Tomatillo Chutney

Event: Blogging Marathon #41
Theme: Stove-top cooking with alphabets - N, P & T

The idea of this chutney came to me when my husband one day mentioned about his mother's green tomato pachadi. Since my mother-in-law is not there any more and I never had an opportunity to taste that pachadi, it was hard to replicate it. And instead I came up with a version of my own using the tomatillos. The tomatillos and unripe green tomatoes are different even though they look the same particularly when tomatillos are dehusked. Tomatillo, original to Mexico comes with an inedible papery husk and is quite tart to taste. They have a sticky film which needs to be washed off before using them in recipes.
Tart tomatillos are paired with aromatic cilantro here and the addition of garlic lends a great flavor according to my husband. One day I had packed this chutney along with idlis in his lunch box and the yummy chutney had become a great hit among his colleagues. And so, I thought of sharing this flavorful chutney today.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of asafoetida
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1 big onion or 2 onions, chopped roughly
4 - 5 green chillies
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
3 tomatillo
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Salt to taste

Method:
* Peel off the husks  from tomatillo. Rinse and gently rub to remove the sticky film. Cut each tomatillo into 6 - 8 chunks.
* Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start to splutter add turmeric, asafoetida and chillies. Fry for about 30 seconds.
* Next add garlic and and onion. Fry until onion turns translucent.
* Then add tomatillo and cook until it turns mushy.
* Finally add cilantro leaves and salt. Just cook until the leaves wilt.
* Let cool the mixture and grind coarsely.
* Serve with idlis / dosas / rice.

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Some Entries for the Events - Breakfast Juice, Eggless Latkes, Apple Sauce & Spinach - Tomatillo Masoor dal

It's been a while since I posted multiple recipes in a single post. I usually do it when I am in a last minute rush to send my entries for  events I want to participate in. And so here I am today with a few recipes that are going to be a part of some wonderful events. :)



 My mom is well known for her breakfast dishes in our family circles. Naturally, hoping to learn some new dishes from her, I mentioned about the Jihva - Breakfast event that I am hosting this month. I was in a surprise when she told that she rarely prepares breakfast now a days as there are only two adults at home. They mostly opt for healthy breakfast drinks or fruits instead of going through the hassles of breakfast preparation.
 And here I am with her 'Under 5 minutes, Veggie Juice' which is going to be my mother's entry for the Jihva - Breakfast event. I am posting this because she doesn't know the ways of blogging. My mother mentioned that this healthy, simple Carrot - Beet - Tomato Juice doesn't need any additional sweeteners and sometimes she adds a little honey if she feels like having it.
Just blend 1 carrot (peeled & cubed) + 1 tomato (deseeded) + a small bit of beetroot in your blender / mixer. If you don't deseed the tomatoes, you can pass the juice through a sieve. Add water if needed. Also using beetroot is optional.

Jihva is the brain child of  Indira.

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Latkes

Latkes are Jewish potato pancakes. That's what I thought until a peek into the wiki world.



According to it, potato pancakes are popular through out the European nations and infact it is the national dish of Belarus.  Didn't know that there were natinal dishes and now wondering what would be a national dish in the case of India. Sure there would be a clash among the regional ones. Now back to latkes.
The name of the potato pancakes keep changing depending upon where you live. In Yiddish, they are known as latkes or latkas and are traditionally eaten by Ashkenazi Jews during the Jewish Hanukkah festival.
Latkes are shallow-fried pancakes of grated potato, flour and egg, often flavored with grated onion or garlic and seasoning. Potato pancakes may be topped with condiments like sour cream, sugar or applesauce or they may be served ungarnished.
Here I am presenting my way, the egg less version.

Ingredients for about 5, small sized latkes:
2 potatoes - peeled & grated (we had about 2 cups)
1 onion - finely minced
4 Tbsp pancake mix (used Bisquick)
3 Tbsp rice flour
Salt & pepper to taste
1/8-cup oil to shallow fry

Making Latkes:
Squeeze out the water from potato. Mix the other ingredients except oil and form into a mass. You can adjust the quantities of flours if needed. Divide the dough into 5 portions and shape them into balls.
Gently heat the oil in a shallow pan. Place one dough ball in the center. Pat it into a circle using either your fingers or the back of a spatula. It doesn't need to be very thin. Cook on low flame till the bottom portion appears golden brown. Then flip and cook the other side till it browns as well. Drain them on paper towels. Low flame ensures that latkes are cooked through out perfect and attains that golden brown hue.
Since the pancakes are primarily made out of potatoes, there is nothing not to like about them. :)
I served them with applesauce to kids for their after school snack and they really enjoyed them.

