Before Making The Chutneys...Part-II

Continuation from the previous post....

3. Other Ingredients:  

• Spices like, Cumin , Coriander seeds, Mustard seeds (Avalu or Rai), Fenugreek seeds,( Mentulu or Methi) dried ginger (Sounth or Sonthi), Pepper,  Carom seeds (Vaamu or Ajwain), Crdamoms, cloves, Cinnamon , Black Peppers, Red Peppers(dried), Turmeric....
• Souring agents like pulp of Tamarind, Lemon Juice, Kokum, Citric acid, Vinegar, Tomatoes, some types of  Cucumbers(like Dosa Kaya).etc. Sour Curds also adds taste and is nutritious.
• Sweeteners like, Jaggery, Sugar, Dates, Raisins etc can be added . This balances and blends all the tastes like salty, sour, spicy etc.
• Bitterness: Fenugreek seeds, fenugreek leaves, Neem flowers, Rind of lemons, etc but very little quantities for health.
• Hot and Spicy...Green Chillies, Red Chillies- dried or raw, Black Pepper, Carom seeds Ginger Garlic, Garam Masala or other combination of Masalas (Spices)depending on the region and cuisine ...

4. Tempering : Tempering is known Tadka, Tarka, Chhaunk in Hindi, Bhagaar in Urdu and Poopu or Tallimpu or Tiragamotha in Telugu. This is the "SOUL OF ANDHRA CUISINE " and also to some extent in other Indian cuisines. This enhances the flavors and makes a dish tasty. It is important to get this right. Though this looks easy, one can only master this with experience. Adding or avoiding one or some of the ingredients will change the taste entirely. The oil used and ingredients used for tempering give the flavor which is unique to that cuisine. 

Well,  usually while making chutneys, we need to prepare the tempering first, cool it and grind it before adding the other ingredients. There are also some recipes where you add the tempering in the end, that is no grinding of it is required. In some cases we have to use both.

So here is how to do the tempering in most of the dishes:

 Ingredients:

 This is the Masala Box or Popula Pette which every kitchen in Andhra has one. I have more than one to store small quantities of various spices for easy use while cooking.

• Oil 1-2 Tbsps
• Chickpea split and with out its outer coat (chana dal or Senaga Pappu)  1Tbsp
• Slit Black gram  split and with out its outer coat (urad daal or Mina pappu) 11/2 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds  1/2 tbsp
• Cumin  1/2 tbsp
• Fenugreek (Methi dane or Menthulu) 1-2 tsp
• Dried Red Chillies 5-6 broken into pieces
• Curry leaves  2-3 Sprigs
• Asafoetida  1/2 tsp

In some recipes we may have to use coriander seeds. You can add garlic according to taste. 

For tempering, heat oil in a small pan to smoking point, reduce heat and add Chick peas fry for a minute or two. Add the Black gram mix and fry for a minute. Now add the Fenugreek and mustard seeds. After a minute or two the seeds start spluttering. Now add cumin, dried red chillies and Asafoetida, Turmeric and lastly curry leaves. Stir it to save from getting burned. Remove and keep aside.

Asafoetida is available in powdered and slab forms. Powdered one is good for daily use and when we have to cook  fast. Otherwise, the slab is good. Its actually raw and needs to be broken into pieces and fried in hot oil. and then grounded to powder as and when required. This is so good that a very less quantity as compared to the powder gives a good taste.

For a healthy diet, quantity of oil can be reduced.

5. Garnishing: Chutneys are garnished with finely chopped Coriander greens and Curry leaves. Sometimes we can garnish them with fried green chillies or finely chopped onions etc depending upon the recipe.

