind the Mustard seeds and 2 Tbsp of the Fenugreek seeds into a fine powder.

Mix the mango pieces, red chili powder, salt, the ground powder, the remaining 1 tbsp of Fenugreek seeds and garlic with 2 cups of gingelly oil.

Cover and keep the pickle aside and mix once a day. The oil will get absorbed into the pickle. 

On the 4th day, add the rest of the oil and mix and continue to mix once a day until day 7.

After the 7th day, the Avakaya is ready to eat.

Enjoy with some hot rice and ghee.

Peanut Chutney

Ingredients:
Peanuts - 1 Cup
Green Chilis - 6 to 8 (depending on how hot you like the chutney)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic Clove - 1
Salt - to taste
Tamarind Paste - 1 tsp

Tempering:
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Red Chili - 1
Chana daal - 1 tbsp
Garlic clove - 1
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Dry fry the peanuts and grind with the rest of the ingredients, adding water as you go. Use water based on how thick you want the consistency of the chutney to be.
Temper with Mustard Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Crushed Garlic Clove, broken Red Clili, Chana Daal and Curry leaves.

Soft Idlis with Idli Rawa

Idlis have been rated amongst the best breakfast foods in the world. I fall into the category of people who thought that an Idli was the bane of my existence as a kid, but I have begun to like them as an adult. My mom used to make the combined batter that was used to make Idlis and dosas too. The batter would be used for making Idlis for day 1 to 3 and then dosas from 4 to 6. if there was more batter left after day 6, we would have ootappams. These are spongy idlis and very different from the ones that you make with Idli rawa. 

I discovered the Idlis with Idli rawa and I fell in love with them. They are easy to make and the best part is, they turn out soft even when the batter is made in a blender or a mixie instead of a wet grinder. The boys are really fond of Idlis with Peanut Chutney and I make it often. Well, I love it too :)

Idlis:
Ingredients:
Idli Rawa - 3 Cups
Urad Daal - 1 Cup
Fenugreek Seeds - a big pinch
Salt - To taste

Wash and soak the daal for about 4 hours of more. When you are ready to grind, soak the Rawa in water. Grind to a smooth batter, adding water as you go. In a grinder, this could take a half hour or more. Wash the rawa a couple times and squeeze out the water, a handful at a time and add to the batter. Mix well. The batter should not be runny but semi solid.  Add salt and mix well.

Ferement over night. If you live in a colder climate, pre-heat the oven to it's lowest setting or in keep warm and turn off. When it's still warm, place the batter inside and let it sit over night.

The batter will raise and become fluffy. Mix and make the idlis and store in the refrigerator.

To make the Idlis:
Place and Idli Steamer or a regular Rice cooker with 2 cups of water on the stove on Medium heat. Grease the idli moulds and add about 1.5 heaping tbsp of batter into each mould. Place in the steamer and steam for about 12 min or so. Open and check for doneness. It will be firm but slightly wet on top. Remove, wait for a minute and them take the idlis out with a sharp spoon.

Serve the Idlis with Chutney or Sambar of your choice.

Dips: Tahini, Hummus and Tzatziki Sauce

My upcoming post is going to be a mediterranean platter and I am a fan of these sauces. Hummus is a must in our home and we use it in sandwiches, as dips, in wraps and just about anything we want to add some flavor to.

I love Sabre Hummus and if I don't have some on hand, I can quickly whip some up using canned beans.

Tahini:

Sesame Seeds - 1/2 cup

Olive Oil - 1 Tbsp

Water -  1 to 2 Tbsp

Salt - To taste

Black Peppe - 1 Tsp

Lemon  - A few drops

Dry roast the sesame seeds on medium heat until fragrant. Cool and grind with the rest of the ingredients. Add water as needed, based on how thick the sauce is.

Tzatziki Sauce:

Greek/Hung Yogurt - 1 Cup

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Salt - To Taste

Black Pepper - 1 Tsp

Dill . - 1 Tbsp chopped

English Cucumber - Finely minced - 1/2

Beat the yogurt until smooth and mix all the ingredients.

