Green Pepper Chutney/Dip and an Upcoming Review

Before writing recipe for today's post let me share the reason for making this deliciously tangy chutney. I had no plans of making it & I was about to throw this green pepper which froze so well in my refrigerator, that it made me think that do I need freezer? If U r confused so let me explain my situation here a little bit. Within first week of moving into my new apartment, first I found frozen milk bottle so I decreased the temp. of the fridge but after couple of days some of the veggies were frozen. I further changed the temp. to more low and used most of the vegetables BUT green pepper. Planned to use it in some soup as frozen peppers don't taste good in dry preparations so let it sit on the counter to thaw, but by the end of the day was so tired(all the unpacking after moving) so decided or I should say kind of convinced myself that it's O.k if for once I'm wasting food by simply throwing it, I don't do this usually, today I'm tired, there r many other things to do but was still guilty. So when he came home I told him about my decision(see I didn't had a heart to throw a veggie). What was I thinking, he gonna support me in this crime.......his one line and I was back into the kitchen.....he said "C'mon U can do better than that, make some sort of chutney out of it".  I usually make red bell pepper chutney so keeping that in mind I made this one. Here goes the recipe or I should say the guidelines.....

What I used :

• 1 frozen green pepper/capsicum/bell pepper fully thawed (U don't need frozen)
• 1 small red onion
• 2 tomato
• 5-6 garlic cloves
• 3-4  green chillies
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds(rai)
• 8-10 curry leaves(curry patta)
• lime/lemon juice as per taste
• salt
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil

What I did :

Heat oil in the pan, add rai & curry leaves, once they start to splutter add roughly chopped garlic, followed by roughly chopped onion. Once it's translucent add chopped green pepper & finally tomato & green chillies. Sprinkle some salt. Once everything looks almost cooked add salt. It took me around 15 minutes or so. Let it cool a bit, puree it add some lime/lemon juice as per your taste. Serve it with crackers/pretzels/chips or plain rice, and I'm sure it'll taste very good with idli or dosas also.

Now coming to the review part, CSN is giving me another opportunity to do a product review, I'm sure most of the bloggers have already heard or read about CSN. It's a wonderful place to shop as they have 200 + online stores so without leaving the comfort of your home U can do all your shopping. As a food blogger first thing I think about is always kitchen but they have much more than that, for instance think travelling, it's already mid February spring break is not far & they have beautiful collection of luggage like Delsey luggage . What I'm trying to say here is that everyone can find something of their choice or need at CSN stores.

Now, to my blogger friends and readers as I mentioned in my previous post we moved to a new city and I'm still in the process of unpacking, so I'm not able to visit all of you or even when I sneak out from the kitchen & boxes to take a peak at all your wonderful blogs don't get much time to leave a comment, I hope U guys understand. I'm trying to set some routine, hopefully in few days it'll be better.

Peaches, Peaches & more Peaches......turned into......Salsa, Preserve & Ice Cream

Chutney, Preserve, Pickle, Salsa these were the few areas I was thinking and making almost a month ago. Many a times when I go for weekly grocery shopping I go overboard with fresh veggies & fruits. So trip to 2 different grocery stores in a day & a trip to peach orchard in the same weekend end result sweet & sour yummy treats. Though I've made quite a few Chutney's & Pickles etc. in the past few days like Mango Chunda/chutney/preserve  but today it's Peach time. Most of them were eaten just like that & few firm ones were turned into Salsa & riped ones were turned into peach preserve & finally over-riped were turned into cold treat peach ice-cream.

Fruit picking is one thing which not only kids enjoy but we as an adult also enjoy it equally. I still remember first time when we took our then 3 yr. old daughter for her first strawberry picking she was excited but Dad was over excited to get the freshest and juiciest fruit that I came back home with almost 15 pounds of fresh strawberries. I prefer to eat fruit just like that but that was the first time I started to make strawberry preserve, since then it's regular in my house. Now some recipes to use up all the juicy peaches no matter whether U picked up yourself  from the orchard or from the local farmers market.

