Aam ki chutney / Mango chutney

 
It has been one of those days when everything goes right.

Everything goes smoothly ... all errands done, all chores finished, every pending bill paid, 

every encounter positive.

Yes, the latter matters most to me.

After a spate of never ending dark days ... some days it seemed I would never ever be able to get up

 and face the world again 

... some days I had felt I would never be able to see the light of the next day,

a little goodwill and a little cheer handed to me

helps me move ahead.

Helps me realise how precious those few people are ... who stood by me ... from near and afar ...

giving me strength, love and the power to believe

that a better day will come. 

Again.

Which is why every smile that comes my way matters to me.

Every good word said to me takes me to newer heights of happiness.

Every good deed done to me reaffirms my faith in humanity.
Make me want to believe that every person is not like the ones who have come into our lives being friends, and left us all alone;
cheated, defeated and making a joke out of our trust in them.

 I was not like this. Not always. Not ever.

I flew through life ... with achievements and love. Doing good deeds.

Feeling secure. 

But time brings about tests.

Untold surprises. 

Testing our faith, our resilience. Our ability to still  have trust on the higher power.

And those who move ahead, survive.

Which is why today I appreciate every good in life even more than ever.

Because I know ... there is very little good left in the world.

And if a little of that has come your way, you are blessed.

I am blessed. I realise that.

And I know ... life will be a heady mix of the sweet, the bitter, the spice and the tang.

Love it ... and it will love you back.

Which is why, when the salesman at the store today, made a small gesture of
putting us in a different section of the store where only
special billings are done,
saving us the tedious waiting at the long, long billing counters,
I thanked him
and added a  "God bless you." spontaneously.
The smile on his face showed he was touched too.
Yes, I believe in the higher power.
He will give back what he has taken.
He will return every deed done ... to Him and to us.

Spicy, tangy, flavourful life.
 Just like this mango chutney my Ma in law makes. 

Simple, tangy and spicy. 

You'll love the flavours. And since it does not have a lot of masala, you will get that strong flavour of raw mango ... which I'm sure, all of us love.

Just that very fragrance tells us summer is here!

And this is very different from the Bengali Aamer chaatni.

Need : 

Raw mango - cut into thin slices ( I tried grated, but they turn into mush quick)

Whole jeera/cumin seeds

Salt

Hing / asafoetida

Haldi powder / turmeric

Sugar (can be done with jaggery too)

A little oil

Red chilli powder

How  to :

Heat oil. Add the jeera and hing.

Add the mango slices and stir fry on high heat.

Add the haldi powder, salt and sugar.

Cover and cook till the mangoes are done but not mushed up.

Add the red chilli powder and give one more stir.

Remove from heat and cool.

Serve cool, on the side.

Goes great with parathas or pulao.

Enoy!!

Mango Jam

This is my 150th post !! :-)

My tryst with mangoes this year was sweet .... yet was about to end on a bad note. The final batches that are making their appearence are tasteless ... and sometimes gone bad.
Most have been picked in a hurry ... and even if we have to make do with those that have definitely not ripened on the trees ... some turned out to be too raw ... especially those that looked too bright and yellow. :-(

So the last batch that I got was salvaged with much pain ... I finally mashed up the stuff that looked woefully back at me as I at it.

Wondering what to do with the gooey bowlful, I decided to cook it. After all, what can go wrong that has sugar dumped into it by the spoonfuls. ;-)


I got this wonderful jam .... all mildly sweet and perfect.
The other half did his bit by bringing me down to earth with a thud by calling it "aampak" or "murabba" .... and then spreading it on a hot roti, rolling it up and devouring it promptly.

I still insist on calling it a 'jam' .... and will have it with bread ... thank you very much. :-)


Need : Ripe mango pulp ( I just ran a hand blender for a while ... did not make a smooth paste ), sugar, lime juice ( I used just a little for the colour to hold ... not to make it tart ), a few drops of vanilla essence.

How to : Pour the pulp into a non stick pan and heat it.
Once it starts to boil, add some vanilla essence and lime juice. Keep boiling till it is cooked and the raw flavour is gone.

Add sugar and cook for some more time .... till it thickens well.
Remove and cool.
I stored it in a bottle in the fridge .... today it is already half way gone.

I tried to click the clouds on the hill tops .... but they are too far away ... there is too less light ... they are too many in the range to be caught in a single frame .... and there are far too many buildings around.
Back to my glorious golden, I had it for breakfast on fresh bread and with elaichi / cardamom flavoured milk and some dry fruits. :-)



This shot of my breakast goes to Divya's event "Show me your breakfast" ... that's on till July 10th.

