Twin Chutneys

I came up with the name for coriander (cilantro) chutney and tamarind chutney because they go hand in hand. They are almost used together while making chaat items...hence the name - "Twin Chutneys"!!. Everytime I make these chutneys  I always feel the  Cilantro chutney and the tamarind chutney tastes differently and does not taste the way I expect it to be and hence I keep improvising on it every time to get the authentic taste . This time I was quite satisfied with the result hence wanted to post it.

I think you will also agree that these are quintessential items for having with Indian Chaat or Snacks.

Tamarind Chutney:

Lemon Sized Tamarind soaked in warm water
1/2 Tsp Red chilli Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Cube Jaggery
1/2 Tsp finely grated ginger
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Cumin Powder

Squeeze out the tamarind.
Take the tamarind water in a vessel and dissolve the Jaggery. Place this tamarind jaggery mixture on the stove. Let it boil for 5 to 10 minutes till the raw smell of the jaggery and tamarind goes off. It need not get t0o thickened.
Add the Salt, Red Chilly Powder and the Ginger.
Add the pepper and cumin powder and turn off the gas after couple of minutes.

Cilantro (Coriander) Chutney

1/2 bunch Cilantro
2 - 3 Tbspn Grated Mango
3 - 4 Tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cumin
1 Green Chilly

First grate the mango, chillies along with cumin. After these are grinded add the cilantro. Grind it well.
Add Salt and lemon juice. Cilantro Chutney is ready to be served.

The Tamarind Chutney and Cilantro Chutney are ready to used while making bhel, papdi's,... as a side for samosas or as a topping for dahi vada. You may store it in the refrigerator for a week.

Rotini Pasta with Cilantro Pesto

You may wonder did I read the title correctly...what is a cilantro pesto..I have not heard about it?? Yes the title is correct there is no typo....I made cilantro pesto...We had this during our trip to the UK. I loved it. Since then I have been contemplating on making it but did not know what needs to be added to the cilantro to make the pesto. It is almost 2 years since I visited UK but whenever I make pasta the cilantro pesto  always lingers at the back of my mind. These days I am trying to make my own sauce as much as possible since the store bought ones have garlic in it.

I have been searching for pine nuts for using it in the cilantro or basil pesto....but never found it in the stores. It looks like people have not even heard of it when I enquired in stores!! I found that funny!! One of the shop assistants told me "we will never carry such a thing as pine nuts in our store"...I guess the word pine made them feel it was not a food item!! No clue...

I decided to make the cilantro pesto without the pine nuts. You know what I choose instead the nutty, crunchy tastier "Almonds".

Last weekend I ventured to make the Rotini pasta with cilantro pesto. Though I ventured to make it....was skeptical till I finished and tasted it...kind of scared to as to how it will turn out!! Actually I asked my husband to have a taste of it and got the assurance that it did taste good before digging into it.

Ingredients for making it:

For the Pesto -

Cilantro - Handful
Almonds - 12
Olive Oil - 2 TBSPN
Parmesan Cheese
Pepper Powder
Salt to taste

For the Pasta -

Pasta of any kind 2 cups (I used Rotini)

Olive Oil

Pepper Powder

Salt to taste

Any veggies of your choice - Our family is a lover of veggies hence I added all the vegetables A to Z!! in alphebetical order ;) ...there it goes - A for  Asparagus, B for Brocolli, Cherry Tomatoes....Sweet Peppers and Z for Zucchini. Kind of sounds the way my son says A for Apple , B for Banana........

Blend the ingredients together - cilantro, almonds, parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper - keep it aside.

Cook the pasta the way you normally do by putting it in a boiling water with little bit of salt for 10 minutes - al dente.

I microwave the vegetables for 5 minutes. Take olive oil in a pan and saute the microwaved vegetables for few minutes (since they are already cooked you do not have to do it for a long time). Take it out of the pan and keep it aside.

Take a tsp of oil and add the cooked pasta in it and toss it for sometime. Now add the pesto and cook it for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the vegetables at the end.

The Pasta is ready to be served - retaining the Italianish taste with an Indian tinge to it.