Note:

1. Small kadais (Deep frying Pans) made of steel, copper bottomed, even non stick ones are available for this. The one with a handle is quite convenient.
2. Please adjust the quantity of spices especially, chillies, pepper etc according to your taste. We in Andhra eat very spicy and hot food. When I say 4-5 chillies, just use one and see. 
3. Sometimes there is already some natural salty or sour taste in the ingredients being used. Depending upon that, the quantity of salt and souring agents should be adjusted. For example Onions are a bit salty. Cucumbers, tomatoes, curd, lemons etc are very sour. So we need not add any extra souring agent. 
4. Turmeric should be put in last and fried in oil while preparing the tempering. Most people dont like to eat it raw as it gives a bitter taste. But it gets easily burned in hot oil. There fore it must be added just before removing from the fire or even after it.
5. Frying dried red chillies in oil while tempering reduced its spiciness and is easier on the stomach. The taste is different if roasted ones are used.
6. Some of the chutneys are cooked well to remove the moisture content and also more oil is used. Such ones can be kept for more than a day or two. Other wise generally chutneys should only be consumed with in the day. One can keep them in the refrigerator for some more days. But fresh ones are best. So it is always better to make the required quantity only.
7. One can use some of the vegetables with their peels. Some of the chutneys are made with left over peels alone there by avoiding wastage and  are also nutrients.
8. Always use fresh ingredients. Vegetables, fruits or leafy vegetables etc should be fresh and crispy. They should be cleaned thoroughly in water and then dried with a cloth and aired to remove any moisture content. This is very important for those which are kept for more than a day. Or else the chutney gets spoiled.
9. If chutneys are cooked during preparation, it should be cooled well before covering with a lid. Or else it gets spoiled quickly.
10. Always use the seasonally available ingredients as much as possible. For example during summer season we get raw mangoes. So Tamarind, Lemons etc can be substituted with mangoes.

I hope this is informative. Please leave your suggestions and do ask if you have any questions. I will try to answer them to the best of my knowledge...Keep watching my blog for many yummy recipes on chutneys....

Before Making The Chutneys...Part-I

Every one of you may know what I am going to say now, but for those who are new to cooking ,  it will be a guidance and those who already know this, it will be a sort of recollection. For making a very tasty chutney, let us see some of the tips and tricks. 

For making a chutney, we use many ingredients. It is important we know these basics thoroughly to make a tasty chutney. it may be boring for you to read such long and lengthy passages, but its better to know all these before hand than turn out a dish which is not tasty. Here we go....

1. Basic ingredient of which we are making the chutney. Most of the vegetables, fruits, nuts etc can be used for making chutneys either singly or in combination

This is Wood Apple-used raw and when ripened -for chutneys

• Vegetables: Carrot, Cabbage, Gourd family (bottle, bitter, ribbed etc), Tomatoes, Onions, Brinjal (Eggplant), Lady's fingers(Okra), Cucumbers, Beet root, Ginger, Garlic, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Green Chillies, Red Chillies.... the list long...you can use almost any vegetable.
• Leafy vegetables: Mint (Pudina), Coriander greens (Kothmeer), Curry Leaves (Kadi Patta or Karvepaku)Spinach (Palak), Gongura(Ambade ki Bhaji-a sour tasting leaf) leaves of Drum Stick Tree, Tender leaves of Tamarind tree (Chinta Chiguru) Greens of Radish, leaves of Flax Tree (Avisa).....
• Nuts, Seeds and Dry Fruits:  Peanuts (Ground nuts), Walnuts, Dried grapes or Raisins, Prunes, Dates (Khajooramu or Khajoor)), Sesame (Nuvvulu or Til) seeds of Pumpkin, Bottle Gourd ....
• Fruits: Coconuts, Mangoes, Citrus Fruits like Lemons, Lime, Oranges.., Apples, Wood Apple, Bananas, Papaya, Indian Cherries (Vakkaya), Cherries, Plums (Aloo Bukhara), Grapes, Pineapple, Berries like Indian plum or Ber or Regi Pandu, Goose Berries, Guava, Jack Fruits, Tamarind .....
•  Lentils: Pigeon Peas (Kandi pappu or Tuvar Daal), Green Gram (Pesara Pappu or Moong Daal), Black Gram (Minapappu or Urad Daal).....
•  Curd: Curd chutneys are very popular and in combination with various, fruits, vegetables etc make very tasty and nutritious chutneys......

 This is Peanut Chutney combined with some vegetables

 This is Onion and Red Chillies Chutney

 

 2. Oil: This is an important ingredient which enhances the taste of the chutneys. This used for frying the basic ingredient (vegetables etc) or for frying the spices or for tempering (Popu or Tadka).  