They go to Priya's Pancakes event.

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Apple Sauce:

Applesauce is one of those basic things to prepare in a kitchen. You can serve it as a snack for little ones or use a fat substitute in baking. Since I mentioned that it is a basic thing, preparation is obviously a simple one.



I used a golden delicious apple since that's what I had in my refrigerator. I tried substituting cardamom powder for cinnamon this time and I enjoyed it. Increase the quantities of ingredients to make a large batch.
First step is to cook the apple till it softens. Peel and cube an apple. Cook it in the microwave covered, for 2 minutes on high. Check once in between. Add a tsp of water if needed.
Then puree it with 2 tsp of brown sugar and a little cinnamon powder using a blender.
Serve as needed.

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Spinach - Tomatillo Masoor Dal:

Now moving to lunch / dinner. Here is a healthy, substantial and simple dal which can be served with rice / rotis. This one qualifies for 'under 30 minute meals' or 'bachelor friendly dishes' because it is pressure cooked along with rice in another container.
A well-prepared dal - greens combination never disappoints and today's recipe is one such combo. Nutritious spinach and tart tomatillos are paired with filling masoor dal.



Our meal today - Rice - Spinach dal, Orange slices and homemade fatfree yogurt

Ingredients needed for 6 -8 servings:
1 cup masoor dal
1 bunch spinach leaves or 8 - 10 oz / 250 gms frozen spinach
2 tomatillos, chopped
A pinch of turmeric powder
A small lemon sized tamarind
3-4 green chillies, chopped (I used Serrano variety. Adjust the quantity if using other variety.)
Salt to taste

For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 10 curry leaves and a little asafoetida powder

Preparation of the dal:
Wash the masoor dal twice and throw away the water. Wash and chop the spinach and the tender stalks.
Add the masoor dal, spinach, tomatillos, turmeric powder,chilies, tamarind and 2 cups of water to a container and cook it in a pressure cooker till done. Or cook on stove top adding water as needed.
When the valve pressure is gone, remove the container. Mash the dal with the back of  ladle and add the salt.
For tadka, heat oil in a small pan. Add the mustard and cumin seeds. When they start to splutter, add curry leaves and asafoetida powder and turn off the stove.
Mix the tadka ingredients to the dal and mix well.

This goes to Healing Foods - Spinach hosted by Divya and Siri being the creator of the event.

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Tomatillo - Tomato Pappu

Being a South Indian and a person who loves simple cooking, I tend to lean towards basic dals. I welcome simple yet fulfilling dals with oodles of enthusiasm. Today's recipe is one such dal prepared with tomatillos and tomatoes - the green, tart and red, savory balls respectively.
Tomatillos are an unknown entity in an Indian kitchen since they are mostly cultivated in the Western hemisphere. However it is not hard to adapt tomatillos in Indian cuisine. They come with a paper thin husk, which needs to be removed before cooking. They are not to be confused with the unripe, green tomatoes available in India.  Today's recipe is based on my MIL's green tomato pappu.

For 2 Servings, the following ingredients are required:
1/2 cup toordal
4 tomatillos 
1 big sized tomato - chopped into cubes
2 green chilies - chopped fine (I used Serrano peppers. Adjust the chilies quantity if using other varieties.)
1 & 1/2 tsp salt or as needed
A pinch of turmeric powder
For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 8 - 10 curry leaves, a pinch of asafoetida powder

Making Dal:

• Remove the husks, wash and then chop the tomatillos.
• Wash the toordal and throw away the cloudy water. Then add about a cup of water and turmeric powder to the toordal. Cook the toordal in a pressure cooker till it turns soft. Alternatively, you can cook on stovetop in a pan and adjust the water quantity accordingly.
• In a sauté pan or kadai, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop, add the curry leaves and asafoetida. Next add the green chilies and saute for about 30 seconds and then add the chopped vegetables. Sauté them till they turn mushy.
• Remove the dal from the cooker and mash it with the back of a ladle. Add this mashed dal and salt to the tomatillo mixture and mix well.
• Let it simmer for a couple of minutes more and then turn off the stove.
• Serve it with steamed rice / rotis. Ours was served with kohlrabi parathas.

Note:
1. The tart tomatillos acts as the souring agent in this dal recipe. If you find your tomatillos not that sour, then tamarind can be added.
2. You can add the chopped vegetables and chilies directly to the toordal while cooking it.

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