Chutneys are such an integral part of Indian cuisine. Back home, mom made chutneys every other day for breakfast and my favorite is her coconut and tomato chutneys. The best part is, every time she would take some left over rice and chutney; mix well and make a big ball and give it to me. Oh I love that so much. And that’s exactly what I do every time I make chutney and lucky my hubby also likes it. Old habits die hard 🙂

Over to the recipe, this one’s adapted from my mom’s. I added paprika which gave a bit of smoked flavor to the chutney and of course the basil, which perfumed the chutney and was very refreshing.

You need –

Tomatoes – chopped and de-seeded, 1 cup
Sweet Basil – 3-4 leaves, minced
Onion – 1 medium, finely chopped
Garlic – 2 large pods, finely chopped
Chili powder – 1 teaspoon (I used Kashmiri chili powder)
Paprika – 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Ground pepper – 1/4 teaspoon
Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
curry leaves – 1 sprig
Oil – 1 tablespoon
salt to taste

How to –

Heat only in pan, add the mustard seeds. once the seeds start to splatter, add the curry leaves. Tip in the onion, garlic and cook till the onion is translucent. Add salt, all the powders, except for pepper and fry till the oil start to separate.

Add the chopped tomatoes and basil. Mix well, cover and cook till the tomatoes are mushing. Uncover, add the ground pepper and mix well.

Turn off the heat and serve with idly, dosa or rice.

Soya kheema matar

May 28, 2013October 18, 2016 | Rekha Vengalil

Soya, like many of you know that its packed with proteins. I don’t like soya milk but a big fan of the chunks/soya meat. I love this recipe and make it quite often but realized that its not featured in my blog. Its simple and easy to make. To me this is a quick-cooking standby when you long for some meat but left with no meat in freezer or pressed for time.

You need –

Soya chunks – 1 cup
Frozen peas – 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
Onion – 1 large, finely chopped
ginger paste – 1 teaspoon
garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
Tomato – 1 large, chopped
Coriander powder – 2 teaspoons
Chili powder – 1 1/2 teaspoons
Meat masala – 1 teaspoon (can use curry powder instead)
Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Ground pepper – 1/2 teaspoon
Bay leave – 1
Oil – 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

How to –

Soak the soya chunks in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain well; into a chopper and mince the chunks. Set aside.

Minced soy chunks

In a heavy bottom pan, heat oil add the bay leave. Once fragrant, splatter the cumin seeds. Make sure not to burn them. Add the onions, ginger- garlic paste, fry till the onions are translucent and the raw smell of the ginger-garlic paste is gone.

Add all the spice powders, salt except for pepper and fry till the oil start to separate. Tip in the tomato and cook till mushy. Add the minced soya and peas. Add 1/4-1/2 cup water. cover and cook till done. uncover and let it cook for 4-5 mins or till all the water has reduced and the gravy is dry. Add the ground pepper, mix well to combine and turn off the heat.

Garish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Chemmeen-beans ularthiyathu/prawns stir fried with beans

October 26, 2012February 12, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

Chemmeen-beans ularthiyathu

You need –

Prawns – 500 grams.
Beans – 250 grams (Slit length-wise and chopped 1 inch in length)
Shallots – 10 nos
Garlic – 3 big cloves
Crushed dry chillies – 1 ½ tablespoon
Curry leaves – 1 stalk
Salt – as per taste
Coconut oil – 2 tablespoon

How to –

In a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic and shallots. Cook the prawns in boiling water with ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder.
Heat oil in a pan, add the crushed garlic, shallots, chilies and curry leaves Fry till the raw smell is gone and the onions turn golden brown.
Add the prawns, beans and cook till the beans in done. Make sure the beans is crunchy and not over cooked.
Serve hot with rice and curry. I had it with curd rice..:-)