In India People from different regions use different oils as cooking mediums. Peanut oil, Sesame (Til or Nuvvula noone) oil, Coconut oil, Mustard oils are used. In order to get the flavor of the region we must use the oil used by the region like Mustard by Bengalis and Punjabis, Coconut by Keralites  Peanut or Sesame or Ghee by Andhras. If one is health conscious and also does not want any such flavors, one can safely use refined oils-sunflower, rice brawn etc. 

Olive oil is now being used in Indian kitchens because of its good qualities but very rarely in Indian Dishes. One can experiment using different oils to find the required taste, because, the same chutney or dish may taste differently by using different oils.

One can substitute the oil and do away with it altogether (even frying)  by adding certain raw ingredients. This I will deal with in oil free or healthy recipes of chutneys.

This is Mustard oil-produces lot of heat in the body and can be used as cooking medium in cold climates. But if not used to can give stomach aches. This is yellow in colour very greasy has a distinct flavor and odor. Must for certain cuisines.

So how do you  like this so far...Please let me know any doubts or suggestions..all are welcome....

The Power of Chutney

Long ago there lived a poor widow at the edge of a small village. She just had a little land, a few cows and a small house. She had no other family. So she cultivated the land as best as she could and ran a small Inn at her place for the passers by. She could only afford to serve simple fare. But she was a very good cook and a very kind woman. She served all the visitors with love and took whatever money they gave in return. So the visitors who visited her and tasted the food she served spoke highly of her.

One day it so happened a rider on a horse, reached the village in the night, after having traveled a long distance across a dense jungle for many days. He was so tired and thirsty, that the moment he saw the small hut on the edge of the village, he went and asked the old lady for some water. to drink The lady made him sit on the porch and brought him some buttermilk. After quenching his thirst, the lady offered him food and shelter for the night. He agreed immediately as he was tired.

The lady then asked him to take bath and clean up at the well in her back yard. By the time he came back, his horse was taken care of and was munching away peacefully the fodder it was given. The man went inside and sat to have his dinner. The lady placed a banana leaf before him and served hot rice, a green chutney and a small pot full of buttermilk. Then she said a bit sadly, "Son this is all I have tonight". Please have it.

The man was very hungry, but was touched by the old lady's kindness. He mixed the green chutney with the hot rice and ate it. He found the chutney so tasty, that he asked for second and third helping and had his fill. He was then made to rest on a bed laid for him in the porch. In no time he was asleep.

Next day he got up and while talking to her learned about her lonely and difficult life. He thanked the lady for her service and gave her some silver coins. She was very happy. He told her he wanted to leave later that day. The lady took the coins to the village grocer and brought the required groceries She then made him break fast and also some snacks for his travel. The man thanked her and gave her some more coins and left.

A few days after that, some men visited her.They told her that the King had ordered her to be brought to his court. The lady was frightened and asked them what was her fault. But the men said they did not know any thing. So she went with them to the court. There on the throne sat the king in all his splendor.

He invited her very warmly and then before the entire court praised her cooking and said that he never ate such a tasty food. Only then she recognized her visitor. He then asked her what was the chutney she had served him that day when he visited her. The lady apologized to the King saying that when he visited her she did not know that he was the King and served him a simple fare and that she should be forgiven for any lapses on her part. After getting assurance form the King she said " Oh great King, I served you a chutney made of green grass since I am poor and did not have any vegetables or meat to cook for you that day." The entire court was stunned. The King then clapped his hands and said "Lady if you can make such a tasty dish out of grass you are a great cook. I could never make out that it was grass. From today you are appointed as my personal cook"  All the people present in the court also applauded her.She lived happily after that.

This is a story my granny used to tell me. She always said that the taste lies in the cooks hand, how committed he/she is towards the cooking and serve the food with love and care. This is the secret of the Indian hospitality-"Athithi Devo Bhava"-Visitor is God personified. Sometimes we are called upon suddenly to rustle a fare with very limited resources, one should not panic but do our best so that the eater only gets tasty food. So many of us women know this, follow and succeed at this isn't it?

I just wanted to share this little story with you. Hope I have not bored you. From next post onwards I am going to share my recipes on chutneys....Keep an eye on my blog.....