Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:

• Ripe Roma Tomatoes - 10 (Quartered)
• Garlic cloves - 5-6  (Chopped)
• Urad Daal (Black Gram) - 2 TSP
• Chana Daal ( Bengal Gram ) - 1 TBSP
• Curry Leaves – 1 stem (8-10 leaves)
• Small Green Chilies - 4-5 ( Chopped )
• Dry Red Chilies - 2
• Cumin Seeds - 1 TSP
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 TSP
• Tamarind Pulp - 2 TBSP
• Sugar - 1 TBSP
• Salt - To taste
• Vegetable Oil – 2 TBSP
• Asafetida – ½ TSP

In a medium-large frying pan, heat 1TBSP Vegetable Oil. When hot, add Mustard and Cumin seeds and let them crackle for 15-20 seconds. Add Asafetida, Chopped Garlic and Green Chilies and sauté for a few seconds. Once the cloves and chilies turn slightly brown, add Chana Daal. Stir continuously until the Chana Daal turns slightly brown. Now is the time to add Urad Daal. We add Chana daal before Urad as Chana daal takes more time to cook. When Urad daal turns light brown, add the dry Red Chilies and Curry Leaves. Let the mixture cook for a few minutes. Stir continuously so nothing gets burned.

Add the Tamarind Pulp. After 15-20 seconds of stirring , add Tomatoes, Salt and Sugar(you may also add jaggery). Cover the  mixture and let it simmer at low flame for around 20-25 mins. Mix occasionally so that nothing gets stuck to the pan. The water released from the tomatoes helps the mixture stay wet.

Take the pan off the flame and let the mixture cool for a few minutes. Then run it in a blender.

The Chutney is ready. It goes well with Idly, Dosa, Rice....I guess anything you like! ;-)

Dahi Vade/Bhalle

Say "Dahi Vade" and my mouth starts watering! Dahi Vade (also known as Dahi Bhalle) is a popular Punjabi side dish. The best description I can give of it is "lentil dumplings soaked in yogurt with sweet and sour chutneys". Sounds yummy? ;) Here is how we prepare it.

Ingredients

• Urad Dal (white): 1 cup
• Moong Dal (yellow): 1/2 cup
• Fresh Yogurt: 1 Pound (1/2Kg)
• Vegetable oil for deep frying
• Salt: to taste
• Red Chilly Powder: to taste
• Cumin powder: to taste
• Tamarind Chutney
• Coriander/Mint Chutney

Preparation


Mix Urad and Moong Dal and soak them overnight. Wash the dals thoroughly and then grind them to a fine paste. Be careful while adding water to the dals when you grind the dals. The batter should be thick enough to make dumplings.


Heat oil in a pan on medium flame. When the oil is hot, drop ping pong ball sized dumplings into it. Fry them until they turn golden brown, drain them, and keep them aside. Do not fry them on high flame otherwise the dumplings would not cook properly and stay raw inside. Take ample amount of water in a large bowl and soak the dumplings for around 10 minutes.


Beat the yogurt very fine and make sure that it has no lumps. Take the dumplings out of the water, squeeze each dumpling lightly between your palms to drain the water, and drop them in the yogurt. Don't squeeze them so hard that they break. Let them stay in the yogurt for a while so that they soak it. If you aren't planning to have them immediately, refrigerate them and let them become chilled.


Serving


Take the dumplings out of the yogurt carefully and put them in the serving dish. Pour yogurt over them evenly. Sprinkle salt, red chilly powder, and cumin powder on them, all to your taste. Pour the chutneys in the end. Some people like to decorate the Vadas with the spices and chutneys by making designs out of them. It's quite a colorful sight! :) You can also garnish the vadas with chopped coriander leaves and Sev.


Dahi Vadas taste the best when serve chilled.