Spicy Sesame Tomato Chutney

I came across this chutney sometime ago when I was looking for something to pair up with the momos I had made. The original recipe had mentioned it to be an inspiration from a local Himalayan restaurant which made me to give it a try in the first place. It is a simple and easy to make kinda chutney, redolent with Asian flavors. All you do is toast the ingredients and blend. Onions and tomatoes lend a natural sweetness and tartness while sesame seeds add nuttiness to the chutney. One can easily adjust the spice levels by reducing / increasing the quantity of pepper flakes. Or even dried red chilies can be used instead as I had done.

Recipe Source: Here
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. oil
4 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 inch ginger piece, finely chopped
1 tbsp. red pepper flakes or to taste
3 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 cup chopped red onion
14.5 oz canned diced tomato (About 2 cups)
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup water

Directions:
* Heat oil in a pan and add garlic and ginger. Saute on low flame, until fragrant, for about a minute or so. Next add the sesame seeds and red pepper flakes and toast for a minute.
* Add onion next and fry until they soften. Add tomatoes and cook until soft and juicy, about 5 minutes.
* Add the above toasted ingredients, soy sauce, lemon juice and water to a blender and grind to a smooth paste. Taste and add salt if needed. Use immediately or keep refrigerated.

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Jhal Muri

So far in the series,

First week - Sweets
Malaadu / Hurigadale Unde
Dry Gulab Jamun
Coconut Burfi / Kobbari Mithai
Almond Halwa / Badam Halwa
Elaneer Payasam
Godhuma Sojjappalu

Second week - Snacks from Gujarat
Damni Dhokla
Doodhi Muthia / Lauki Muthia
Dal Pandoli

Sev Khamani

Methi Khakhra
Pressure Cooker Khandvi

Third Week - Snacks
Bafauri
Soy Beans Guggillu / Sundal

While bhelpuri is associated with beaches of Mumbai and churumuri / girmit is famous in Karnataka, the Bengali variant is called jhalmuri. Jhalmuri literally means spicy puffed rice and is a popular street food from Kolkata. It is a light and yummy snack made with puffed rice, chanachur, onions, chilies, a special masala powder, and other ingredients. What keeps this popular Bengali street food apart from the other regional puffed rice snacks across India is the use of mustard oil which lends a piquant flavor and uniqueness to the dish. 

Jhalmuri is a melange of spicy and tangy flavors and the tasty snack makes a great guilt free option to snack on though diabetics must pay attention since the puffed rice shoots up the sugar levels. Jhalmuri though originated in the Bengal region seems to be quite popular in eastern regions of India and Bangladesh as well. This is how I prepare but the recipe can be customized to one's own preferences by adding  / omitting other spices and flavors. Fine sev can be added in lieu of chanachur. Combine all jhalmuri ingredients quickly and serve immediately as soon as it is assembled to maintain the crunchiness of the snack while eating.

Ingredients:
4 cups puffed rice
Salt and / or black salt to taste
1/4 tsp. red chili powder or to taste
1/2 tsp. cumin powder or to taste
1/2 tsp. chaat masala or to taste
1/2 cup toasted peanuts
1 big sized potato
1 tomato, seeds removed and chopped
1 big sized onion, peeled and finely chopped
3/4 cup peeled and diced cucumber
1 green chillie, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely minced cilantro
1 tsp. mustard oil
Lemon juice to taste
1/4 cup chanachur / sev

Prep work:
* Peel and chop potatoes. Boil them until fork tender and drain the water used to cook. (I cooked them in a microwave.)
* Chop onions, tomatoes, cucumber, green chillies and cilantro and keep them ready.
* Heat a kadai / wok and add puffed rice. Keep toasting on low - medium flame, until crisp and turn off the stove. It takes just a few minutes to toast them and continuously stir to avoid burning the puffed rice.
Directions:
* To the toasted puffed rice, add the remaining ingredients except oil and lemon juice and toss the ingredients to combine. 

* Add oil and lemon juice at the end and toss well to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Serve Immediately.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#104.

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Sev Khamani

So far in the series,

First week - Sweets
Malaadu / Hurigadale Unde
Dry Gulab Jamun
Coconut Burfi / Kobbari Mithai
Almond Halwa / Badam Halwa
Elaneer Payasam
Godhuma Sojjappalu

Second week - Snacks from Gujarat
Damni Dhokla
Doodhi Muthia / Lauki Muthia
Dal Pandoli

Today's snack is another steamed delicacy from Gujarat called sev khamani. This dish uses either freshly made or left over khaman, which are savory, steamed cakes that can be eaten either as a snack or a light meal. This dish is eggless, vegan and gluten free if semolina and asafoetida are left out. These khaman can be made using freshly ground chana dal (split chick peas) batter or besan aka chickpea flour. If using chana dal, it is soaked ahead for about 3 hours, ground adding green chillies, ginger, garlic, etc and then the batter steamed. The steamed block is then crumbled and passed through a sieve to get a mixture with a consistency resembling semolina. It is then tempered, slightly moistened adding water and topped with ingredients like sev, cilantro and other stuff.

