Avocado Coconut Chutney

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Ever since I tried this avocado roti (Indian flat bread) for the first time, avocados have a special place in my kitchen.  Now that I have begun to include avocados regularly in our diet, my next challenge has been to try and find more uses for it. My cousin S mentioned that she makes a north Indian style of chutney with avocado to go with parathas. I have yet to try this chutney that she mentioned, but I am sure that before long, I will both try and post that recipe here :-)

In the meanwhile the idea of making a chutney with avocado got stuck in my head. When I wanted to make a chutney to go with this rava dosai (semolina and flax crepe), I decided to try and see how avocado would taste in a south Indian style chutney. The verdict..............it was a huge success. The avocado added a wonderful creamy texture to the chutney. The taste of the avocado did not stand out, instead it blended very well with the other ingredients. If you have tasted the traditional south Indian coconut chutney, then this does not taste very different from it, it tastes like a creamier version with a slight hint of cilantro in it.  If you are in the mood to try something different with avocados, maybe you could give this chutney a try....




Here is a closer look at the chutney......



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Ingredients and Method to make Avocado Coconut chutney
1 1/2 tbsp split yellow chick pea lentil (chana dhal/ kadalai parappu)
1 1/2 tbsp split black gram lentil (udad dhal/ ulatham parappu)
1 ripe avocado pitted, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (yielded 1 cup of cut avocado)
5 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste)
1 cup grated fresh or frozen coconut (if frozen thaw to room temperature)
one generous handful of cilantro (coriander leaves/hara dhania/kothamalli)
salt to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice (or to taste)

Optional seasoning
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (rai/ kadagu)
a pinch of asafoetida powder

Dry roast chick pea lentil and black gram separately on low to medium low heat until reddish and aromatic. Soak them both together in sufficient water for at least an hour.

Grind the coconut, green chilies, avocado along with the soaked and drained lentils in a blender/grinder until it forms a smooth paste. Add salt to taste and lemon juice and give it another turn in the blender to mix well.

If you plan to season this chutney, then heat oil in a small pan. Add mustard seeds, when the seeds begin to splutter add asafoetida powder and give it a quick stir. Pour this entire seasoning on the chutney, mix well.
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Serve chutney with dosai/ idli/ vadai or as a side dish to any south Indian themed meal, or use as a dip to serve along with veggies.

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Simple Tomato Soup and a picture of a tamarind tree....

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An essential ingredient used in south Indian cuisine is tamarind. The flavor and slight tartness that tamarind imparts is essential to a lot of south Indian dishes.Can you imagine how sambar or rasam would taste without tamarind..................I know there are substitutes like kokum that some people use, but I prefer tamarind for the traditional taste. Even though I use tamarind regularly and always keep some at hand, I have never really had any curiosity about tamarind and its origin.

Recently when I visited a small village/ town in south India I came across lots of interesting trees and plants that I thought my readers might find interesting. One such tree was a tamarind tree or puli maram as it is known in Tamil. I could not resist taking a picture of the tree, unfortunately I only had my mobile phone with me at the time so my picture quality is not awesome. But when you look closely you can see tamarind between the leaves.  One interesting fact that I heard about the tamarind tree, was that the leaves have a slight tartness too, I did not taste any leaves though to make sure if that was true :-) 



Moving on to the tomato soup, this simple and basic version of tomato soup is something I make when I have a lot of fresh ripe tomatoes and am looking for a simple soup to go with my sandwich. This classic, low fat and quick soup is great for when you are not in the mood for something elaborate, yet are looking for something nutritious. I usually serve it with this grilled veggie panini or this mozarella panini, but it can be served with any sandwich of choice.




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Ingredients and Method to make Simple Tomato soup
4 very large tomatoes ( I used hot house tomatoes)
1/2 tsp chopped ginger (optional)
salt to taste (approximately 1 1/2 tsp)
2 to 4 tsp sugar or according to taste (see notes)
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
Black pepper powder to taste (optional)
2 tbsp corn starch (known as cornflour in India) mixed in a little water
1 tbsp butter (optional) (or oil for a vegan version)

In a large heavy pot cook whole tomatoes and ginger if using in sufficient water for a few minutes until the skin on the tomato splits.

