Cranberry Relish

December is my favourite month of the year- in december both my hubby and I celebrate our birthdays as well as our weddnig anniversary – not to mention Christmas and New year...and of course, lots of pre christmas dinner parties... which means loads of good food and fun. For this one month, amongst all the partying, I normally forget all about calorie intake and simply indulge and enjoy.

So I thought, at least, I could indulge with something a little healthy (which has kind of become a synonym of my name, according to my best friend!), to compensate all the rich good food and keep a balance.

This week, when my hubby bought this box of cranberries, the moment I saw the box, it was very clear in my mind what I was gonna do with them. This recipe is very easy to make and tastes really awesome.

I had it with some rosemary and cheese crisps, while my hubby enjoyed it with papad / poppadams and it tastes good with Roti or bread.

The sourness of the cranberries, the flavours of all the spices and a slight sweet hint makes this relish an instant hit. We enjoyed this so much that my hubby already got another box of cranberries :-)

Ingredients

100 grams - cranberries, cut into half

1/8 tsp - fennel seeds (saunf)

a generous pinch of nigella seeds (kalonji)

3 tbsp - sunflower oil

1 - red whole chilli

1 tbsp - raisins

1/4 tsp - turmeric powder (haldi)

1/2 tsp - red chilli powder, more or less

1 tsp - coriander powder (dhaniya powder)

1/8 tsp - garam masala powder

1/4 tsp - mustard seed powder (peesi rai)

salt to taste

2 tbsp - water

a generous pinch of asafoetida (hing)
2 - bayleaves

1 1/2 tsp - sugar, more or less

Method

1. In a bowl mix together the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, garam masala powder, mustard seed powder with 2 tbsp of water and keep aside. 
2. Heat oil in a non stick pan, add the fennel seeds, nigella seeds, hing and red whole chilli.
3. Add the spice paste to the oil and saute for a minute on medium heat. 
4. Add the cranberries, raisins and mix. Cover the lid and cook on medium heat until the cranberries are soft. 
5. Add the sugar and cook again for half a minute.
6. Remove from the heat and serve. The relish tastes good hot as well as cold. 

Enjoy!

Red Chilli Pickle

It's hard to keep up with time these days...nonetheless I am enjoying every bit of it. It was really good to have mom n dad in law at home. I have been learning a lot of traditional recipes from my MIL. Today's pickle recipe is also by her. 

I had a bag full of chillies as gift from an acquaintant, who, ever so generous, gave me these chillies and said, "You are Indian and you do use a lot of chillies in your cooking, don't you?" I was a little taken aback and a bit lost for words. I forced a smile on my face - for what does one do with a Kilo of chillies?

Well, I started thinking on how to use so much chilli (I can't eat very spicy food, well, my hubby can... but that's another story). I gave half the chillies to a good friend of mine, who said, she would freeze them. But, even after that, "What should I do with so many chillies?" was a constant thought in my mind. The next day, my in-laws were arriving from India. My MIL, saw the chillies and said "Why do you have so many chillies at home?" I narrated the story and she smiled and said, "We'll make something really delicious out of them." and this recipe was born. Some went into this pickle and a few went into a thai red curry, recipe follows soon. As for the rest - we sun-dried them, for later use.

To my astonishment, the pickle turned out not too spicy, as I thought it would be. It came out so yummy and went well with so many sorts of indian food, that even non chilli fans like myself could have fun with them. The next time my acquaintance wants to give me more chillies, I'll say - bring it on!　

Ingredients

20 pieces - red chillies

1 tbsp - ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 1/4 tsp - mustard powder

1/2 tsp - cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp - garam masala powder

2 tsp - salt (more or less)

2 tsp - rock salt

1 piece - dried dates, finely chopped (chuare)

3/4 tsp - sugar

a very little piece of mace

100 ml - lemon juice (more or less)

Method

1. Wash the chillies and dry them completely, cut into rings and remove the seeds
2. Put the chillies in to a glass bowl, add all the ingredients to it and mix well.
3. Cover the bowl with a muslin cloth and keep it in sunlight for 4 days (do not forget to stir once in a while). At night, put the bowl, still covered with the cloth, at room temperature.
4. After around 4 days, store in an air tight container. Shelf life 3-4 months at room temperature or you can keep in the fridge for appx 10 months.

Enjoy!

Saffron Plum Compote

It's finally time that the winter should be over, that the new green on the trees can be seen again and the chirping of the birds starts again, and that a few rays of golden sunshine light up this part of the world again...Well we did have a small preview of spring a couple of weeks ago, but the last few days have again been cold and dark and dreary, wet and grey.