Hummus:

I have the recipe for Hummus on my blog and adding the link here:                         

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Recipe

Cilantro Hummus

Cooked chickpeas - 2 cups
Green Chilis/Jalapenos - 2
Garlic - 2 cloves
Cumin - 1 tsp
Cilantro - 1 bunch
Lemon Juice - 1 1/2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Water - as required

Blend all the ingredients above with required amount of water until smooth and creamy. Drizzle with some olive oil and serve as a dip or a spread.

Pear Orange and Mango preserve

This is such an easy recipe. It tastes so much better than the store bought jam, and it tastes really fresh. You can use any fruit you have on hand to make the fruit preserve. Apples, berries, peaches,plums. I had a couple pears, oranges and some mango pieces. It takes very little effort, and yields a lot of preserve too.

Pears/Apples - 2
Oranges - 3
Mango - 1
Cinnamon stick - 1
Sugar - 1 to 1 1/2 cups

Peel and finely chop the fruits. I chopped them using a food processor. You can use a mixie, but they should not be too smooth.The fruit needs to have some texture. In a pan, add the fruit pulp, sugar, 1/2 cup water and a cinnamon stick. Cook on a medium flame, until it thickens and the fruit is cooked. It takes about 30 to 40 min. I used 1 cup sugar, but you can use more if you like it sweeter. When you are happy with the consistency, remove and cool. Store in a air tight jar.

Trio of Chutneys - Sweet chutney - Red chili chutney - Coriander and mint chutney

These chutneys are really easy to make, and are a must for any kind of a chat. They keep in the fridge for more than a week and work great for chats, as dips, spreads and many other ways.

Red Chili chutney:

Red chilis - 10 to 12
Garlic cloves - 3
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1 tsp
Lemon - 1/2

In a small pan, add the chilis, garlic and 1/2 cup water. Boil till the water evaporates.
Grind with salt, sugar and some water.
Squeeze the lemon.

Green chutney:

Coriander - 1 bunch
Mint - 1/2 bunch
Green chilis - 4
Lemon  - 1
Salt - To taste
Garlic cloves - 2
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Peanuts - a handful

Grind all the ingredients together with 1/2 cup water to make a smooth paste.
Squeeze the lemon and add more water if necessary.

Sweet chutney:

Dates - 12
Tamarind paste - 1 1/2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Boil the dates along with the rest of the ingredients in 1 cup water.
When the dates are soft, cool and grind together.

Tangy Tomato chutney

I made this chutney with anything and everything I could find in my pantry. Did not have the main ingredient - tomatoes, but was craving for this chutney. Found some marinara sauce, and decided to try it out. The result was tangy and lip smacking. One of the best tomato chutneys I ever had.

Sliced red onion - 1
Green chilis - 4
Red Chilis - 4
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Chana daal - 2 tbsp
Urad daal - 2 tbsp
Peanuts - 2 tbsp
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic cloves - 6
Cilantro - handful
Mint leaves- 1/2 cup
Coconut powder - 2 tbsp
Marinara sauce - 2 cups
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp

In a pan, heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds, and the daal and peanuts. Add the onions, ginger, green and red chilis, garlic and fry. When the onion is soft, add the choped cilantro, mint leaves, coconut powder, tamarind, salt and stir. Add the marinara sauce and heat it through for a few minutes. Cool and grind coarsely.
Add chopped red onion and cilantro.
Tastes good with dosas, rotis or as a sandwich spread.

Roasted red pepper hummus

Cooked Chickpeas/garbanzo beans - 1 1/2 cups

Tahini - 2 tbsp

Lemon juice - 2 tbsp

Garlic cloves - 2

Green chilis - 2

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Dried oregano - a pinch

Cayenne pepper - 1 tsp

Extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp

Roasted red peppers(jarred) - 1

salt to taste

Cilantro - handful leaves

Blend all the ingredients into a smooth paste. Enjoy with pita chips. Really a healthy and flavorful dip. You can use it as a spread on sandwiches, or serve it with cut veggies. 

If you would like to make your own tahini sauce, here's an easier version.

Roast some sesame seeds and grind with some olive oil.