Friday, January 10, 2014

Typical Bengali Tomato chutney





So the beauty of online groups are that it

a) Encourages you to explore more and more in the kitchen
b) Interaction motivates you to document your own recipes some of which are actual heritage ones

So here goes a recipe for a delicious tomato chutney that we Bengalis simply love, we usually take them with fried papads. It is usually taken after the meal before desserts

You need

5 plump juicy tomatoes chopped in little pieces
3 broken dried red chilies
Half a tsp kalonji
Pinch of saunf
1 bay leaf
Salt as per taste
Chopped Aaam paapd (2 tbsp)
2 tbsp chopped dates
2 tbsp raisins
1 heaped tsp dried mango
1 tbsp ghee
1 heaped tsp green chili ginger paste (I used about 2 medium sized green chilies)
Water
Sugar as per taste (Traditional Bengali version makes it a bit sweet)
Pinch of turmeric

Start by heating the ghee and adding your dry spices (kalonji, saunf and broken red chili) . When they splutter add the ginger paste and bay leaf and the chopped tomatoes and then bring to boil while mashing with a masher and simmer but keep mashing. Remember that tomato has a lot of water and will cook in its own juices. Now add the salt, sugar , dried mango powder and a pinch of turmeric. Cook till it is well mashed and is sticky, sprinkle water it is feels too sticky. Add the  raisin, dates and aam papad. Serve with fried papads and a wedge of lemon. Since the authentic version is quite sweet I like squeezing lemon juice for a tangy fresh feel.


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