Beetroot Raita/चुकन्दर का रायता #Beetroot Dip

Beetroot Raita

Beetroot is the healthies vegetarian food. It has negligible fat, less calories but rich in vitamins and micro nutrients and dietary fibers. In my earlier blog I have posted how to make healthy and yummy beetroot sabzi 

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.in/2013/06/beet-root-vegetableindian-savory-of.html

Raita are the Indian savory made as an accompaniment to the main course. When vegetables are mixed with thick curd along with salt and spices the outcome is yum and the vegetables can be chosen according to the season. Say in summers cucumber (which is very cooling), in winters Bathua (Bathua is leafy winter vegetable), ever green onions and tomato in any and every season. Same stands true to beetroot.

Beetroot is available almost every day of the year. This slightly bitter, sweet tap root of beet plant when boiled loses the bitterness and develops a heavenly taste. Apart from making vegetable and salad out of it, it can also be used to make healthy, colorful tasty raita.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time:  20minutes

Servings: 4 Medium servings

Nutritional value: (Approx.)

Calories: 165

Carbs: 10gm

Cholesterol: 0

Fat: 6.2gm

Dietary Fibers: 2.8gm

Sodium: 200 mg

Potassium: 325mg

Sugars: 7gm

Proteins: 8.6gm

Apart from this it is rich in

Vitamins A, B₆, B_12,

Minerals (Micro nutrients) Magnesium and Calcium

Ingredients Required For Making Beetroot Raita:

• 100 gm Beetroot
• 200 gm Low fat Curd
• 1-2 Green Chilies
• 2 twigs of Curry Leafs
• 1/4Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
• 1/4Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• Salt to taste
• 1 Lemon

Directions For making Beetroot Raita:

• Wash beetroot and boil it. In pressure cooker it takes approximately 10 minutes and in open container 15-20 minutes. Boiled beetroot should not become mushy. It should remain firm.

Boiled Beetroot

• Let the boiled beetroot cool.
• Till Beetroot is cooling, Cut the green chilies to finely, remove leafs from curry leafs twigs. Keep away for further use.
• Peel the boiled beetroots and grate them.

Boiled and Peeled Beetroot

Grated Beetroot

• In a wok take 1/2 teaspoon oil and heat it. When the oil is hot add
• Mustard seeds
• Cumin seeds
• Finely cut Green chilies
• Curry leafs

Tempering Ready for Beetroot

• Cook for 1 minute on medium heat.
• The seeds will splutter and aroma of spices will emanate from wok.
• Add boiled, grated beetroot to the wok and stir to mix the oil and spices to the beetroot.
• Add salt and lower the flame.
• Mix nicely and cover. Cook for 4-5 minutes with stirring in between, to avoid the beetroot sticking to the bottom of the wok.
• By now the beetroot will become soft yet holding the shape it had after grating.

Beetroot Ready For Raita

• Cool the cooked beetroot.

Cooked Beetroot For Raita

• Whisk the Thick curd with and add the cooked beetroot to it. Mix nicely.
• Add 1/2teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice to the mixture of curd and beetroot.
• Mix again and add salt if required.
• Beetroot raita is ready to be served.

Beetroot Raita

• Enjoy Beetroot raita with any vegetarian/Non-vegetarian food. It adds an altogether dimension to the meal.

Tips:

• Make sure the curd is not sour. Fresh thick curd is required. If the curd is old and sour the sweetness and flavor of beetroot will be obscured.
• While boiling beetroot make sure it is not over cooked, mushy, pulpy beetroot is no good for making raita.
• Taste chilies before use. Take the chilies according to your taste and hotness of chilies. The raita should have a balance of sweet, salt, sour and chilies.
• Do not use red chilies or chili powder as it really does not go well with beetroot.

Suggested variations:

• Soft leafs of beetroot can be used for garnishing.
• Fried leafs of beetroot can be used to garnish the raita to add texture to raita.
• Finely cut coriander leafs can be used for garnishing.

Instant Chutney /चना पोड़ी

Instant Chutney

God bless the soul who discovered such delicious, quickie-quick chutney, and God bless my friend Janaki who made it instantly for me. Once when I was leaving her house early morning she packed Idli for me and made chana dal chutney in just 2 minutes and told me to put some melted ghee on the chutney powder while eating it. When at home I tasted and I immediately called her to  take recipe from her. I called it Instant-Chutney. My husband is finicky about taking red chilies (: so I made my own modification and came up with my version of Instant chutney. First I would like to tell the ingredients which Janaki put in that delicious chutney.

Roasted chana

Red chilies

Jeera

Salt

She ground then and yum-yummy powder for chutney was ready. This powder can be stored for long time at room temperature in an airtight container. I being cholesterol patient wanted to avoid ghee and due to my husband red chilies. Thus due to necessity was born my version of Instant-Chutney. 

