Strawberry Chutney: Indian Style Sweet and Spicy Chutney

Last weekend was super fun and those of you who are following me on Instagram or Facebook would know what i am talking about. Yeah, finally the wish to visit a farm and pick some fruits and veggies turned into reality. And i have gone crazy sharing pictures about the farm visit. Today's post is about that too. People, if you are near London, have car or not you must visit this farm called as Park Side farm. It is easily accessible by tubes as well and it one must to do thing in London on weekends. Whatever you want in a farm visit is there, a picnic area, push chairs, baskets, parking and above all the farm is so huge that you will never feel that there are too many people.

Clear sky and little breezy, looked like god was setting the mood for an amazing day. We picked strawberries, raspberries, plums, green onions, broad beans and French beans. You have many other options as well. Strawberries were just sooooo beautiful. Dark red in colour, sweet and perfectly ripe; waiting to be picked. Strawberries just replicate spring and summer for me.

Basically we got over excited and picked up too many strawberries. And we did consume it in too many forms. Mixed it up with no oil healthy granola and had it in breakfast. Blended with yogurt and made this amazing Strawberry Lassi. Dipped in chocolate ganache and had it like a dessert as well. Too much of strawberry in two days and it already started getting mushy. I had many ideas to use it, like make a syrup, jam or ice cream. But then when I was looking for the recipes I saw most of the recipes need lot of sugar, which was a no no for me. 

Looking for more strawberry recipes? Check these out:

Strawberry Fools

2 minutes Strawberry Chutney

No sugar Strawberry Chocolate Ice-cream,

Eggless Strawberry Chocolate Cake

Why make a healthy nutrient fruit so unhealthy by adding so much of sugar? Too much pressure on brain was applied and finally I turned these strawberries into spicy and aromatic Indian style chutney.

This in simple words in more like a jam but it is not over sweet; it is a mix of sweet and tang. Then I added in Indian spices such as fennel seeds and cumin seeds (saunf and jeera), both of them have great fragrant. The sharpness was added through slit green chillies, which just balances it all together. Also a little bit of ginger and lemon juice will do wonders to this chutney. But again, like most of the Indian chutneys this too can be made as per your taste and preference. Just play around and give strawberry chutney or pickle a try, skip jam that is loaded with sugar, that’s all I can say.

What to have this chutney? Well almost anything and everything. Pair it up with parathas, sandwiches, dosa, idli, kebabs, toast, khari, khakra, nachos, chips, crackers, biscuits, warps, frankies....yeah basically anything.

Ingredients:

1 kg strawberries

3 tablespoons jaggery/gud

1 teaspoon fennel seeds/saunf

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds/jeera

1 teaspoon oil

1 tablespoon grated ginger

Juice from 1 lemon

3 green chillies slit

Salt to taste

Method:

Remove the stems from strawberries. Wash and pat dry.

Take a fork and mash strawberries roughly in a bowl.

Heat a pan and add oil.

When oil is hot add green chillies.

Add fennel seeds and cumin seeds.

Turn the flame to low. Add in strawberries and jaggery. Cook covered for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes add in ginger, lemon juice and salt.

Cook again uncovered for 10 minutes.

Let the chutney cool down. It must become mushy and no water must be visible.

Notes:

You might need to add more jaggery if strawberries are sour. Mine was over ripened so I used less jaggery.

You can use sugar instead of jaggery.

Store it in air tight container for 2 weeks in the fridge.

Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing For Salads And Real Foods Review

You like or admire someone? Well good, there is no harm to be fond of somebody. There are lots of people I admire and respect, but I don't necessarily want to be like them. I'm too happy being myself. That’s the story- you are unique, you are special and you are outstanding. I think every person has their own identity and beauty. Everyone being different is what is really beautiful. If we were all the same, it would be boring. Right???

Imagine everyone wearing same clothes; or theaters showing same movies; or restaurants selling same meals? How unexciting?? Thank God we live in the world where innovations are born daily, where minds don’t think alike always, where we all have different needs and tastes. Not everyone is a vegetarian, not everyone follows vegan diet, not everyone prefers gluten free products, not everyone believes in raw food. When it comes to food at times it becomes difficult to make people understand that why you have special dietary needs. Well there can be many answers -may be you have some allergies or you have become habitual to some diet since birth. I am vegetarian and I enjoy being that. People say me-‘’you should eat meat, you don’t know what you are missing.’’ Oh! Well yes, I don’t know because I have never tasted it and thus I never crave for it. I have never had meat in 26 years and you can’t expect me to change now.