Peach Salsa : I have to say this was among one of the best salsa I make, not only because we adult loved it but my 8 yr. old said she loved the combo I made, when I asked u liked the salsa, she replied whatever u call it(in her world salsa is either red or green) it's tasting good with this chicken tikka & pasta salad(that was the dinner). It's more of a guideline then a recipe U can change the fruit & veggies that goes in as per your taste or availability, also adjust the spices level as per your taste.

 What U need :

• 3 firm peaches, skin removed(see notes)
• 1 small cucumber
• 1 tomato
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 stalk celery (optional, we like the crunchiness of it, if using make sure to dice it very fine)
• 1/2 green /red bell pepper/capsicum/shimla mirch  (I used 2 Anaheim peppers)
• 3-4 hot green chillies
• 1 tsp. black pepper (kali mirch)
• 1 tsp. roasted cumin powder(jeera powder)
• salt
• handful of cilantro(hara dhaniya), chopped
• juice of 1 lime(nimbu)

What to do : Chop everything into small pieces except lime. Mix it in a big bowl, add black pepper, salt & cumin powder, squeeze the lime juice on to the mix. Mix it, taste it, if needed adjust the seasoning, cover it & keep it in the fridge. I prefer to make fruit salsas on the same day, usually 2-3 hours before I need it. If for some reason you want to make them ahead of time(in case of party or so) don't mix salt, cilantro and lime juice, get everything else ready & keep it in the fridge. When ready to use add salt, lime juice & freshly chopped cilantro.

You can serve it with Tortilla chips. pita chips or as a side for grilled fish or chicken, it goes well with roti(Indian flat bread) & rice also.

Variations : I make same recipe using mangoes also & mixing both fruits peaches as well as mangoes. If u want to make mango version only, try this one 1 mango + 1/2 cup of pineapple & leave the cucumber & tomato out, plus rest of the ingredients from the list, tastes awesome.

Peach Preserve/Chutney :

What U need :

• 3 Large ripe peaches
• 3 tbsp. brown sugar (can use regular one)
• 1 cinnamon stick(dal chini)
• 3-4 cloves(laung)
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. red chilli pepper
• 1 tbsp. white vinegar (can be substituted with lemon juice)

What U do :

1. 
   
   Remove the skin off from the peaches(see notes). Roughly chop them, remove the stone/seed.
2. 
   
   In a non reactive pan add peaches & sugar  let it sit for an hour or so.
3. 
   
   Add all the spices  cook the mixture for 20 minutes or so on med. heat. Check the sugar level U can add more at this point if U like, these peaches were very sweet so I didn't used a lot of sugar.
4. 
   
   Add Vinegar & cook till all the water evaporates around 5 minutes or so.
5. 
   
   We don't like fruit preserves to be very thick. So I cook it to the point where it's still little loose as when it cools off it gonna get thicker. To check that, preserve should coat your spoon but if u take the spoon out preserve should drip like honey.

** I use little pepper & red chili powder as it gives the preserve a nice little kick, as per your taste u can totally leave it out. I did not make the big batch as everyone in house preferred peach salsa(no sugar so he loves it) & peach ice-cream(this got lot of sugar, but when it's ice-cream he don't care...lol!)

Peach Ice-Cream : I didn't took any pics, sorry about that. It's same recipe as Mango Ice-cream we used around 4 large peaches fully riped. Take the skin off(see notes) & remove the seed also. Roughly chop the fruit & sprinkle 2-3 tablespoon of sugar from the total sugar u r using. Leave it for around 2 hours in the fridge. Pulse the fruit pulp in blender making sure it's not fully pureed as we like little bites of fruit here & there in ice cream. Now follow the same directions as we did in my previous ice cream.

Notes :

In case of fully ripe skins, usually u can simply peel the skin off using your fingers(first make a little cut on peach using knife). In case of firm ones boil a pot of water & add few peaches at a time in it for 40-60 seconds then transfer them to ice-cold water for a minute or so & now u can peel the skin off. Enjoy the last bits of summer.

