Cilantro Ginger Chutney with Coconut
I recently invited guest posts from my network on twitter and Brazen Careerist and was overwhelmed and humbled to learn that so many amazing writers and bloggers had an interest in posting their recipes on OneLifeToEat! The next few weeks, I will be hosting guest posts from some of the most noted bloggers. This week, it is OneLifeToEat’s and my honor to host Grace Boyle of Small Hands Big Ideas fame. Read on to learn about her very simple recipe for a quick, India-inspired dip.
I grew up vegetarian with parents who loved Indian food. From a young age I was always sampling Indian cuisine and recently, have become particularly interested in preparing and cooking it (just ignore that I am Italian – I represent and love all cuisines!)
Each week a group of my friends get together for PotluckSunday. The location and host rotates as does the foodie theme. Our latest potluck involved everyone creating their own dip. I have worked on creating a Cilantro Ginger Coconut Chutney through various recipes, by taste testing and finding one that seems to fit just right, so I knew I wanted to prepare it for the group.
Cilantro Ginger Coconut Chutney
You Will Need:
- 1 bunch of fresh cilantro
- 1.5 cups of water
- 2 cups shredded coconut (not sweetened)
- 4-6 Serrano chiles (stemmed)
- A handful of fresh mint leaves
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- The juice of one lemon
- 1 piece fresh ginger, (1-1.5 inch-long) peeled, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves minced garlic
Ingredients
Method:
Take your ingredients and put everything into a blender. Add the water last (and feel free to add more, as needed for liquid consistency). Blend until smooth and fine.
The total preparation time to serving the dish, is about 10-15 minutes.
Pour out into a bowl and serve cold. I garnish it with a mint leaf on top for the final presentation.
Optional Sides:
I love this dish because it is so simple yet delicious. The greens involved in this chutney create a delectable freshness.
I served my chutney with Naan. I visited my favorite Indian Grocery here in Boulder (suggested tip if one is available to you for some of the ingredients) and although I didn’t make my own Naan (here are a few great recipes) I bought my favorite brand: Tandoori Naan, then baked it in the oven (they were originally hand stretched and baked in a traditional clay, Tandoori oven).
You could also serve this with a Paratha with the chutney on the side. Sabera has a delicious recipe she makes right here..
Needless to say, this cilantro ginger chutney with coconut was a hit. It has a little kick to it, depending on how many chili’s you use but it was devoured at the potluck and the flakey, warm naan topped it off.
Naan and Chutney
All photos taken by Grace Boyle.
Grace Boyle is a 20-something adventurista and passionate foodie. She lives in Boulder, CO and is the Publisher Services Manager for the tech startup, Lijit. Her own personal blog is Small Hands, Big Ideas and she tweets while she writes about the startup world, relationships, career and daily inspirations. She loves cooking, traveling, photography, wine, yoga and laughing.
Ramadan Recipe Series part 3 – Sooji Halwa (Sweet Semolina)
Last night was a particularly auspicious night in the month of Ramadan. The 23rd night of Ramadan, known as Laylat al-Qadr is believed to be the night that the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.
The Bohra community regards this important date with a night-long of prayer. And food, to keep the pace of prayers going (you knew I’d be getting to the food didn’t you…) Every household has its own collection of food items that are prepared. At my home, apart from the traditional dried fruits and nuts, sweetened saffron milk, copious amounts of coffee and the star of the night, a Sweet Semolina pudding are served.
Sooji Halwa / Sweet Semolina (forgive the quality of the image!)
Sweet Semolina known as Sooji Halwa in Hindi, is a dish prepared on most auspicious and religious days in my Muslim sub-community. What I find really interesting is, that Hindus, Gujaratis and many other religious communities also prepare this very dessert on their religious occasions. In India, the food of every religious group really lends from one another. It goes without saying then, that the lady of an Indian household must know how to prepare this dish.