If you are fed up looking and explaining people why you have special dietary needs then I must say Real Foods will understand it well. A website that caters into raw, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free products-right from fruits, vegetables, pasta, rice to bakery, supplements and beauty goods. The site is easy to use and is loaded with great information about each product. Things like special seeds, gluten free pasta and flours or organic cereals are difficult to find but Real Food has it all and is just few clicks away.

I was looking for good quality Raw Apple Cider Vinegar since many days and it was immediate choice from the site. A raw apple cider vinegar is one which is light, never heated or pasteurized and has pale to medium amber colour. It is used in making pickles, killing weeds, cleaning coffee makers, polishing armor, losing weight and treating hair problems. For me it is a great ingredient for salad dressing. So when salad season has officially started its time to buy some fresh vegetables and fruits and enjoy the pours of acidic tangy dressing on your salads.

When you come home after long day at work, when heating sun have snapped all your energy, or you have no mood to prepare elaborate meal then cold and filling salads should make their way. You might fancy carrot nutty salad for the crunch, or basic Indian Kachumbersalad as side or white beans salad for proteins-whatever it may be but dressing is what boosts the taste and make salads out of the ordinary. Here I have quick, easy and healthy apple cider vinegar dressing to jazz your boring salads and tickle your taste buds. C’mon it renovated the most unexciting fruit apple so well, imagine what will this dressing to do other colourful bits on your plate.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw organic apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teapsoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder

2 tablespoons olive oil

Method:

Heat a small pan on medium low heat. Heat vinegar till bubbles appear.

Mix honey, salt, sugar, olive oil and black pepper powder.

Keep mixing and let it boil.

Let it cool and enjoy of any fruits or vegetables.

Notes:

Being tangy and acidic are the qualities of vinegar, if you like sweeter add more honey or sugar.

This dressing can be stored in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Disclaimer: I was not paid or told to write positive review. The post is based on my experience and is unbiased. Thanking Real Foods for sending Apple Cider Vinegar for review.

Roasted Garlic And Red Bellpepper Pasta Sauce

Oh! I love Italian food.  I adore their cuisine and culture so much that I wish I was an Italian (well sometime). The way they move their hands when they talk, or their food- basil, oregano, tomatoes, garlic...hmm everything. I would love to have pizza, pasta, cheese and wine everyday. So this states my love for Italian food -right??

Back in India I ate just two types of pasta, in red and  white sauce. Only after coming to the UK I tasted other pasta sauces as well, like pesto, garlic, wine, pepper and many more. Slowly my affection for pasta hiked and I began experimenting many pasta recipes at home. Although I have to say that I have restricted my dishes to mainly using Penne / Spaghetti/ Fussili ;and today I learned that there are 600 different shapes of Pasta ... Wow !! Long Long way to go .

Pasta can be of various shapes and sizes but it is the sauce that matters. Here you get pasta sauces readymade available in the market but I hardly buy them. And the reasons are as follows:-

• I hate addition of preservatives. Fresh is better :-)
• I find the taste very pale and dull. All I see is oil....grhhhh!!
• I cook pasta a lot thus I cant afford those tini-tiny jars every time.

Anyhow, even though basic tomato pasta sauce gets ready quickly; but there are times when I am in hurry and I need sauce immediately for a quick meal. After searching a lot on the net, I came to the conclusion that I can very well make my own pasta sauce and freeze it for the future use. 

Roasted red bellpepper mingled with garlic are absolutely and positively something that you will love- I bet! The colour, aroma, taste- perfect balance. I bestowed it with the Indian touch -infusion of bayleaf, cloves, turmeric and black pepper  surly upgrades it to the next level. I make a huge batch of this sauce, easily doubling and tripling the recipe. It freezes well and also becomes the base of a lot of my pasta dishes and sometimes on my pizza crust as well.

Ingredients:

Red Bellpepper chopped- 4

Tomato- 2

Onion chopped- 1

Garlic pods- 8-10

Bayleaf- 1

Black peppercorns- 5

Cloves- 2

Lemon Juice- 2 tablespoons

Sugar- 2 tablespoons

Turmeric- 1/4 teaspoon

Dried oregano- 1/2 teaspoon

Dried Basil- 1/4 teaspoon

Olive oil- 2 tablespoon

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 180C.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil. Mix garlic, bellpeppers, bayleaf, peppercorn and 1tbsp olive oil. Grill in the oven at 180C for 30 minutes.
3. Slit tomatoes in between and boil in 1 cup of water and cloves till soft and tender.
4. Heat remaining oil in a pan. Add chopped onions and cook till translucent.
5. Put boiled tomato in a bowl and mash lightly with a fork. 
6. Mix roasted bellpepper, garlic and tomatoes with onions.
7. On meduim heat keep mixing and add all the remaining ingredients. Mix till water evaporates and you have lumpy mixture ready.
8. Let it cool and then store in sterilized jars.

