Date-Tamarind Chutney- Khajoor chi ambat goad chutney-Brown chutney for Chaats.

Hello Dearies!!! Now that we are in the middle of the summer months, I am back with a series of chaat basics. Indian women and chat ( spelt  as Chaa-aat) have a deep and strong bond. They need no pregnancy hormones to enjoy a plate of gol gappas/pani poori or bhel or dahi sev poori, although most pregnant girls seem to enjoy these tangy and spicy treats all the time. They need no excuse and no time-sense in that. Ask any girl her wildest food fantasy, she will be saying having pani poori at 2 am. I am not sure as to why eating chaats is a girlie girl thing; I have seen most boys jump and run for the chats as well. Yet its a thing they say like crying, only women folk do. I am going to post  a series of must haves to make chat at home, be it dahi wade, sev poori or behl puri or any chaat, you need to have the  Chutneys ready.

 One is the basic green chutney and other is date and tamarind chutney or Khajoor chi chutney. If I have these 2 chutneys in my fridge, any time of the day or night can be turned into a chaat night. My Mom loves and loved chat. It is our mom and mi thing, to enjoy bhel at the famous Chaya Bhelpoori store in Goregaon. It was a really small store where he sold peanuts, and all bhel related items, he regularly roasted dals and penuts for us over sand. and we enjoyed the bhel later. Now My mom tells me, it is no longer a small shanty it used to be, His son took over the business and everything has changed from then. Everything including the peanuts are still roasted in sand but prepackaged for convenience. Oh How badly will I miss the smell of sand and roasted peanuts and how will I introduce my kids to these simple pleasures, beats me. But no worries, I can still keep them interested in sinful delights from back home. Living in NJ has eased that so much for us, that we are spoilt for choice for all things Indian. We get things unimaginable from north south east and west of India. So if you are not so lucky to get them ready made, I am sharing with you my moms recipe for this chutney. Now you have no reasons to not make any chats at home, do you? Good then, lets begin.

You will need;
1 cup dates soaked in 1/2 cup water
1 tbspn tamarind Concentrate-Tamicon--
**The Portion of Tamicon would depend on how sweet the dates are and how tangy you would like the chutney to be
1 cup water
1/2 cup jaggery + 3 tbspn Brown Sugar
1 tbspn Roasted Cumin powder
1 tspn Cayenne pepper powder
Salt to taste

Grind the soaked dates and the tamarind pulp together to get a nice smooth mixture. Take this mixture mixed with 1 cup water in  a deep saucepan, and heat over medium, to this add the jaggery, the cumin powder and the cayenne powder and salt, Keep Stirring till the mixture gets coked and sticky and starts to gather and froth near the spoon. The Chutney is ready. Switch off the stove and  cool down. Once cool, fill in the sterile glass jar and store in a refrigerator. I always have this and the green chutney ready to enjoy chats in no time at all.

Kuch khatta kuch mitha kuch tikha instant Amla Achaar

Catchy Title..what say!! But today's post is all about this sweet,salty and spicy pickle made with frozen amla/gooseberries. Few Days back, I was joined into a foodie group on Facebook by Samta of Mera kitchen fame. I read this pickle posted by Vidya Tai. This was so easy and it did bring back tons of memories from my childhood. My Mom stayed in an apt building in  a suburb in Mumbai. IF you have ever visited Mumbai, you would know what I am saying. The house are so small and cramped and except for the walls dividing the apartments, we practically live together with our neighbors. Just that we have doors and locks to keep us separated. But any major discussion in anyone home can be heard by the next wall neighbor, The same can be said with any fights debates going on. One of my lovely neighbors was a manglorean lady who made south Indian food at her home. we thought anyone one who made idli/dosa and sambar regularly was a South Indian. Our food knowledge was limited to that. I blame the lack of science and technology for my ignorance. Anyways, this maushi as we called her, made this pickle almost all times she heard me yell or cry or have a food fight with my mom. Within minutes she was there with a small bowl of this for me. They say when your family is far, your neighbors become your family. Her sons were teenagers then, and she was also much older than my mom. Like a angel guardian, she used to take over me and relive my mom from the fights. Sitting on her lap hearing stories about her village, I ate my food with this pickle. This is one pickle that I cannot forget and thanks to Vidya Tai, I made it again after many many years.

You will need;
1 packet frozen amlas/gooseberries-- approx 10-12 pieces. I quartered them into 4 pieces and removed the seed.
Thawed them and dried them on  a cotton washcloth for 3-4 hours.

