What's with me --- and sweet chutneys?
I have something against sci-fi movies, animation and chutneys that are sweet.
With sci-fi movies (I am fairly sure I'm wrong about this, but oh well! a feeling's a feeling) I always feel that they are trying to say more, mean something more profound but ultimately the movie just ends up in a fight between the good guys and the bad guys. With animation I don't know why and how there is on outflow of cash to watch it! (I'm going to get so many brick bats with these comments!)
And sweet chutneys! My reaction to them is visceral! Why combine something hot, spicy and kick ass with sweet? On the other hand why the reaction bordering on the violent? After all it's just a chutney! Now, now I, self-proclaimed champion of chutneys and the writer of a blog on chutney, shouldn't be saying that, should I? But for me chutney means hot. In my mind, sweet chutney is an oxymoron. Because all the chutneys that were made when I was growing up fell in the range from hot to super hot and nothing else. Because the hot and the sweet food fell in two distinct categories - entrees, side dishes, pickles, chutneys were hot and desserts were sweet and there was no messing around or messing in between both.
I know, I know, except the water and the salt, all the ingredients are not available in regular grocery stores. If you want to make this chutney, a trip to the Asian or an Indian grocery store is a must. Well, if you end up going to the Indian grocery store, then might as well buy the ready-made dates and tamarind sweet chutney. Of course, it's not like home-made but it's not bad. Nevertheless I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you should make it for the pure bliss of cooking and the ensuing clean-up.
This is a sweet and sour chutney, equal parts both. Dates and jaggery provide the sweetness and the tamarind is the sour agent. But the free tamarind pods sold in the produce section of regular grocery stores are sweet, very sweet. So please buy the compressed pods wrapped in a plastic wrap that are sold in Asian grocery stores.
Jaggery is dark, coarse, unrefined sugar used widely in India as a substitute for suga
r. Healthier than sugar, jaggery balances the sour flavor effectively without adding excessive sweetness. I use jaggery when the tomatoes in the pasta sauce are too tart.
When I got interested in cooking, I tried to look at the concept of a sweet chutney in a new light and decided to give sweet chutneys an unbiased look - as far as possible. The result was - A preconception replaced by another one. I could handle the sweet flavor in a chutney provided it was one of the many. If one aim of a chutney is to tickle your palette with a cornucopia of flavors, then the sweet flavor, one amongst the many, was alright.
I don't have many sweet chutneys in my arsenal. This is the star amongst them.
DATES AND TAMARIND CHUTNEY
With what
- 10 dates
- 1 tbsp compressed tamarind pods
- 4 1/2 cups of water
- 1/2 cup grated jaggery
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin powder
I know, I know, except the water and the salt, all the ingredients are not available in regular grocery stores. If you want to make this chutney, a trip to the Asian or an Indian grocery store is a must. Well, if you end up going to the Indian grocery store, then might as well buy the ready-made dates and tamarind sweet chutney. Of course, it's not like home-made but it's not bad. Nevertheless I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you should make it for the pure bliss of cooking and the ensuing clean-up.
This is a sweet and sour chutney, equal parts both. Dates and jaggery provide the sweetness and the tamarind is the sour agent. But the free tamarind pods sold in the produce section of regular grocery stores are sweet, very sweet. So please buy the compressed pods wrapped in a plastic wrap that are sold in Asian grocery stores.
Jaggery is dark, coarse, unrefined sugar used widely in India as a substitute for suga
r. Healthier than sugar, jaggery balances the sour flavor effectively without adding excessive sweetness. I use jaggery when the tomatoes in the pasta sauce are too tart.
How to
Combine the dates, tamarind pods and the water in a saucepan and turn the heat on to medium high. After 15 minutes when the dates and the tamarind pods have broken down, add the grated jaggery, salt and cumin powder. Turn the heat off after another 15/20 minutes. Once this mixture cools, run it through a sieve and press the tamarind and the dates mixture with a wooden spoon in the sieve to get a thicker extract. Store it in a clean glass bottle in the refrigerator and after a week or so move it to the freezer section. It will last for six months. How to eat Take one cup rice crispies or puffed rice. Add 1 tsp dates and tamarind sweet chutney and 1 tsp cilantro chutney (refer to the first post "What is a chutney?" ). Add finely diced red onions, cilantro and salt and red chile powder as per taste. Mix and serve immediately. Otherwise it turns soggy and unappetizing. You can change the proportion of the sweet and the cilantro chutney as per your preference. And this is bhel, a rudimentary version of a street food sold all over India. Don't miss the next post! The topic is chaat, a collection of dishes made with more or less the same set of ingredients like boiled potatoes, round, mini, crispy, deep-fried wafers made out of all purpose flour, finely chopped red onions, cilantro, and chutneys like the clinatro chutney, sweet dates and tamarind chutney and garlic chutney. Reigning supreme amongst the street food sold all over India, chaat has its own local and regional variations.
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