Tomato and Garlic chutney ... a spicy, tangy and peppy dip

 Life is a mad rush right now. I had thought I could fit in two more posts this month easily but that is not to happen I guess. A hectic weekend and now a Monday that has passed by like a gust on a winter evening.
I know, I know I sound repetitive. But that is how it is .... almost every week.
Anyway .... with Durga Puja just around the corner and the rains playing spoilsport, my mind is not at all in the right place these days.
It has rained steadily for the last fortnight or more and the days and nights are extremely foggy, damp and cold.
I keep looking out for the slightest break in the clouds and a glimpse of sunlight ... no matter how thin.
But no such luck.

I am praying really hard that we get sunny days by Mahalaya.
Fingers crossed.

I do not have much to write tonight.
No, actually I do have but am real pressed for time. With loads  of things to do, I have added two more knitting projects to my daily schedule. And the only time I get to work on them is at night.

So have been sitting up late into nights and knitting, like there is no tomorrow.
And am loving it ... this change in my routine of going to sleep at ten in the night.

 Kind of takes me back to my long gone days when I was just a girl and loved to stay up late into the nights to read or to embroider or knit. I loved the quiet of the nights and the lovely breeze blowing in from our garden .... especially in the summers.

My little doggie would be fast asleep near my feet. And I would be so engrossed that I would have no idea how late it was.
Until Ma came and gave me a final warning to wind up and go to sleep.
Only then I would keep my things aside and go to my bedroom, the sleepy little one at my feet.
As I would climb in and lie down, I could hear her settle down under my bed with a sigh ... which I guess would be of relief.

There ... I am digressing.
Let me now quickly give you the recipe of this super quick Tomato and garlic chutney that I make and store very often.
Packs the punch of garlic and the tartness of the tomatoes.
Needs very less ingredients and is extremely good as a side or a dip.

I love garlic and have used a lot in this chutney. You can go easy on it if you are not much of a fan ... but let me tell you it is the garlic that makes this chutney so lovable.

Need :

Tomatoes - 6, big sized, chopped
Garlic - around 15 or 20 cloves
Onions - 1 medium, roughly chopped
Fresh green  chillies - around 4
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - a pinch 

How  to :

Heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a kadahi or wok.

Fry the onions till translucent.

Cool and grind in a mixie along with the garlic + green chilli + tomatoes.

In an open pan pour this mix and let it boil till the rawness goes away and it starts to thicken.

Add salt + sugar + a little red chilli powder and stir well.

In an other kadahi, heat 1 tbsp cooking oil.
Add the mustard seeds and once they start to splutter, add the curry leaves.

Pour this tempering on the tomato mix and let it boil till the chutney thickens well.

Remove from heat and cool.

Store in an air tight glass bottle in the fridge.

This is great on the side with  handvo, idlis or vadas of any kind or any kind of parathas.
A spoonful on  hot rice is absolutely heavenly.
Spread it on a dosa or an uttapam and you won't need anything else for a meal.
And yes, I do spread it on bread too.


Enjoy!!

Peanut Sauce/Dip/Chutney

Whenever we visit our favorite South East Asian restaraunt, I look forward to their peanut sauce more than the food .... which of course I absolutely love. I have noticed that they usually serve it with the starters ... mostly grilled / barbequed stuff ... or with the dimsums or momos.

But I like it so much that I ask for it even if we are having rice and curries. And the guy serving us would smile indulgently and set a small bowl in front of us.

Early this weekend when we were enjoying a dinner there, I decided to make this chutney (yeah ... am a desi ... so it will be chutney ;-) ) at home.
So the both of us tried to identify the ingredients in it by taste and smell.
We pretty much zeroed in on the ingredients.
The waiter was good at nodding his head at our guesses ... he was nodding 'yes' a little too much ... so I am still in doubt.
Trade secret I guess.

And in case you are wondering ... the chutney did not taste of any of the stuff that is usually used in SEA food.

So I set off to make the chutney. The only difference is I did not add the onions and added less chillies as the ones I have at home are spicier. Hence the whitish colour ... while theirs looks reddish.
And the quantity of peanuts should be much more than the coconut ... I guess the coconut is used to give a mildness to the sauce ... and a soft texture.

Need : Roasted peanuts, garlic, a little ginger ( the waiter mentioned galangal ), a little freshly grated coconut, dry red chillies, a little salt & sugar to taste ( I did not need the sugar as the coconut was very sweet).


How to : Grind the coconut, garlic first in a mixer. If you don't want even the teeny bits of peanut in your mouth, then add the peanuts now. Make a paste ... add a little water if necessary.
Then add the chillies and give a couple of more whirrs. Not too much.

Done! This is a great accompaniment to almost anything. I stored in a medium sized jam bottle in the fridge.




It has been pretty windy the whole of last fortnight .... with the nights turning positively chillier.
Today morning saw a very thin sun ... and already the clouds are taking up their places in the vast blue. Am looking forward to the monsoons ... but just thinking of what it would do to the light that I so much depend on for my snaps .... makes me shudder.
I mean ... just look at those two snaps ... :-(

Ciao folks !!