Tempering;
3-4 tbspn Oil
2 tspn mustard/rai seeds
1 tspn Jeera/cumin seeds
1 tspn Fenugreek/Methi seeds
2 tspn Red Cayenne powder--This medium heat, increase if you like it hot
1 tspn Turmeric/Haldi
3 tbspn jaggery or brown sugar
Salt if needed

In a wok, heat the oil on medium, add in the mustard seeds, let it splutter. Then add the jeera, and methi seeds, Then  reduce the heat to low, add the red cayenne powder, haldi and jaggery. Let the jaggery melt and then add the amla pieces. Stir well and heat for 5-6 minutes. Once cooled, Store in an airtight glass bottle. Refrigerate and use as needed. Since this is an instant pickle made from Frozen gooseberries, it is best saved in a Fridge and care should be taken that you never put wet spoons in the bottle.


This pickle tastes good with dal-rice, dos/parathas or as is.



Sending this to  Kirthi's serve-it preserved event hosted by ohtastenseeblog

Also sending it to Sangees Show me your hits Event guest hosted bu Julie of EP fame

Strawberry Jam

This is the easiest Jam you will ever make, if you ever happen to buy 2 lbs of fresh strawberries just coz they looked good in the store and were on sale, I am not saying that happened to me, just assume if that happened...it will be nice to know how to make this jam. Once you make this jam, you can find 100 ways to use it, like on toast on a warm croissant with butter or as a filling in cakes, it tastes divine and will surely win you some cool brownie points...
I followed my moms recipe of making Amba Muramba/ Mango Preserve and replaced the Mango with chopped Strawberries ..Do not make very small pieces, they will mash up as they get cooked .



For the Strawberry Jam you will need;

4 Cups Chopped Strawberries
2 cups sugar
1 Tsp Lemon Juice--OPTIONAL


In a wide bowl, take the diced strawberries in a pot and add sugar to it. Keep aside for an hour or so.. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberry and sugar mixture, and one tspn lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often. When Cooked and the jam starts sticking to the sides of the pan, remove from heat and cool.
Transfer to hot sterile jars and seal. Process in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, and just refrigerate after its cold enough.

**We like chunky jams, but if you don't like it to be chunky, run it through a food mill while still hot and then store it in a bottle


Make jam and let there be peace in the world.. at least it makes peace in Ashland!!!

Love Ash
PS. I am sending this jam to the Healing with Berries Event.

When Life throws Peaches and Plums in good measure

When Life Throws Peaches and Plums at you, What do you do?????

Make Jam, Silly.. and thats exactly what I did..My Kids Love Love Jam with toast on bread or with Phulka... but irony of irony is that they DO NOT TOUCH Store brought Jams, much so like cakes...I learnt to make them at home...Recently we had a small religious function at my sweet home and whoever came to seek blessings got with them..peaches and plums..it was like a major plan and scheme, I thought at first, but then realized that the stores in Jersey had an abundant produce supply of the sweetest peaches and juiciest plums...BUT what was I to do.. No way could A family of four finish around 20 peaches and 25 plums in 3-4 days...Having My MOM with me did no help as she firmly believes that; Once the fruit is offered to god, it has to be consumed and cannot go waste ( Not that we waste a lot of food in my house); the country I was born in is not a RICH country, more than 50% population starves daily and food is considered to be GOD, it is a habit scribed in our minds from a very tender age that we have to pray and thank the Bappa/God for making this meal a reality..so this jam was made and relished by my US born kids, who still at times do not understand what starvation is and why people are not able to afford a simple bagel and cheese sandwich...I simply pray to god at such times to give them the wisdom and never ever let a day go by in their lives when they have to face starvation.

I followed my moms recipe of making Amba Muramba/ Mango Preserve and replaced the Mango with peaches and plums cut into dices..

for Peaches and Plum Jam- You will need;

4 Cups (mixed) Peaches and Plums diced (with  skin included.. remove the pits though)
2 cups sugar
1 Tsp Cinnamon Powder-Optional
1Tsp Lemon Juice


In a wide bowl, take the diced peaches and plums together in a pot and add sugar to it. Keep aside for an hour or so.. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the peaches and plums and sugar mixture, and one tspn lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often. IT is optional to add little cinnamon powdered or use sticks while it is being cooked, gives a nice aroma and taste( The whole house smells like it's the season of falling leaves and crisp air). When Cooked and the jam starts sticking to the sides of the pan, remove from heat and cool.

Transfer to hot sterile jars and seal. Process in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, and just refrigerate after its cold enough.

** Note that the plums will be almost invisible but the peaches will hold itself.. We like chunky jams, but if you don't like it to be chunky, run it through a food mill while still hot and then store it in a bottle
Make jam and let there be peace in the world.. at least it makes peace in Ashland!!!

Love Ash

Amba Murammba-- Mango Preserve.

