Demystified Chutneys: Green and White (Green and dahi ki Chutney)

I do tend to dramatize things. For what are we but characters in this stage of life? As in all plays, you tend to remember only those who have left a mark. A mark being the prized possession, in my opinion, of the most dramatic. Yet, if you like my favorite YouTuber Lauren Toyota are unhappy with my rambling, you are free to jump straight down to the experiment like denotation of my recipe. I honor you as much as any other reader of mine who bears the patience to know me.

This is however going to be a short post regardless. I am simply making this one as an extension of the two dips I talked about in my last recipe- green chutney and dahi ki chutney. To start off, green chutney is a nut free coriander pesto with the Indian trio of ginger, garlic and chili. Dahi means curd or yoghurt in Hindi. This is just a spruced up version of Greek yoghurt (yes, you have to use the full fat one).

Both of these are super easy and super delicious to make. You only need to blend up a ginger, garlic, onion, Indian green chilies, fresh coriander, salt and lemon juice to make the vibrant green pesto. It really is that simple. The only difficult part here is balancing the salty- sourness and of course, adjusting the amount of chili depending on how hot you want it to be. A good thing to remember here is that ginger and garlic are also spices. So they too provide some heat. Specifically ginger. Too much will take you by surprise!

For dahi ki chutney, I used full fat Greek yoghurt, but you could use plain yoghurt too. Just place the plain yoghurt in a bowl lined with cheesecloth, hang it up to let some of the water drip out for 15 minutes. This will give you a thick Greek yoghurt like consistency. Now grate some cucumber or chop it really finely and mix it in with the yoghurt. Chop up some mint leaves and mince some garlic and add these in. Also add some black salt, chaat masala and a pinch of salt. Mix well and there it is!

You can enjoy these dips with not just matar ki tikki, but also with chips, vegetables, pakoras (recipe coming), sandwiches and an endless list of things! Be courageous! Do share what you tried these with.

And now, for all you people who are extremely scientific and require the exact measurements (instead of using the sixth sense), I have the recipe written down below as always. Also, before I take leave of you, I urge you to check out Lauren Toyota and Hot For Food on YouTube (I'll leave their links at the end of this post). No, they didn’t ask me to promote them but I think you will love their sassy approach to vegan food. Do share pictures, your experiences and thoughts if you end up trying this recipe (or not)!

GREEN CHUTNEY (this will last in your fridge for a week)

Ingredients:

·      200g fresh coriander leaves and stalks

·      1 tablespoon lemon juice

·      ½ a Vidilla onion

·      Salt to taste

·      1 thumb size piece of ginger

·      3 large garlic cloves

·      3 Indian green chilies

Method:

1.     Wash the coriander extensively to remove any dirt stuck in the stalks.

2.     Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender (I use my magic bullet) and blend till it turns into a chunky pesto consistency.

3.     You can substitute the vidilla onion for a red onion if you can take the heat. Also, increase or decrease the amount of chilies to your taste.

4.     If the chutney does not blend properly, add a tablespoon of water to assist it.

5.     Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

DAHI KI CHUTNEY (this will last in your fridge for a week)

Ingredients:

·      200g Greek yoghurt or hung curd

·      1 small cucumber (grated)

·      ½ a clove of garlic (minced)

·      Salt to taste

·      ½ teaspoon of black salt

·      ½ teaspoon of chat masala

·      Few mint leaves

Method:

1.     Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

2.     Adjust salt to your taste.

3.     Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Hot For Food: https://www.youtube.com/user/hotforfoodblog

Lauren Toyota: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx-S6eBuL9SlwNZTHI6P9Bg

Potato Pea Croquettes (Matar ki tikki)

I like to sleep with my curtains open so that each morning, I can wake up abusing the sun for coming out so early. I know that is paradoxical. I mean, how difficult is it to get up and pull the curtains over the rather large window I have been blessed with? To be quite honest, I do enjoy waking up grumpy. It makes me happy. Now you know another reason for why no one has ever been able to decode a woman’s thoughts.

My rambling aside, I associate cold rainy days with fried food and hot tea, as do most Indians. When you’re at home, lovely mothers or cooks do the hard work for you. All you need to do is wrap yourself in a warm comforter and enjoy deep fried love!

This living alone thing has its ups and downs. Mostly, it isn’t really allowing me to pursue my hobby of ultimate laziness. So, in a place like Hannover where the weather is mostly wet and gloomy, after three months, I pushed myself into boiling potatoes one day. They stayed in the fridge for another three days and troubling dreams till I made myself get up one Saturday morning. I didn’t take a bath and I didn’t brush my teeth. I scrunched up my hair and wiped the sleep from my eyes. I made my way into the kitchen with last night’s dirty pan (to be washed). This was my day, my moment. I made matar kit tikki.

Let me translate this dish for you. It is quite simple. It’s a mashed potato croquette with a spicy peas filling, pan seared to golden brown perfection.

I started with peeling a few potatoes that I had boiled earlier in the week. I added some salt and a spoonful of regular flour to it, mashed it all together and put it aside.

For the peas, I heated some oil in a pan and added a teaspoon each of sesame seeds and flax seeds. I waited for them to pop and then I added a pinch of turmeric, garam masala and chili powder. I cooked this till my spices were aromatic and then I added some frozen peas directly to the pan. I cooked this till the peas were lightly blistered.

Now comes the tricky part. I rubbed some oil onto my hands and that definitely helped. Also, the flour mixed into the potatoes makes the mix a little drier and easier to handle. I took some potato mix and flattened it into a thin disc with my fingers. I placed a spoonful of peas into the center of it and covered the filling by pulling the edges in. This is a difficult thing to do. It does need some practice and I’m sure I’ll get it some day. But I think it would be easier just to make two disks of similar size, stuff the peas in the middle and squeeze the edges of both patties together. If it is the road taken that you prefer, then go for it. I myself prefer challenges and I didn’t do too badly.

I took a tablespoon of oil in a very good non-stick frying pan and placed the cutlets in it when it was hot. You only need to cook them for two minutes per side. Then put them on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil.

I ate them with hari chutney, dahi ki chutney, flat bread and half a green apple (to feign being healthy). A translation for the rest you ask? Well, if I gave it all out in a single post, I wouldn’t have any more ideas in my bag and I’m sure you would end up being bored of my incessant ranting. As always, I leave the exact boring recipe below this entertaining monologue for all you adventure seekers. Do share pictures, your experiences and thoughts if you end up trying this recipe (or not)!

MATAR KI TIKKI (for 6 tikkis or 2 people or just me)

Ingredients:

·      2 large boiled potatoes

·      1 tablespoon regular flour (type 405)

·      Salt to taste

·      1 tablespoon oil

·      1 teaspoon sesame seeds

·      1 teaspoon flax seeds

·      ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

·      ¼ teaspoon chili powder

·      ¼ teaspoon garam masala

·      ½ cup frozen peas

Method:

1.     Mash the potatoes, salt and flour together with a fork into smooth dough.

2.     Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and fry sesame and flax seeds till they begin to pop.

3.     Add all the spices in and cook for 30 seconds.

4.     Add the frozen peas and cook till the peas are lightly blistered. Remove from heat.

5.     Divide the potato dough into 6 parts and roll each part into a small ball. Flatten to form a disc and stuff with some of the peas.

6.     Pan fry in hot oil for 2 minutes per side.

7.     Serve piping hot!