Preparation Time: 10 Minutes

Servings: 10 small helpings

Storage Time: 8-10 days at room Temperature up to one month in fridge.

Ingredients required For making Instant-Chutney:

• 50 gm. Roasted Chana dal (Roasted black gram)

• 2-3 Green Chilies

• 4-5 Cloves of Garlic

• 1 Tea spoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)

• Salt to taste

Directions For making Instant Chutney:

• Remove the brown hard cover from roasted chana.

• Peel garlic and cut to pieces.

• Cut green chilies to pieces.

• In a grinder take

• Green chili pieces

• Roasted Chana

• Garlic pieces

• Cumin seeds

• Salt

• Grind to fine / coarse paste. (No water is required as the moisture of garlic and green chilies is sufficient.

• Turning the material upside down in the mixer will be required once or twice. So in between switch the mixer and with a spoon turn the mixture and then grind again.

Instant Chutney

• Store in a airtight container.

• No oil or ghee is required in this instant chutney.

• Enjoy with idli, dosa, stuffed parantha or with any veg/non-veg meal.

Tips:

• Do not add water while grinding. If water is added then the chutney can be stored for 2-3 days only in fridge.

• Do not increase garlic too much as too much garlic results in extremely sharp taste and sulfur smell and these two thing are not welcome in food. 
• To make grinding easier make powder of the roasted chana, then add rest of the ingredients and grind.

Suggested Variations:

• Leave the grinded mixture under the sun for 2-3 hours or in shade for 24-48 hrs, Dry powder will be formed which can be mixed with ghee/ oil and taken with any thing you wish to, dried form can be stored outside fridge for 1-2 months also.

• A piece of ginger can be added after grating to the mixture before grinding.

• Roasted and powdered urd dal can be powdered and added to the grinded mixture before storing.

• Coconut powder can be added to the mixture of ingredients before grinding.

• 1/4 Teaspoon methi seeds can be roasted and grinded along with the rest of the ingredients.

• 2-3 cm. piece jaggery /1-2 tea spoon sugar can be added while grinding.

Tomato-Dates Chutney /खजूर और टमाटर की चटनी

Tomato-Dates Chutney

India is a country of chutney, spices, pickles and papads. Go to any part of country different variations of the same will be used as side dish in every and these will be available in every Indian kitchen. We Indians keep on innovating and making more variety of chutney all depending on taste and availability of different ingredients. This is my version of tomato-dates chutney, which has distinct garlic flavor because I am very fond of garlic flavor. I and love to eat with rice/ Roti/ Puri / Bread or with upma / poha ….. Why I like it so much? Well it has all ingredients as far as taste is concerned sour, sweet, spicy, and salt. Color is appealing, taste is superb and as healthy as it can get. It can be kept in fridge for 10-15 days minimum, and if little vinegar is added then for 1-2 months also. Should there be more reason for my liking this chutney.

Preparation Time: 15 min.

Cooking Time: 15 min

Servings: 10-15 small servings (One 200 gm. bottle full)

Ingredients Required For making Tomato-dates Chutney:

• 250 gm. Red Pulpy Tomatoes

• !00 gm. Seeds less Dates / 150 gm. Dates with seeds

• 10-15 Cloves of Garlic (Optional)

• 4-5 cm. Ginger piece

• 4-5 Whole Red Chilies

• 1 Tea spoon Cumin seeds

• 1 Tea spoon Mustard seeds

• 1 Tea spoon Red chili Powder (Optional)

• 100 gm. Tamarind

• Salt to taste

• 1 ml / 1/2Tea spoon Olive oil / any cooking oil

Directions For Making Dates-Tomato Chutney:

• Wash and cut tomatoes to thin long slices.

• Cut the dates to long thin pieces. If the dates are with seeds then remove the seeds before cutting them.

• Cut garlic and ginger to small pieces.

• Break the whole red chilies and remove the seeds.

• Soak tamarind in 100 ml. water for 30 min. Mash the soaked tamarind and pass through a sieve to remove all solid particles. Collect the pulp in a bowl.

Tomatoes,Garlic,Ginger,Red chilies,Dates and Tamarind pulp for Chutney

• Heat oil in a wok and when the oil is smoking hot lower the flame and add

• Mustard seeds

• Cumin seeds

• Finely cut garlic and ginger

• Red chili pieces

• Cook till garlic starts becoming brown in color.

Spices for seasoning in hot oil

Seasoning Ready for dates to be added

• Add dates pieces and cook on low flame for 3-4 min. Dates will start drying.

Dates cooked and Now tomatoes to be added

• Add tomato slices and mix nicely.

• Cook for 4-5 min. on low flame without covering but with regular stirring.

• Add

• Tamarind paste

• Turmeric powder

• Salt

• Red chili powder

• Mix nicely. 

