Garlic Chutney

Indian food is incomplete without accompaniments. Pickle, papad, chutney are an important part of the meal. Not just for taste and flavor, but they also help in digestion of food. Ginger, cumin, ajwain, lemon, garlic, when used in chutneys and pickles help in digestion of food. Hand grinding chutney and masala on a grinding stone gives added workout too... सोने पे सुहागा :)

Garlic is said to be good for heart patients, and I am sure you would have seen people suffering from heart diseases imparting 1 or 2 cloves of raw garlic in their daily diet. There are so many added health benefits of garlic.

Garlic chutney is a must in all kitchens. Not just to enjoy as chutney, but also can easily be used in curries and masalas for flavor.

When it comes to making garlic chutney, I can hear my mom's voice saying, "Do not use a blender". Yes, at my mom's, garlic chutney was always made on a grinding stone. Not just because it would be very delicious, but because it was difficult to get rid of garlic smell from the blender jar. Garlic is not offered to God and is not consumed by many people in our family. There was always a specific container to store garlic cloves or garlic chutney so that the flavor of garlic does not fuse with other foods.

Here is how I make garlic chutney :)

15-20 cloves garlic
2-3 tbsp. red chilli powder or 15-20 dry red chillies.
1 tsp. salt
Juice of fresh lime.
1/4 cup oil

Grind all ingredients in a blender or in a mortal and pestle till it turns into a fine paste.

Here is he step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Peel garlic cloves and mash them in a mortal and pestle.

Add 2-3 tbsp. red chilli powder or 15-20 dry red chillies.

Add 1tsp. salt, juice of 1 lime, and 1/4 cup oil.

Grind them well till you obtain a smooth paste or your desired texture.

Serve this fresh chutney with roti or bhakri.

Perfect with wada pav, mix in pav bhaji, great for sev puri and bhel!

Make your fresh chutney today!

Choc-A-Boo Pop

Over the weekend we were invited at our friends, Palak & Ashish for 'Bor Nahan', a Maharashtrian festival celebrated during Makarsankranti to shower the new born with berries. Probably it signifies blessing the baby for healthy and prosperous life. A wonderful festival and an occasion for socializing!! It was indeed a fun evening.

But why am I writing about my weekend in this post? Here is the fun part... Palak & Ashish organized a fun cooking competition for the evening. Food excites everyone, and what other way could be better than socializing over delicious, competitive food!!

I thought of making a dessert. Since this was a kids friendly get together, I wanted to make something that all kids love...yes boondi ladoo and chocolate. The combination of two on a stick gave rise to 'Choc-A-Boo Pop'. Got it??? Choc-A-Boo like Peak-A-Boo....Choc for chocolate and Boo for Boondi...Chocolate covered Boondi Pop!! :)

Next to all creative cooks at the party, my Choc-A-Boo pop did not stand a chance to win. But, it was surely appreciated and liked by all. It was something that I have been thinking of making since long, and thanks to Palak &Ashish I could finally try it. I was so happy and delighted for being successful at this experiment. This was just a thought in my mind and now I am so glad about sharing it with all. 

Also, I will be doing something differently now on...
On request by my blog followers, I will be writing the entire recipe with ingredients before the pictures. I understand that pictures sometime takes time to download and that may be distracting from the actual recipe. Now you will have chance to do both... Read recipe first and go through pictures or read the pictorial recipe :)

Here is the recipe to make Boondi laddus:

To make sugar syrup:
1+1/4 cup sugar
1+1/2 cup water
1 tsp. saffron
1 tsp. cardamom powder
1/4 cut sliced nuts(almonds and pistachios)
Mix all ingredients and bring them to a boil. Simmer for 8-10 minutes. Let the sugar syrup cool slightly before adding fried boondis.

To make Boondis:
1+1/2 cup chickpea flour/besan
1+1/2 tbsp. semolina/rawa
Mix the two with 3/4- 1 cup water to form a smooth lump free batter and set it aside.
Heat ghee in a frying pan. Using a perforated ladle (boondi jara) over hot ghee, pour 2-3 tbsp. batter on it. The batter starts falling into hot ghee and fries into small round balls called boondi. Fry till they slightly change color. Do not let them darken. Immediately add boondis to warm sugar syrup. Repeat till all the batter is used. The boondis will soak the syrup to become soft. Mix the boondis into the syrup for even soaking. Let it rest for 1-2 hours. Take a spoonful of soaked boondis in your palm. Press them to form balls or ladoos. Make around 20 medium sized firm ladoos.

Melt 3-4 candy melts in a small bowl using a microwave. Dip a candy stick or a cake pop stick into the melted candy and gently insert in every laddu. If laddus start to crack, press them again to make them firm. Complete the process with all laddus. Refrigerate all sticked laddus for an hour or two. This will help the stick to be glued well onto the laddus.

Melt 3 cups of Chocolate candy melts into a cup. Use the instructions provided on the pack to melt the candy. Gently dip each boondi laddu into the melted candy. Let the extra candy drip. Use sprinkles of your choice to decorate the pop. Let it stand in a glass or a cup. Let the candy cool and harden.

Use foam to insert each pop into a decorative cup or a bowl. Wrap into cellophane and gift or serve!

Step-by-step pictorial recipe:

To make sugar syrup:

1+1/4 cup sugar, 1+1/2 cup water,1 tsp. saffron, 1 tsp. cardamom powder

Mix all ingredients and bring them to a boil. Simmer for 8-10 minutes. Let the sugar syrup cool slightly.

1/4 cut sliced nuts(almonds and pistachios) 

To make Boondis:

1+1/2 cup chickpea flour/besan, 1+1/2 tbsp. semolina/rawa

Mix the two with around 1 cup water to form a smooth lump free batter and set it aside.

Heat ghee in a frying pan. Using a perforated ladle (boondi jara) over hot ghee, pour 2-3 tbsp. batter on it. The batter starts falling into hot ghee and fries into small round balls called boondi. Fry till they slightly change color. Do not let them darken. Immediately add boondis to warm sugar syrup. Repeat till the batter is used. The boondis will soak the syrup to become soft. Mix the boondis into the syrup for even soaking. Let it rest for 1-2 hours. Take a spoonful of soaked boondis in your palm. Press them to form balls or laddus. Make around 20 medium sized firm laddus.

Boondi laddus ready!

 

Melt 3-4 candy melts in a small bowl for 30-45 seconds in a microwave. Dip a candy stick or a cake pop stick into the melted candy and gently insert in every laddu. If laddus start to crack, press them again to make them firm. Refrigerate them for an hour or two.

Melt 3 cups of Chocolate candy melts into a cup. Use the instructions provided on the pack to melt the candy. Gently dip each boondi laddu into melted candy. Let extra candy drip. Use sprinkles of your choice to decorate the pop. Let it stand into a glass or a cup. Let the candy cool and harden.

I used slivered alonds and pistachios to decorate the pops. This gives an Indian sweet feel to the dessert.

I also used sugar pearls as sprinkles.

Place craft foam in a mug and insert each pop into it. 

Fun with Choc-A-Boo Pop!!

Quick shopping list to make Choc-A-Boo Pops

1+ 1/2 cup sugar

1+1/2 cup chickpea flour/besan
1+1/2 tbsp. semolina/rawa
1 tsp. cardamom powder
1 tsp. saffron
1/2 cup chopped nuts (almonds, pistachios)
Water
1 pack candy melt (chocolate or flavor of your choice)
Sprinkles of your choice
20-25 cake pop sticks or candy sticks
Craft foam
Decorative mug