Kuler Achaar / Ber ka Achaar / Pickled Berries

Recent photo of March 2018

This is my second try at making achaar / pickles. 
Though this takes very little time to actually make ... the actual time to make this pickle will span over a few days ... i.e the time taken to sun dry the kul/ ber/ berries.

I am making optimum use of the winter sun these days before it shifts back.
So when I came across some berries being sold, I picked them up impulsively .... wanting to try making Kuler achaar myself.

The Ber / berries for this achar should be the round and sour ones.

Need :

Kul / Ber,
jaggery,
red chilli powder, 
roasted and freshly ground Paanch Phoron ( equal quantities of methi/fenugreek seeds, kalaunji/onion seeds, rai/mustard seeds, saunf/fennel seeds, jeera/cumin seeds).


How to :

Wash the berries well and leave them to dry.

Now comes the best part .... take every berry and crack it open to check for insects. Discard the bad ones.

Spread them out in a flat vessel or cloth and sun dry them for a few days.

In a heavy vessel heat the gur/jaggery with a little water till it melts. Add the berries and stir well. Let it cook till the jaggery thickens.

Sprinkle red chilli powder and the Paanch Phoron powder and remove from heat.

Do not cook after adding the Paanch Phoron powder .... else it will turn bitter.

Done!

This has a very long shelf life if the berries are sun dried well and hold no moisture.

Pear Jam

We had bought some pears that turned out to be very sour. My attempts to sober them down with salt and chaat masala did not work.

So decided to add sugar and cook it up. This turned out as a great spread and went well with dry toast or plain crackers.

I did not add much for fear of overwhelming the pears' own exotic aroma .... just broke in some cinnamon sticks.

Need : Ripened pears chopped coarsely, sugar, cinnamon sticks, a little butter.

How to: Heat a pan and add a little butter and spread it well.

Now add the pears and the cinnamon and cover. Cook till half done.

Add the sugar and cook uncovered till all water dries up.

Tangy plum

I had some plum that we had bought so enthusiastically on our last grocery trip ... but they were way too sour to eat ... actually it is the skin that was so sour.

Did not know what to do with them .... and no ... am never in favour of spoiling and throwing away things.

Thought of making a chutney like the ones I do with mangoes / tomatoes.

Only this time I did not add any tempering like mustard seeds / curry leaves. With the barest minimum things I came up with something very different.

I had added sugar first .... but it was not enough ... still too sour ... so dunked in a good amount of gur / jaggery.

Went overboard and added a pinch of garam masala too. :-) Had no idea what was going to be the outcome.

Need : Plums (halved and not pitted ... u can if u want to), half a teaspoonful of oil ( yes, very little), sugar / jaggery (enough to make it sweet), a pinch of garam masala ( very little), very thinly sliced ginger and a little pinch of salt.

How to : Heat the oil in a non stick pan / kadhai. Add the plums and the salt and cook for a while.

Now add the sugar / jaggery, sliced ginger and the garam masala . If you like ginger, then be generous. It gives a beautiful flavour. Cook till all water dries up.

Ready !! :-) It actually turned out tasting great !!

Am sending this to Sunshinemom's even FIC Red. Since the pic does not do justice to the dish ... am apprehensive if it will qualify for red. At least it is natural colour. :-)

Keeping my fingers crossed. :-)

Aamer Chatni (Mango chutney)

This is a sweet and sour chatni. The sugar gives the sweetness ... and the mango gives the natural sour taste.
If you want it very spicy then just increase the amount of red chilli powder.

Need : Raw mangoes (the Totaphuli variety is good for this as it is not too sour), Panch phoron powder , sugar, haldi powder, red chilli powder, mustard seeds, whole red chillies,curry patta, oil and a pinch of salt.

Panch Phoron powder : Take a few teaspoonfuls of Panch Phoron and dry roast on a heavy bottomed pan till it gives out an aroma. Cool and grind into a powder.

How to : Cut raw mangoes into thick slices or cubes. Heat oil in a kadhai. Add mustard seeds, whole red chillies and curry patta. Now add the mangoes and fry for some time. Add haldi powder, red chilli powder and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook till the mangoes are almost done. Now add sugar. The mangoes will let out a lot of water now. Cook uncovered till water evaporates completely. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Panch Phoron powder and remove from heat. Serve cool.