Notes:

This can be kept in the freezer for 2-3 weeks.

If in hurry, just chop the tomatoes finely and mix when onions gets soft. Keep cooking till tomatoes leaves water and turns mushy.

It can be served as chutney with sandwiches, crackers or biscuits.

Taste:

Tangy and sweet.

Quick Sweet Chilli Dip With Kettle Chips

Remember guys! How back at home in India your mom chooses fine potatoes and makes chips from them to stock up for whole year? I too memorize that how every summer my mom used to prepare those thin crisp and fry them as and when needed. Surely I miss that. But what if I say that there is one brand that uses fine potatoes, hand cook them with care in little batches? Yes- Kettle Chips is one such brand that likes to keep it simple and yet tasty, and it has been this way for over 30 years.

I was sent the seasonal edition “Mozzarella and Pesto” which is so unique in the combination and taste when compared to other brands in the market. They have such matchless flavours -sea salt and crushed peppercorns; mature cheddar and red onion; slightly salted with balsamic vinegar are few to name. When I opened the mozzarella and pesto bag I was so tempted by the delectable smell of pesto and garlic. The chips are so thin and crisp, has beautiful golden colour just like home cooked ones. When I gulp in the first one I got that creamy mozzarella feel-yum it was. By the way I must also mention that like other chips brand they are not stingy when it comes to seasoning  yes the pack is loaded with fresh seasoning and nothing is artificial at all –Great isn’t it?

Even though this flavour itself was great, I fancied to have some sweet spicy dip to go with the chips. Yes, all I wanted was some quick sweet chilli dip to enjoy the crisps more. That is why I made the dip and this when escorted with mozzarella and pesto chips we surely have a winner.

Who doesn’t like sweet chilli sauce? I mean what you can’t have with it. Be it dosa, sandwiches, parathas, pakodas-my favourite momos. This is such a versatile dip used in Chinese, Indian and even Thai cuisine. Now, the traditional method to make sweet chilli dip is time consuming process- soak dry red chilli-blend it-cook it- Blah! Blah! Blah!...BUT I have quick and easy way *grin*. See the recipe:-)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon corn flour

1 tablespoon soya sauce

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

2 tablespoon red chilli powder

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 teaspoon grated ginger

Salt to taste

2 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon red chilli flakes

2 cups water

Method:

Dissolve corn flour with water and keep aside. Make sure there are no lumps.

Heat oil in a pan on high heat and add garlic and ginger. Saute well.

Add corn flour mixture and turn heat to low-medium.

Finally add all the remaining ingredients and mix well. Let it boil for 2-5 minutes. Check consistency and let it cool before serving.

Notes: 

I like it spicy so I added lots of red chilli powder. Adjust as per your taste.

Taste:

Sweet, hot and spicy.

Disclaimer: I was not paid or told to write positive review. The post is based on my experience and is unbiased. With thanks to Kettle Chips for samples to review.

Schezwan Sauce/ Indo- Chinese Chutney

Schezwan Sauce is used in all the Indo Chinese food. It gives unique taste and beautiful colour to the Chinese rice, noodles and other dishes. I enjoy having it with nachos, chips, papad...almost everything.

Ingredients :
10 dried red chillies
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 tsp Sesame seeds (optional)
Salt to taste
4 tsp onion chopped
Tomato puree of 1/2 tomato
1 tsp Vinegar

½ tsp soya sauce

Method:
Soak dried red chillies in water overnight. Drain the water, add salt and blend coarsely the next day.
Heat oil in a pan. Once oil is smoky hot add chopped garlic, ginger, sesame seeds and onion. Saute onions till it gets translucent.
Add tomato puree and fry untill oil separates.
Add red chilli paste and fry for 2 minutes
Lastly add soya sauce (it brings nice dark red color to the sauce).

Schezwan Sauce is ready now. Find more chutney recipes HERE

Notes: -You can use tomatoes ketchup instead of tomatoes pure also

-Oil must be very hot for any Chinese recipe you make.

-Adding 1 more tsp oil will make the sauce last longer. Store it in ait tight container for 1 week in the fridge.