Remove from heat, cool slightly and carefully peel the skin. Keep aside to cool further. After it cools, puree tomatoes along with ginger to a smooth texture. If you do not want the seeds of the tomato in your soup then strain the pureed tomatoes to remove the seeds.

In the same pot, heat butter if using, then add tomato puree, salt to taste, sugar (see notes), water as required to achieve required consistency and red chili powder and simmer for a few minutes on low to medium low heat. In the meanwhile mix corn starch in a little water and add to the soup. Allow it to simmer for an additional couple of minutes.

Remove from heat and serve hot, garnished with a little black pepper powder if you want.
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For a classic combination serve this soup with a grilled cheese sandwich.
I prefer this soup with either this mozarella panini or this grilled veggie panini. usually the latter.
Serves approximately 3

Notes
You can completely skip the ginger if you do not like the taste of ginger. If you do not use ginger then you will not need to add much sugar, just a couple of tsp should do. If you do add ginger, then a little more sugar is required to balance out the spicy taste of ginger.

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Cabbage curry ( Maharashtrian style) ~ With Stepwise Pictures

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Can any festive season be complete without a lot of good food .....read that as rich and fattening type foods. That seems to be the common factor in every festive season. And of course since it is the festive season we end up indulging a little .......err maybe I should say ......a lot :-)  Anyway after indulging in this type of rich food, snacks and sweets, I start to crave something very simple and nutritious.

When I had such a craving recently, I remembered this Maharashtrian style cabbage curry that my sister in law used to make sometimes. Considering how much I used to enjoy this curry in the past, I was surprised that I had not made this for a while recently. With a simple combination of chick pea lentil and cabbage, and a minimum of spices and seasoning this curry is quick, flavorful and satisfying. If a simple, nutritious and flavorful curry is something you are looking for, you may want to consider this curry ................




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Ingredients and Method to make Cabbage curry
1/4 cup split yellow chick pea lentil ( chana dhal/ kadalai parappu)  soaked in water for thirty minutes and cooked in the microwave or on the stove top until soft yet firm not mushy (see notes)
1/2 head of fresh cabbage (Gobi/ Kobi) cut fine
2 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste) slit lengthwise
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) (optional)
1 tbsp coconut oil
3/4 tsp mustard seeds (Rai/ kadagu)
1/8 tsp asafoetida powder (hing/perungayam)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/ manjal podi)
salt to taste (namak/ uppu)
1 tsp sugar (shakkar/ sakkarai)
handful cilantro (coriander leaves/hara dhania/ kothamalli) cut very fine for garnish

Soak chana dhal in sufficient water for at least 30 mins. Drain water, fill with fresh water and cook in the microwave or the stove top until the chana dhal is cooked yet firm and not mushy.

Heat coconut oil in a large heavy  bottomed pan, add mustard seeds to it. When the seeds begin to splutter, add  green chilies, asafoetida powder and stir a couple of seconds or until the green chilies acquire whitish spots.
 

Add turmeric powder, stir once or twice, then add cabbage, salt, sugar and mix well. Cover the pan with a lid and allow the cabbage to cook on low to medium low heat. When the cabbage is soft, add the cooked chana dhal and mix well. Allow this to remain on low to medium low heat for a few more minutes for the flavors to mingle. Garnish with finely cut cilantro leaves.
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Remove from heat and serve hot with phulkas or plain steamed rice and dhal. I served this with plain phulkas and loved the combination a great deal.

Serves approximately 2 to 3

Notes:
In case you do not want to use the microwave for cooking the chana dhal, you can add the uncooked chana dhal after the seasoning is ready, ie the green chilies and asafoetida powder are added. Then add water as required, cover the pan with a lid and cook on low heat stirring frequently to ensure even cooking. Make sure all the water has evaporated before proceeding with the rest of the recipe

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