All ingredients added and cooking

• Cover and cook on low flame for 5 min with continuous stirring. Tomatoes will get cooked and the juice of tomato and tamarind pulp will mix.

• Remove the cover. Bring the flame to high and cook till the liquid of the mixture dries up and the mixture starts leaving the edges of the wok. Chutney is ready.

Tomato-Dates Chutney Ready to be served

• Remove the chutney in airtight container and allow to cool before closing the lid and storing in fridge.

• This chutney can be kept in fridge for 10-15 days.

• Enjoy healthy, tasty Tomato-dates chutney as side dish with any meal, have with Dosa / Paranthas or use it for making sandwiches.

Tomato-Dates Chutney

 Tips:

• Always check the red chili powder / whole red chili for its hot flavor before adding. Increase / decrease the amount according to the nature of the red chilies and your taste.

• Do not make paste of garlic and ginger. Garlic and ginger pieces taste good in this chutney. If paste is added it will not taste good.

Suggested Variations:

• 1 tea spoon Urd dal / Chana dal can be added along with mustard seeds and cumin seeds while making the seasoning.

• 1 Pinch of asafoetida can be added to the seasoning.

• 5-6 Curry leafs (Kadi patta) can be added to the seasoning.

• Crushed cashew nut or roasted and crushed ground nut can be added just before removing the chutney from the heat.

Hariyali Chutney/कच्चे आम की चटनी ( Raw Mango Chutney)

Hariyali chutney

Apart from pickles raw mango can be made to tongue tickling chutney or sweet murrabba. Murrabba can be stored for long time like pickle but chutney can be stored in fridge for 10-15 days and in freezer for 3-4 months.

Different version of mango chutney is made in Northern India. But I have my version of mango chutney and my friends and family just love it. If it is season of raw mango then this chutney and chana dal vada would be my sons most loved snack. It is not simply an accompaniment to an appetizer or snack, but as a side dish to every meal.  This chutney is extremely good for making vegetable sandwiches,
Because this chutney has mint, cumin, coriander thus it not only enhances the taste but also aides in digestion. Garlic in this chutney gives relief in flatulence (gas trouble).

Preparation Time: 10 min.

Making Time: 5min.

Servings: Makes 20-25 small helpings

Ingredients required for Mango Chutney:

• 1 Medium Raw Mango

Raw Mangoes

• One small onion

• 5-6 Cloves of Garlic

• 1-2 Green chilies

Green Chilies

• 1/2 Tea spoon Cumin seeds

• 5-6 Sprigs of fresh green coriander leaves

Fresh Green Coriander sprigs

• 30-40 Fresh leaves of Mint

Mint leaves

• 10-15 gm. Jaggery

Jagerry

• Salt to taste

Direction for Making Raw Mango chutney

• Wash the mango and peel it.

• Cut the peeled mango to small pieces.

Peeled and cut Raw Mango

• Wash drain and cut coriander sprigs.

• Wash mint leaves.

• Wash and cut green chilies.

• Peel onion and cut to pieces.

• Peel garlic. 

• Take in a bowl

• Mango pieces

• Onion pieces

• Garlic

Raw mango pieces, onion pieces, Garlic and green chili pieces for Hariyali chutney

• Chopped Coriander sprigs.

Mango, Onion,Garlic, Coriander leaves and green chili for Hariyali chutney

• Mint leaves

• Cut green chilies

• Salt

• Cumin seeds

• Put in a grinder -mixer and grind to fine paste.

• Add jaggery and again grind to make a homogenous paste.

Hariyali Chutney

• Take out in a container with a lid and store it in the fridge and use as and when required.

Tips:

• Add water in little amounts while grinding.

• The amount of cumin seeds, onion, and garlic can be increased or decreased as per the taste or to change the flavor.

•  This chutney can be taken while a person is having upset stomach as it has digestion aiding ingredients.

• Make ice cubes of the chutney in an ice tray and store in the freezer. When required take a cube of chutney let it melt at room temperature and use it.

Suggested Variations:

• Since, I like this proportion of ingredients in the chutney so much, that I really would not suggest variations.

• Yet if one wishes to do away with onion and garlic, then it is suggested that some kala jeera should replace them to maintain the digestive property and sharp tangy taste.

Tangy Mango Pickle /आम का achar ( Maharashtrian style)

Pickle with chick peas

Pickle ready for bottling

From May end to June end all over India lady of the house gets busy making mango pickle for the entire year. Before the monsoon sets in it should be made bottled and kept in a dry place. I wonder what life would be without mango pickle! Be it the lunch box, picnic basket, or dining table pickle is an omnipresent side dish. In Maharashtra as well as southern part of India mango pickle is made with Mustard seeds and other spices unlike northern India where it is made with fennel seeds and other spices. The oil which is used again makes the taste different from Maharashtra to southern India. In Maharashtra normally ground nut oil is used whereas in southern part sesame oil is used. Whatever may be the ingredients mango pickle will remain mango pickle, which tickles the taste buds of old, young and kids alike.