The chickpea flour version is an instant one which cuts down the time since it needs no soaking and grinding. I made the version in the microwave which further cuts down the cooking time and makes it a quick fix snack. Khaman could be done under 10 minutes including prep work for one cup of chickpea flour used in the recipe. I usually use this recipe and it can be used here and cooked in two batches instead of the recipe below. I make dhoklas regularly at home but this caught my husband's fancy and I have been been requested to repeat this recipe regularly. Of course he adds everything he finds in the box of spice powders and makes it his own dish at the end.

This recipe has been on my to do list for years but somehow never got made. This time I didn't even bother when I couldn't procure good colored pomegranate arils and went ahead. They ended up being sweet and juicy in spite of their dismal look and made a very delicious topping for this sev khamani. In fact, they were the star of this sev khamani. Use pomegranate and sev in generous portions. Garlic is another interesting addition to this sev khamani which can be added either as a paste to the batter or minced and fried in the tempering.  

I noticed online that the topping can be done in two ways and did both. The common toppings used are coconut, cilantro, sev and pomegranate arils. A street food video showed that the crumbled khaman is moistened with water to almost a lumpy consistency like a moist upma, and then topped with a fried green chili, sev, cilantro and minced onion. I liked this sev khamani without onion somehow,

Ingredients for khaman:
1 cup chick pea flour / besan
2 tbsp. semolina
1 tsp. sugar
Salt to taste
2 pinches of asafoetida
1 tbsp. green chili paste (Adjust as needed)
1.5 tsp. garlic paste
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. oil
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup water (1 or 2 tbsp. less)
1 tsp. Eno's fruit salt

Ingredients for tempering: (Version 1)
1.5 tbsp. oil
1/2 tbsp. mustard seeds
1 or 2 green chillies, finely chopped
2 pinches of asafoetida powder
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
2 tbsp. water
1/2 cup nylon sev
1/2 cup pomegranate arils
Minced cilantro to garnish
Fresh, grated coconut (optional)
Lemon juice

Ingredients for tempering: (Version 2)
1.5 tbsp. oil
3 /4 green chillies
1/2 tbsp. mustard seeds
2 pinches of asafoetida powder
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
2 tbsp. water or more
1/2 cup nylon sev
Minced cilantro to garnish
Minced onion to garnish


Directions:
* Grease a microwave safe bowl.
* Combine all the ingredients under 'khaman' list in a mixing bowl except water and fruit salt. Add 1/2 cup water initially and then in slow increments, add about 2 to 3 tbsp. water. Make a medium consistency batter and transfer to the microwave safe bowl.

* Add fruit salt and sprinkle a tsp. of water over it. 

* Mix the batter well and cover with a microwave safe lid. 

* Place it in the microwave and cook until a tooth pick / knife inserted at the center comes out clean, about 5 - 7 minutes depending upon the strength of microwave.

* Let the mixture cool down and then crumble it using fingers, breaking any tiny lumps present.

Tempering for version 1:
* Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, add green chillies and saute them for few seconds. Then add asafoetida, turmeric and mix. Immediately add the crumbled khaman and sprinkle about 2 tbsp. of water. Mix well and cook for a minute or two.

* Divide the mixture into 2 or 3 serving bowls. Top with sev, cilantro, coconut and pomegranate arils. Squeeze lemon juice over and serve immediately.

Tempering for version 2:
* Heat oil in a pan and add green chillies. Saute them, remove and keep aside. To the same oil, add mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, add asafoetida, turmeric and mix. Immediately add the crumbled khaman and sprinkle about 2 tbsp. of water. (More water can be added if preferred.) Mix well and cook for a minute or two.
* Divide the mixture into 2 or 3 serving bowls. Top with fried green chili, sev, cilantro, and onion. Sprinkle some lemon juice and serve immediately.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#104.

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Kachumber

Kachumber is a vegetable based salad from the north Indian region which is quite simple and quick to prepare like a Mexican salsa. It uses the commonly available ingredients from an Indian kitchen, chiefly comprising of cucumber, tomato and red onions. Herbs and spices are thrown in to bring out the flavors associated with Indian palates.

 

Ingredients:

1 small cucumber, peeled and cubed

1 tomato, chopped

1 red onion, peeled and chopped

1 to 2 green chilies, chopped

A handful of mint and cilantro leaves, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. cumin powder (optional)

Salt to taste

Lemon juice to taste

Method:

* Combine everything in a mixing bowl and toss to mingle.

* Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed and serve immediately.

This is going to be a part of Blogging marathon #62 under the theme 'Light Salads' and check here to find out what other marathoners are cooking today.


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