Winner of $60 giveaway and Strawberry + Blueberry Preserve / Jam

First of all thanks to all the readers who took time out to browse thru my recipes and left the comment on the previous post, really meant a lot to me. Now, for the winner as you all know there can be only one so I took help of my daughter to pick one. Yes, I'm little old fashioned still have not figured out(read it as lazy also) how to use Random.org so wrote all the names on piece of paper, folded each piece of paper, mixed together in a bowl, picked one and Congrats to Eve for winning $60 gift certificate from CSN. I'll send you an email with all the details, enjoy your win and Thanks to CSN for giving me the opportunity to host this giveaway.

Now for today's recipe here's a simple Strawberry and Blueberry Preserve/Jam.

Simple ingredients no fancy stuff, I'm making this from almost last 5 yrs. One of his Aunt when she visited us from dehradun-India(hub for strawberry cultivation in India) gave me this simple recipe, since then I usually make it every other week in strawberry season. My husband doesn't like store bought Jams/Preserve but this is one home-made preserve he eats with everything. I even freeze it for couple of months(I don't do canning) when I get big supply of strawberries, just thaw it in the fridge before use(see notes). I prefer to keep it in the fridge and it goes well with pancakes, as a spread on toasted bread, on top of ice cream or simply spoonful from jar to mouth. Now for the recipe :

What U need :

• 
  
  1 pound of fresh strawberries
• 
  
  1/2 cup fresh blueberries
• 
  
  3/4 to 1 cup white sugar (depending upon the sweetness of berries)
• 
  
  juice of half a lemon

What U do :

1. 
   
   Wash all the berries. Hull the strawberries & roughly chop the strawberries.
2. 
   
   In a heavy bottom steel pan(non-reactive) put all the berries and mix sugar in it. Let it sit for 3-4 hours.
3. 
   
   On a medium heat bring the berry mixture to a boil add lemon juice & let everything cook together till it becomes thick & glossy, keep stirring in between.
4. 
   
   Once the fruit is cooked & all soft you can mash it with the back side of your spoon, that way it's still chunky but don't have too big pieces of fruit. It might take around 20-30 minute or so to cook the whole thing depending upon how juicy the fruit is. Once cool transfer it to sterilized jar. 

Note : You can easily leave the blueberries out for only strawberry version. Also this is not very sweet, it's more of sweet & tangy in taste but if U like more sweeter version U can simply increase the quantity of sugar. For freezing I usually portion it into roughly 2 week supply & fill it into glass bottles and don't fill to the brim, because when it freeze it expands so need extra space otherwise the bottle will crack. I usually fill 3/4 of the bottle.

As I'm writing this post, in my mind I'm planning to make a fresh batch of this preserve in the morning as the one made last week is already finished, little one enjoyed licking it from the plate. So go ahead and try it at least once before the strawberry season slips away.

Cranberry Chutney or Sauce - Part 2 also an Update for previous post

Update on Pineapple upside down Cake : Finally I managed to upload the pics, and also I realized that I didn't took the picture of whole cake, I told you, I love this cake so much that only thing I can think of, while sitting in front of this cake is EATING IT. But I surely got some pictures of the whole process, though they are not very clear, but I wanted to share with you all. Also one more thing DH thinks I used too much sugar for caramel but to me it was perfect specially when eaten with whip cream(point to be noted I made that cake for me, after a long time), so I guess sugar for caramel can be further reduced to 3 tblsp. One more thing I wanted to add for vegan version soy butter can be used instead of regular one.

Now let's come to today's post Cranberry chutney/sauce/salsa or whatever you like to call it.

This is my second cranberry chutney, I think it's more like salsa. As I wrote in my previous post the first chutney I made was good but had lot of sugar b'coz of sourness of berries, so I came up with this more healthy option by adding 2 apples to it(so I can eat as much as I want, without any guilty). Apples I used were quite sweet, so try to use sweet varieties, that way you can cut the sugar out of this recipe.Now, little bit on health benefits of these berries(this info is collected from web), some common ones are :

1) treating UTI(urinary tract infections)
2)reduction of Dental Plague
3)anti-cancer activity
4)reducing the risk of heart disease
5)preventing the development of kidney stones
6) provide relief for asthma patients

Now the recipe.