I grew up practically eating Amba muramba or mango preserve. As a child I absolutely hated( Hate is a strong word, so will not use it again)  disliked my veggies. I grew up in Mumbai and my mom worked Full time adding more than 40 hours plus the commute to her weekly work schedule, so I am not amazed that eating veggies was not a battle she chose with her kids...although she insisted that we do eat our veggies..I have an awesome Mom in a way.. she let us have our share of Junk along with a good share of nutritious and fresh food. Even after  a long days hard work, she cooked FRESH each meal, something I still am struggling with.. I do cook everyday, but only in the evenings, I only cook my kids lunches in the Morning, I and Mr. Ash take leftovers for lunch, but I am still trying, maybe someday I will be an Awesome Mom too!!!!

Summers in India are from March to June and Mangoes are in season from April to May. A special type of mangoes are the BEST which come from a region in Konkan  in Western Maharashtra are Alphonso mangoes.

As per Wiki;

Alphonso (हापुस Haapoos in Marathi, હાફુસ in Gujarati, Aapoos in Kannada) is a mango cultivar that is considered by many^[who?] to be one of the best in terms of sweetness, richness and flavor. It has considerable shelf life of a week after it is ripe making it exportable. It is also one of the most expensive kinds of mango and is grown mainly in western India. It is in season April through May and the fruit weigh between 150g and 300g each.

The mango is often referred to as the king of fruit. This is because of its taste, color and beauty. Mangoes are among the most popular fruits worldwide and are especially popular in South and Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Hawaii. Mangoes are a seasonal fruit and are available only during late spring and early summer.

Haapus is used to make sweets, candies and smoothies - Mango Milkshake, Mango Lassi (both smoothies), Aamba-Wadi (a somewhat chewy sweet), Aam-Ras (Mango pulp which is eaten with puris - an Indian Bread), Sakhar Amba (Marathi word for a home-made mango jelly/jam), Mango barfi (see Barfi).

Alphonso mangoes are also eaten either sliced, or pureed with hot poori's or Phuklas, or by making various preserves like amba poli, amba saathe or methiamba or amba muramba.

I am posting this simple yet divine recipe of Muramba just like my mom makes it. I have my mom with me this summer and although we did not get alphonso mangoes in NJ, she prepared this for my kids with the regular mangoes we get here, no harm done but the beauty of alphonso is not matched.. if you have ever ever tasted an alphonso mango, you will not like any other mango, rest all are SIMPLY ADJUSTMENTS you make with food and life.

You will need;

4 Cups Mango diced

2 cups sugar

1 Tsp Cardamom Powder-Optional

1Tsp Lemon Juice

In a wide bowl, take the diced mangoes and add sugar to it. Keep aside for an hour or so.. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the mango and sugar mixture, and one tspn lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often. When Cooked and the jam starts sticking to the sides of the pan, remove from heat and cool.

It is optional to add little cardamom powdered( elaichi) after ist cooked but while still warm, gives a nice aroma and taste. Most Indian sweets have elaichi in them, it's almost mandatory to have cardamom in sweets for indian sweeets. Transfer to hot sterile jars and seal. Process in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, and just refrigerate after its cold enough.

**This lasted for 1 day at my home. No Kidding guys, My Kids were sugar high for most of the day, but since it is summer vacation now, it was still Ok. They ate it with bread toast for breakfast as a spread, with phulka for lunch and just like that as a snack, by dinner we were licking the inside of the bottle....

Make some while you still have fresh mangoe's available, you will not be disappointed.

Love Ash.

** Know more about Hapoos Amba--Alphonso Mango

The Alphonso Mango is named after Afonso de Albuquerque. This was an exquisite and expensive variety of mango, that he used to bring on his journeys to Goa. The locals took to calling it Aphoos in Konkani and in Maharashtra the pronunciation got further transformed to Hapoos. This variety then was taken to the Konkan region of Maharashtra and other parts of India.

The southern district of Ratnagiri and south northern parts of Sindhudurg in Maharashtra state, including regions around the DEVGAD' and Taluka, produce the finest quality alphonso mangoes in India. The southern districts of Valsad and Navsari in Gujarat state and particularly Alphonso mangoes from the Amalsad region (including villages such as Dhamadachha, Kacholi, and all villages of Gandevi) produce Alphonso mangoes as well. Southern States in India are also major mango producing areas. From north to south, climatic changes occur which result in differences in the quality of the produce. Even in Ratnagiri and Devgad the finest fruit comes from a patch of 20 km from the seashore.

The variety grown in Devgad in the Kokan region of Maharashtra is supposed to be the best. It's also the most expensive amongst the sub-breeds of Alphonso. In most of the Indian market sub-varieties are fetching the price of good quality alfonso. These varieties neither have the sweetness, nor have the flavour of hapoos.**