But apart from its religious significance, it is a truly delicious and nutritious dessert. Semolina, as we all know is made from wheat. What also goes in, is saffron, sliced dried nuts and raisins, all cooked together with milk and sugar. Here’s how you make it:
To make Sooji Halwa for 2-3 people, you will need:
- 1/2 cup fine Semolina – you will get the coarse and the fine variety in grocery stores. Buy the fine semolina
- A mixture of 1/2 cup water and 1 cup milk, mixed and kept aside
- 1/2 cup ghee or clarified butter
- 4 tbsp of sugar, or more to taste
- A pinch of saffron for color and fragrance(optional)
- Sliced almonds and pistachios, as per preference
- A few golden raisins
Method:
- In a saucepan, bring the water and milk mixture to a boil, with the sugar and saffron. The milk will turn a lovely amber color because of the saffron
- In another pot, heat the ghee to medium-high heat. Once heated, toast the semolina in it on medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Cook until the semolina is a light brown and very fragrant
- Turn off the heat, and slowly add the milk mixture, stirring simultaneously. Turn the heat back on low and keep stirring, breaking any lumps that are formed. Keep cooking until the volume of the semolina reduces, and the ghee starts to separate from the sides of the pot.
- If you feel the semolina needs some more water to cook, add a little cold water and continue to cook till the semolina is fully fluffed and cooked. To know whether the semolina is cooked, its should taste soft like pasta. If it has a bite to it, the semolina needs more cooking
- Garnish with sliced nuts and raisins. Serve warm
After some sinful fried food last week, that I am proud to say motivated a fellow blogger, Kulsum of Journey Kitchen to make these, this week’s Ramadan recipe is vegetarian, not deep-fried, and very heart healthy. Hara Bhara Kebabs are the Hindi name for these yummy fast-breaking morsels of deliciousness, and the name literally means – Green Kebabs.
Hara Bhara kebabs served here with some Chipotle Honey sauce. Because I'm fun like that 🙂
You can’t go wrong with spinach and cilantro, mashed with a few potatoes, seasoned with the subtle flavors of cumin and curry leaves, molded into kebabs and then toasted in minimal oil. I made these Veggie Spinach kebabs when my sister recently invited me for a Ramadan iftaar party. As we were meeting each other and few other close friends after a long time, we decided to make it a full-on Bohra (the Muslim sub-community I am part of) style dinner. Our friend got the thaal (an elevated plate that 7-8 people sit around and eat from), I made the kebabs and my generous sister made the main course that included an assortment of sumptuous dishes that brought back memories of eating in the thaal with our families back home.
A typical Bohra thaal. Here, iftaar is combined with dinner for a mixture of menu items including dates, figs, vegetable pilaf, chicken curry, naan, kebabs and corn soup.
What I really like about this dish is its simplicity. Ramadan is a time of abstinence, like an extreme version of lent, and spending hours over a complicated dish for fast-breaking is the last thing one needs.
I have a question for you though – what is a good substitute for an egg-wash to make the kebabs truly vegetarian? Thanks in advance for your help!
Get a printable version of this recipe here.
To make about 15-17 kebabs, you will need:
- 5-6 medium sized yellow potatoes, boiled till soft and peeled
- 1 large bunch of spinach – around 1lb – blanched and finely chopped or purée-d
- A handful of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
- 1 thai green chili, minced. Use more if you like a kick to your kebabs
- 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 2 curry leaves
- 2 eggs well beaten
- Seasoned or plain bread crumbs
- Vegetable oil for toasting
Method:
- In a large bowl, place all the ingredients except for the oil, cumin seeds and curry leaves
- In a small plan, heat the oil and when well heated, put in the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Wait till they pop, turn off heat and add to the mixture in the bowl
- Mash everything together really well
- Make into small round patties around 2 inches in diameter
- Coat each kebab in the egg wash, then cover in bread crumbs. I like to use the seasoned variety. Keep the ready kebabs in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour
- When it is iftaar time, in a frying pan, heat about 2 tbsp of vegetable oil till hot. Place a few kebabs and toast on each side till golden – brown. This should not take more than 3 minutes on each side, on medium – high heat
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. The flavors in these kebabs go with a mango mint chutney, to plain yogurt, to a fancy Chipotle honey sauce
Go make this!
One Life to Eat 