Well, to somewhat light up the atmosphere, I decided to combine my favourite spice with one of my favourite fruit. Last week I went to the Vitualienmarkt - Munich's historical marketplace, where one can find all possible varieties of exotic fruit and vegetables, all times of the year. My basket did have some luscious plums on the way back, which I could not resist biting into until I was back home. But the few that did make it back home, went into this delightful compote. The best part about the compote is, you can serve it warm or cold, you can keep it for a few days (well, that is, if you can resist the temptation to clean it off at first chance!), and it goes well with almost any dessert - or is absolutely yummy on its own, licked by the spoonful ;-)

Along with the compote, I made some Crumpets (recipe up next on your favourite food blog, so stay tuned!).

Ingredients

3 - plums, pitted and chopped
1 tbsp - crystallised ginger, finely chopped
2 1/2 tbsp - honey (more or less according to your taste and how sweet the plums are)
1/4 tsp - cinnamon powder
10 - 12 strands of saffron

Method

1. Place the plums, crystallised ginger and honey in a pan and cook on a low heat, stirring occasionaly until the plums are slightly soft. 
2. Add the cinnamon powder and saffron and cook for a minute. 
3. Remove from the heat and serve hot or cold with a dessert of your choice.

Enjoy!

Spicy Pineapple Salsa

Thanks a ton for all the lovely comments for the Papad Parathas- and here is the pineapple salsa that went along with them.

As I have mentioned in a previous post see here, pineapple is one of my favourite fruits. Much more commonly used in desserts, I decided to do something different with pineapples this time.

This salsa was made especially spicy for my husband, who is a chilli-freak - and I had some tears and sniffles when I ate it - so unless you are a seasoned chilli eater (pun intended!) reduce the amount of spices from the ones mentioned here.

Ingredients

1/2 cup - pineapple slices, chopped

1/4 tsp - dried lemon grass

1/3 cup - onions, finely chopped

3/4 tsp - garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tsp - red chilli flakes

1 tsp - sunflower oil

1/3 cup - water

1 tbsp - jaggery, (gud), roughly chopped, adjust according to your taste

1 - star anise

1 - bayleaf

2 pieces of cloves

a generous pinch of nutmeg powder

a pinch of citric acid

salt and pepper, according to taste

Method

1. Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add the onions, garlic and bayleaf and cook for a couple of minutes on a medium heat.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 4-5 minutes and serve.

This goes to Nithu's "Think Beyond the Usual - Fruits" 

Enjoy!

Coriander Chutney

As I mentioned in one of my post, coriander and mint are a hard-to-top combination. I generally have either a coriander chutney or a coriander mint chutney in my refrigerator - it is a very handy recipe either as a dip with snacks, or as a add-on to a wide variety of sauces and curries, or even as a condiment with rice or bread.

The chutney can be kept frozen for a couple of weeks (without the lemon juice and salt - and add the salt and lemon juice after defrosting). I do it in normal ice trays, giving small handy blocks - and I can defrost as many as I need. So you can easily make a larger portion and you are fixed and ever-ready for the next couple of weeks!

Ingredients 

1 cup - coriander leaves, chopped

(optionally add 1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped)

2 - green chillies, chopped (adjust according to your taste)

2 inch piece - ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1/4 tsp - cumin seeds

1 tsp - lemon juice

salt to taste

Method 

1. Put all the ingredients in a grinder and make a paste using as little water as possible.

This goes to Mahimaa's Cooking Basics Event 

Enjoy!

Starfruit Apple Dip

I am normally not a very regular microwave cook, and have a very ordinary microwave, just for reheating purposes. When I saw this event for microwaved dips and spreads, it gave me an oppurtunity to try out something I hadn't before. 

Starfruit does not only look good with desserts, it also has a very aromatic, mildly sour taste, which is very well complimented by the aromatic sweet taste of apple. We ate this dip with coriander-fenugreek muffins (recipe follows in the next post)

Ingredients 

1 - starfruit/carambola, deseeded and finely chopped

1 - small size apple,  peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp - water

1 tbsp - ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp - raw mango, peeled and grated

1 tsp - sunflower oil

1/4 tsp - fennel seeds and nigella seeds (saunf and kalonji)

1/4 tsp - red chilli flakes (adjust according to taste)

a pinch of asafoetida (hing)

salt to taste

coriander leaves to garnish

Method 

1. Cook the starfruit in the microwave for a minute.  Add 1 tbsp of water and cook again for 2 minutes.
2. Add the chopped apples and cook again for a minute.
3. Allow the cooked mixture to cool and then grind coarsely.
4. Add oil in a bowl and cook for 15 seconds in the microwave. Add hing,  saunf and kalonji, cook again for 45 seconds. Add the coarsely ground mixture, red chilli flakes, salt and raw mango and cook again for a minute.
5. Garnish with coriander leaves. 

This goes to MEC Dips n Spreads event started by Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons fame and hosted by  Manju of Mirch Masala fame. 

Enjoy!