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.

Tirangi Poori ( Deep fried Tri color Indian Bread)

Tirangi Puri

The color used in making the puris are not artificial but of vegetables!!! They look so attractive that by the time you have made them they will vanish into the stomach of your family!! They are also excellent to make for picnic basket / taking for traveling /lunch box of the children. So surprise your husband and children by keeping tricolor puri in their lunch box. Beware you will find jealous faces of ladies staring at you when you get the appreciation from their husband for the variation of food you pack for your family !!!


Preparation Time: 20 - 25 min.

Cooking Time: 15 – 20 min.

Servings: 20 – 25 Puri

                                                                    

Ingredients  Required  To Make Tirangi Puris:

• 250 gm. Whole Wheat Flour
• 100 gm. Spinach
• 25 gm ( one medium size ) red tomato
• 1/2  Tea spoon salt
• 5 – 10 ml. cooking oil to make dough
• 200 ml. cooking oil to fry
• Water to make dough.

Directions To Make Dough :

• Remove the stalks from spinach and wash the leaves.
• Boil 100 ml. water and put the spinach leaves in it for 2min. remove and immediately put in cold water.
• Grind the leaves with as little water as possible to a fine paste. Keep the paste aside.
• Wash and cut tomato to 1cm. pieces.
• Put the tomato pieces in grinder and make fine thick paste. Keep the paste aside.
• Take whole wheat flour in a bowl and add salt to it.
• Mix the salt and flour mixture nicely.
• Add 5ml. of oil and mix with your fingers.
• If required add rest of the oil and mix.
• The mixture should resemble bread crumbs. (The requirement of oil changes with different brands of wheat flour.)
• Divide the flour, oil salt mixture into 3 equal parts.
• To one part add the spinach paste in little proportions and knead to soft but firm dough, if required add water while making the dough.

Dough with Palak(Spinach) pulp

• To second part add the paste of tomato  in little proportions and knead to firm but soft dough.

Dough with Tomato Pulp

• If required add water while making the dough.
• To the third part add water in little proportions and knead to make soft but firm dough.

Plain dough

• Take all three (Green, Red, White) dough keep them one over the other and roll to a single long roll with soft hands.

Rolls of Plain dough, Dough with Tomato pulp, and dough with pulp of palak stacked to be rolled together

• The roll of dough will look tri colored.

Roll of tricolor dough

Directions To Make Tricolor Puris :

• Take 200ml. cooking oil in a wok and heat it on high flame.
• When smoking hot lower the flame.
• Cut the tricolor dough roll into 20 – 25 pieces and make balls of them.

Tri color dough roll ready for cutting to pieces for making balls

Roll cut to pieces for being made to balls

Ball from tricolor dough

• Oil the rolling board and rolling pin with few drops of oil.
• Place the ball of dough in the center and roll to a round of 6 – 8 cm.

Ball of tricolor dough(plain, with tomato pulp, and with palak)

Ball of Tricolor dough (plain, with tomato pulp, and palak) rolled for frying

• Put it in the hot oil and fry on both sides by turning once or twice.

Tirangi Puri being fried

Tirangi Puri being fried

Tirangi Puri with Palak, Tomato and plain dough

• Repeat with all ball of tri color dough. 

Tirangi Puri

  Tirangi Puris  are ready. These puris are very tasty and nourishing as they are having different vegetables in it. Tirangi puris go well with any vegetable / nonveg . Or simply serve them with chutney / pickle if you do not have time or energy to make vegetables to accompany them , nobody will complain. 

Tips:

• Roll the dough while making the tricolor roll with gentle hands so as they retain their identity in the single tricolor roll.
• For those who are not adept in rolling the puris , first roll them one by one and keep separated on a greased plate  / clean newspaper, then heat the oil and fry them .

Suggested  Variations:

• Beet root can be taken instead of tomatoes.
• Mixture of pulp of boiled beet root and raw tomato also can be used instead of pure tomato or pure beet root pulp.
• If you take beet root then wash it and boil it before making to pulp.
• Methi leaves can be taken int he place of palak but do not make paste of methi leaves, if you will make paste of methi leaves then it will leave bitterish taste in puri. 

Rajma(Brown beans in Onion gravy)

Rajama

 Rajma are called mutton of vegetarian because it is very rich in proteins. family loves Rajma -Chawa combination along with curd and salad so much that once a week it has to be cooked. The preparation is so much liked by my son that he would demand it for his lunch box also. And before I could bat my eye lids his friends from hostel also started landing home with demand of Rajama.How much a lady loves when her cooking is appreciated, so I had no qualms in preparing it again and again.

         Preparation time: 10 min.
        Cooking time: 45 min.
        Servings:  4 large.

  Ingredients Required For Making Rajama : 

• 250gm. Rajma washed and soaked for 10 - 12 hrs.
• 75gm. Onions (2 medium size)
• 2 Tea spoon Garlic-Ginger paste
• 50gm.Tomatoes ( Two Medium size0
• 3-4 Cloves
• 2 Black cardamon 
• 2 Petals of Aniseed.
• 2-3 Bay leaves 
• 1/2 inch Cinnamon stick
• 1/2 tea spoon Garam masala powder 
• 1/2 tea spoon Cumin powder 
• Salt  to taste.
• Chilly powder as per the taste.
• 1/2 tea spoon Turmeric powder 
• Cooking oil (100 ml) 
• Malai (fresh cream) ( optional) (100 ml) 
• For garnish Coriander leaves or Celery/Parsley leaves finely cut after washing.

Directions For Making Rajma:

• Wash the soaked Rajma and put it in pressure cooker along with:
• 3-4 Cloves
• 2 Black Cardamon
• 1 small Aniseed piece
• 2-3 Bay leaves 
• 1/2 inch Cinnamon stick
• Salt.
•  Chilly Powder
• 1/2 Tea spoon Turmeric Powder 
• 500 ml. of water
• Cover and put the cooker on flame. 
• When pressure is built in the cooker then allow rajma to cook on low flame for 1/2 hr.

Boiled Rajma

• Cut onions very fine.
• Wash and cut tomatoes to 1 inch pieces and put in a grinder and make fine paste of it.
• In a thick bottom wok put oil and heat.
• Add 1/2 cloves, bay leaves and cook for 30 sec.
• Add onions, lower the flame and cook till golden brown.Keep stirring regularly.

• Add garlic ginger paste to the onions and cook till the entire mixture leaves the wall of the wok.

Onion - Garlic and spices cooked and ready for Tomato to be added

• Add tomatoes into it and cook again till the entire mixture leaves the wall of kadhai.

Tomatoes added to the Onion-Garlic paste

• Add boiled rajma from cooker to the above mixture and mix nicely.

Boiled Rajma added to the onion garlic and spices paste

• Allow it to cook for 15 min. 
• Add water in between if required.
• Add cumin powder and garam masala.
• Rajama is ready to be eaten with plain boiled rice/jeera rice

Rajma ready to be served

• Remove the cooked rajma in a serving bowl and add malai (cream) and mix it gently. 
• Garnish it with the herb of your choice

         Enjoy Rajma with hot plain rice or jeera rice. :)

     Tips : -

• Throw the water in which the rajama is soaked and add fresh water for boiling.
• Add garam masala in the end. 
•  Do not add cooking soda while boiling rajma.            

Suggested Variations:

• For those who do not eat onion and garlic 2-3 teaspoons  extra coriander powder can be added. 

• Mix finely cut onion, tomato, little chat masala and red chili powder. Mix with hot boiled rajma and enjoy as chat- pati rajma chat.