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Sweet & Sour Mango Chutney

Mango is a versatile fruit, as many delicious recipes can be prepared with raw mango as well as ripe mango; such as mango pickle, drinks, mango roll up, sweet or spice chutney, shrikhand, ice cream, lassi, mango kulfi and so on. Sweet & sour mango chutney is one of my childhood favorite, and my mom used to make this dish during mango season in the summer. She would make it in large quantities and store it in a jar. We loved eating it in our lunch boxes with parathas. This mango chutney also known galka or khattmithi in Northern part of India, but every state has its own variation of making this sweet & sour chutney with different ingredients and has many different names. This recipe made with raw mangoes, jaggery and some spices in Eastern UP & Bihar style.  

Mutter Corn Potli

Mutter Corn Potli is a recipe which goes very well as tea time snacks or as appetizer at parties. There are variety of snacks dishes in India and many of them are the ones which are prepared fresh and served hot. Mutter Corn Potli is very similar to popular snack Samosa however with little cute shape and a slightly different filling. Potli in Hindi is referred to a small jewelry bag. The crust for this recipe is prepared using all purpose flour and filled with sauteed peas & corn with tangy spices mix. The Mutter Corn Potli tastes awesome with date & tamarind chutney. You can adjust the spicy level to your taste. Serve it with tea, coffee or even drinks.mutter-corn-potli_19

Watermelon Strawberry Drink

Watermelon is a seasonal fruit available during summer and very good to avoid dehydration. My family loves watermelon in all forms either eating as fresh cut fruit or juice. This recipe is a blend of watermelon and strawberry added with some lemon juice and spices. This refreshing drink is perfect for hot summer weather and give you a big relief from the hot weather and keeps you hydrated. This lovely naturally red color drink is very simple to make, although the sweetness of fruit is more than enough but if you wish you could add either sugar or honey to complement the sweetness.


Stuffed Red Chili Pickle

Red Chili … as the name sounds it’s hot. In northern part of India, red chili is available during the winter season and mostly used to make the pickle (achar in hindi). I had been searching for this kind of chili here and finally found in Walmart store. Although this is not exactly the same type which is generally used however pretty close. I have seen my grand mother and mother making this pickle during my childhood. I am really glad to share this traditional recipe from my Mom. This pickle is made from mixture of various spices and mustard oil. Mustard oil give a authentic taste to the Pickles. There are certain important steps in making this pickle, one is that red chili needs to be dried up in sun light for at least 3-4 hrs. so that the moisture contents goes away and once again after preparing the pickle it needs to be left in sunlight for at least a week in a glass container. This pickle could be little spicy however goes very well with Paratha or side of any meal especially rice and yellow daal or khichadi. Hope you would enjoy this pickle as part of your meal. Red Chili_

Aam ( Mango) Jaljeera

Aam (Mango) is king of fruit. This is a seasonal fruit which is available during summer. This beat the heat tangy cool drink protect us from heat waves. Using raw mango one can be prepare many kind of items like spicy pickle, sweet mango pickle, jam, mango drink or so on. This recipe is prepared using mainly raw mango and honey which is flavored with assortment of spices. In northern part of India during summer there are many hawkers who sell this drink on streets. People also prepare this in their home and my mom used to make it and serve all of us to protect from heat waves. She generally used to roast the raw mango on charcoal which gives a unique smoky flavor. If charcoal is available you can use that otherwise you can roast it on stove as I have done for this recipe. You could also use the boiled raw mango to prepare this recipe so instead of roasting, just boil the mangoes. Raw Mango_5

Papdi Chaat Basket

Chaat, just hearing the word makes your mouth water. This tangy street food is very famous all over India and loved by everyone. There are many types of chaats like samosa chaat, dahi poori chaat, chana kachori chaat, aloo tikki chaat and so on. I have already shared papdi & papdi chaat recipes earlier. This is a variation to the actual papdi chaat as I have added mini papdi baskets instead of plain papdi. Mini papdi basket is made using all purpose flour, rava and some carom seeds. I have used vegetable shortening however you can use butter or ghee instead. In order to make crispy crunchy papdi baskets, the dough should be tight and after adding shorting it should be mixed very well. To give it a basket shape, I have used mini tin tart molds. The basket can also be baked instead of deep fried. This recipe is a perfect finger food for your gatherings or parties. The papdi basket can be prepared ahead of time and stored in air tight containers to keep it crispy.

Raw Mango & Guava Chutney

Guava also known Amrood (in Hindi) is a seasonal fruit which could be readily available during its season all over India. This sweet & tangy mouthwatering chutney is prepared mainly using raw mango and guava, flavored with chaat masala and black salt. This delightful chutney goes very well with any Indian snacks like a cutlets, kabab, pakoras, samosa and so on.

Amla (Gooseberry) Candy

Amla (Gooseberry) is a fruit which is rich source of vitamin C. It has many health benefits related to hair, eyes, diabetes and heart related disease. Generally this fruit is available during Winter in India.  You can get it from Indian stores fresh or frozen. Obviously fresh ones would taste much better than frozen. There are various recipes which you can make from Amla like pickle, khati meethi chatney, murrabba, jam or candy. This recipe is to prepare khathi meethi Amla candy which you can just eat like that as part of you daily routine. The recipe is prepared by grating the Amla and cooking on a low flame either with sugar or honey with certain spices. Amla candy can to stored in refrigerator for long term use.

Amla Candy_