Walnut Chutney

Walnut Chutney.

Doon Chetin is a popular Kashmiri chutney made with walnuts (doon). Walnuts are ground into a paste along with green chiles and mint leaves. The paste is later mixed with yogurt for the doon chetin / walnut chutney.
Makes: around 1 1/2 cups of Walnut Chutney.

Ingredients:

Walnuts 3/4 Cup
Fresh Mint Leaves 3/4 Cup Packed
Yogurt 1/2 Cup
Cilantro few Sprigs
Ginger 1/2 inch Piece
Green Chiles 1
Salt to taste

Method of preparation:

Remove stem, wash and roughly chop green chile.
Peel and roughly chop ginger.
Wash and roughly chop mint leaves and cilantro leaves.

First grind the ginger and green chiles into paste using a blender.
Then add mint leaves, cilantro and walnuts.
Grind into paste using enough water or yogurt and salt.
Remove the ground walnut paste onto a bowl, stir in yogurt.
Serve walnut chutney as a dip or with roti or with bread etc..
Notes: Make sure to adjust spice with green chiles.

Suggestions: Use a pestle to first crush the walnuts and then mix with other ground ingredients for better texture.
Variations: Dried mint can also be used in which case let the walnut chutney sit for couple of minutes for mint to rehydrate. Green chiles can be substituted for red chiles or red chili powder.
Other Names: Doon Chetin, Kashmiri Walnut Chutney.

Tweet This Buzz This Delicious Talimpu Facebook Stumble

Mint Cilantro Rice

Pudina Kothimera Annam.

Mint cilantro rice is prepared by frying the mint and cilantro leaves and grinding them into fine paste with spices. The paste is then cooked briefly with garbanzo and mixed with steamed rice. Serve mint cilantro rice with raita of your choice.
Makes: around 3 Servings of Mint Cilantro Rice.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice 1 1/2 Cups
Mint 2 Cups loosely packed
Cilantro 1 1/2 Cups loosely packed
Curry Leaves 10
Grated Coconut 3 tbsps
Green Chiles 4 – 6
Tamarind 1 – 2 inch sized Ball
Cashews 15
Cumin Seeds 2 tsps
Jaggery 1 inch Block (optional)
Turmeric powder a pinch
Asafoetida a big Pinch
Boiled Garbanzo / Chickpeas 1 Cup
Salt to taste
Oil 1 tbsp

Method of preparation:

Wash rice and soak in fresh water for half an hour.
Cook the rice with 2 1/2 cups of water till rice is soft and all the water has been absorbed.
Soak tamarind in few tablespoons of water for some time and extract all the pulp.

Remove stems, wash and roughly chop green chiles.
Clean, wash and roughly chop mint leaves, cilantro leaves and curry leaves.

Heat a tsp of oil in a pan, add cashews and fry them till they turn light golden brown.
Remove cashews and add all the chopped leaves to the remaining oil and fry till they wilt.
Remove from heat and cool the leaves to room temperature.
Grind the fried leaves with coconut, tamarind pulp, half of the cashews, half of cumin seeds, jaggery (if using), green chiles and salt into smooth paste adding sufficient water.

Heat remaining oil in a pan, add remaining cumin seeds, turmeric powder and asafoetida.
Fry briefly, stir in chana, cashews and salt.
Fry the chana for few seconds, stir in ground mint paste.
Add few tbsps of water if necessary and cook on low for 2 – 4 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in steamed basmati rice.
Thoroughly mix everything and serve mint cilantro rice with tomato raita or boondi raita.
Notes: Make sure not to overcook once the paste is added to the oil.

Suggestions: If the paste is overcooked, the coconut might turn strong and the leaves lose the aroma. Adjust the spice with green chiles. Add more jaggery or tamarind according to preference.
Variations: You can also check the variation of rice here.
Other Names: Mint Cilantro Rice.

Tweet This Buzz This Delicious Talimpu Facebook Stumble