Tag Archives: cloves

The Great Tomato Chutney

I honestly don’t remember where in India I picked this recipe up, but it’s been a splash ever since. At some point I had adapted it by adding onions at the beginning of the process, but that’s mostly for the times when I’m cooking large quantities. Because, yes, tomatoes do take a while to cook thoroughly and boil away all that water. So take yourself some time to hang around in the kitchen until they’re done. You won’t have to guard the oven whatsoever, just be there to stir from time to time.

So the steps for making the chutney go like these:

  • chop your sweet tomatoes in quite small pieces (no need to stress that they’re even); keep all the juice in
  • chop your onions fine
  • select your spices: whole cardamon, cloves, cumin
  • finely slice a fair amount of chillies
  • prepare other add-ons: raisins, ground cumin and honey

Now you’re ready to start. Deep fry the cardamon and cloves until they pop, but make sure they don’t get burned. Using a lid is a good idea, because they will literally jump out of your pot 🙂 Follow with the cumin seeds, chillies and immediately after, the onions. Mix well until translucent, add the raisins, salt, ground cumin and when you find that the composition runs out of water, you can fold in the all the tomatoes.

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From now on all you have to do is wait that it turns from watery to creamy (with no lid on top) and occasionally stir. When it’s ready, let it cool and add honey until you reach that spicy sweet chutney taste.

 

Enjoy it with rice, turmeric potatoes or, why not, some sourdough bread! Quinoa with steamed veggies on the side is also an option.

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Coconut Chana Masala

Introducing: favorite Indian dish cooked on European land! Because we cannot compare the flavors and the vibe of the food when here or there…each one is quite unique!

Nevertheless, I have to admit that the preparation of this one here turned out pretty authentic. Had I grated a real coconut, it would’ve been so much more Indian! But sometimes I get lazy when it comes to break open hard shells 🙂 So because the grated coconut I bought was an average one, I decided to mix it with a good coconut milk. That should work!

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First of all, here’s the inspiration for my preparation (thanks Radu!)

I won’t go through all the steps myself, as you already have it crystal clear in the recipe above. My only piece of advice is not to get stuck if one spice or another doesn’t come handy, just use the most common ones. What really makes the difference here is making your own masala, grinding and roasting it properly.

P1080158 As such, I haven’t done the paste in a wet grinder, but added the spices & the grated coconut (roasted together) to the tomato-onion stir fry. Using more tomatoes ensured me with enough liquid for the time being. I then added the coconut milk along with the chickpeas and brought it to the boil once more.

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Warning: the result it’s dangerously delicious!

(and the roasting pan for the masala will still release the flavor next time you use it :))

I sprinkled parsley instead of coriander leaves on top, and served it next to a summer salad made out of lettuce, cauliflower rice, red peppers and sunflower sprouts. Trust me, you’ll need even more leaves…

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list of ingredients

_the fresh masala_

  • cinnamon bark
  • fennel
  • cumin
  • coriander
  • dry red chilies
  • cloves
  • black cardamom
  • green cardamom
  • black pepper
  • stone flower
    _the rest_
    • chickpeas
    • grated coconut
    • coconut milk
    • cooking oil
    •  bay leaf
    •  mustard seeds
    •  curry leaves
    •  onions
    •  tomatoes
    •  turmeric
    •  ginger
    •  garlic
    •  green chillies
    • salt