Ingredients :

• half med. size onion chopped
• 2 apples peeled & chopped( i used red delicious)
• 1/2 lb. fresh cranberries(that's half bag)
• 1 tblsp. sugar
• salt as per taste
• black pepper as per taste(optional)
• red chilli powder 1 tsp.(can be left out if making for kids)
• garam masala 1 tsp.
• ginger 2 tblsp. freshly grated
• water/apple juice 4 oz. or more
• little oil

Method :

Heat little oil in a heavy bottom pan, saute onions for 2 min. or so then add rest of the ingredients. At this point only add 4 oz. of water. Mix everything together, cover & let it cook on med. for around 15 min., stir in between.

Add more water according to the consistency you like, I kept this one little loose like salsa kind. Once the apple & cranberries are cooked(they'll be mushy) it's done.

Serve it with with your choice of bread, roti, rice, as chips dip or as a sauce for grilled meat or seafood. I enjoyed it eating just like that, with nothing.So, go and grab these fresh berries before they disappear from store shelfs. As for me, I'm gonna make little extra this time & try to freeze it for later use.

It's very healthy for kids also, with only 1 tblsp. of sugar, which infact can be replaced by honey also. Kids will surely like this fruit sauce, tangy & sweet. I would like to send this recipe to :

1) Radhika & Sudeshna's Food for 7 Stages of Life - Kids(4-14 yrs.) .

2) Yasmeen's Helath Nut Challenge 3 : Healing foods .

3) Sharmi's CFK- Veggies & Fruits.

4) On Sanghi's suggestion I'm sending this cranberry chutney as well as Pineapple upside down cake for her FIL-Fruits event. I'm dedicating the cake to my DD as I love to bake for her, she love cakes and specially after eating this one she said this is the most tasty & soft vanilla cake she ever ate. And as far the cranberry chutney is concerned I dedicate it to my Mom who's the inspiration behind my cooking.

Karonde ki chutney using cranberries

Does it happen to you, somebody talked about some food and now you want to try your hands on it, well it happens to me quite often. In august one of my friend talked about how she makes chutney using cranberries which taste similar to karonde ki chutney.....So I said o.k let the fresh cranberries season come & I'll bother you then. Now, Almost 5 weeks back in wallmart I saw the guy putting cranberries on the shelf and I had to buy. So here I was with cranberries sitting in my fridge, no clue what to do with them, my MIL makes yummy karonda chutney, but she was on some trip....I tried to contact this friend but couldn't get hold of her...time passed(fast forward) nearly 3 weeks(on the pack it says....stays fresh for up to 4 weeks...so I tested that & it's true....). Fast forward 3 more days, no more waiting I had to do something with those berries, I know what you guys are thinking, Google to the rescue, No thanks, last time I googled for something & I ended up making Bagels. So, finally I went to the kitchen & started with my regular recipe I use for making fruit chutney's but with little twist here & there as these berries are quite sour. So here's the recipe, feel free to adjust the measurements according to your taste buds.

Ingredients :

• 1/2 pound fresh cranberries( that's half bag)
• 2-3 red chillies
• 1 tsp. panch puran (it's a whole spice mix : fenugreek, mustard, kalonji, cumin & fennel)
• salt as per taste
• black pepper as per taste
• paprika 1 tsp.
• 1 Tblsp. freshly grated ginger
• around 1/3 cup sugar(I started with 1/4 cup then tasted it little bit & add more acc. to your taste)
• little oil
• water as needed

Method :

1. Heat heavy bottom pan, heat oil add red chillies & panch puran, when seeds start to splutter add cranberries, mix them.


2. They will leave some water, add salt, pepper, sugar & ginger, mix everything. Cover & cook on med. heat for roughly 15 min. or so.


3. Keep stirring it now & then and if getting too dry add a splash of water


4. Taste a little bit to check the flavours if needed add more sugar.

Note : I kept this chutney of little thick consistency, adjust it acc. to your choice. I kept it in the fridge, tasted good even after a week. Serve it with roti or spread it on the toast. It was really yummy & easy but uses a lot of sugar so I had to come up with something which I can eat without any guilt, just with the spoon & nothing else.Do check out my next post for the other version.