Preparation Time: 30 min.( For preparing the spices and cutting Mangoes)

Making Time: 90 min. (Time to marinate the mango pieces not included)

Servings: 1.5 kg. Pickle will be made (approximately)

Ingredients Required for Making Mango Pickle:

• 1 kg. Raw Mangoes

Raw mangoes for pickle

• 100 gm. Mustard seeds

• 100 gm. Red chili powder

Red chili powder

• 50 gm. Red Kashmiri mirchi Powder

Kashmiri  Mirchi powder

• 100 gm. Salt (or to taste)

• 1Tea spoon Asafoetida

• 50 gm. Turmeric powder

• 50 gm. Ginger

• 10-15 Kadi Patta (curry leaves)

• 500 ml. Ground nut oil

Direction for making Mango Pickle:

• Wash and wipe the mangoes dry with a clean cloth.

• Cut the top end where the stalk is connected to the mango.

• Keep the mangoes under the sun on a clean cloth /plastic/plate for 30min. to make sure they are dry from outside.

• Cut the mangoes to the required size.

Mango pieces

• Take the mango pieces in a steel/glass bowl and add 50 gm. salt turmeric powder and mix thoroughly.

Salt and Turmeric added to the mango pieces for marination

• Cover with a plate or cloth and keep under the sun for 5-6 hr.

• Liquid from mango mixture will separate out.

Liquid from marination of mango pieces

• Remove the mango pieces and keep in a dry plate.

Marinated mango pieces

• While the mango pieces are marinating make coarse powder of mustard seeds.

• Clean, dry, peel and make paste of ginger.

Ginger paste

• To the liquid add mustard powder, salt, 10 gm. chili powder, 10 gm. Kashmiri mirchi powder and mix.

Salt, Red chili powder, Mustard seed powder

Spices in liquid from marination

• Add 100 ml. oil and mix to make a fine paste.

Oil added to the spices and liquid from marination

Spices paste ready to be added to the marinated mango pieces

• Mix the paste of spices to the marinated mango pieces.

Spices paste mixed with mango pieces

• Keep under the sun covered with cloth /plate for 4-5 hr.

• Take 400ml. oil in a wok and heat it on high flame till it is smoking hot.

• When smoking hot switch off the gas and let it cool for 10 min.

Oil heated to smoking hot and being cooled before Kadi patta is added

• Keep the wok with oil on low flame if the oil becomes cold.

• Add Kadi patta, asafoetida, and cook for 1 min. 

kadi Patta added to hot oil

• Add ginger paste and cook till all moisture evaporates.

Ginger paste added to kadi patta

Ginger paste cooked and ready for chili powder to be added

• Add red chili powder and Kashmiri mirchi powder and cook 30sec.

• Pour the hot oil spices mixture to the mango pieces with spices paste and mix thoroughly.

Chili powder and Kashmiri mirchi powder added and ready to be added to the mango pieces

• Cool it to room temperature before bottling.

Pickle ready for bottling

Pickle with chick peas

• Pickle takes 30 days for maturing.

Serve the pickle with Pulav, Parathas, Dosa, Uttapa it enhances the taste of every meal. That is why it is 

said : Sabka Yar Achar

Tips:

• Mango for pickle should have hard kernel else pickle will not last long.

Mango with hard Kernel for Pickle

• Mustard seed powder or mustard seeds cleaned and halved (Dali of Rai as it is called in Maharashtra) is available in the market. It can be used for making pickle.

• While adding chili powder to hot oil, make sure the oil is not smoking hot else the chili powder will become black leaving unpleasant color and taste to the pickle.

• All utensils used should be dry.

• Spices should be sun dried.

• If you get the mangoes cut from market wash them with water and vinegar mixture (1:10 ratio of vinegar and water) and then dry under the sun.

• Do not bottle the pickle in a plastic container. Plastic contains harmful chemicals which dissolve in pickle.

Suggested Variations:

• Jaggery can be added to the pickle just before it is being bottled. For one Kg. mango 200-250gm. jaggery can be added. Addition of jaggery gives the pickle sweetish sour taste.

• Garlic paste can be added along with ginger paste.

• Ginger and garlic amount can be increased to the taste. More the ginger and garlic amount better it is for the health also.

• Garlic cloves can be added to the pickle before bottling.

• Chick peas can be added to the pickle after cleaning them with clean cloth, just before bottling.

• Garlic and chick absorb the juices of pickle and swell up in a month time and taste very nice.

• White vinegar can be added to the pickle before bottling to increase the shelf life of the pickle. For one Kg. of mango 50 ml. of vinegar is enough.