Fresh Mint Chutney

As I said before in the post below, for dinner tonight we expirimented with making our favorites from the Indian bistro in town at home. One of those favorites, mint chutney, was the first on our list. We found a recipe with pretty common ingredients at http://www.food.com/, altered it a little, and whipped it up to have along with our Indian feast. Here’s one of our Indian favorites, made simple!

Ingredients…

• 2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup  fresh mint, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger (jarred or fresh)
• 1 cloves garlic, chopped
• a pinch of ground red pepper, to taste (this is very strong, so don’t over-do it!)
• 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• salt, to taste

Directions… 

1. Put all of the ingredients in your blender, and chop in pulses, scraping down the sides with a rubber scraper on each interval.  DO NOT LIQUIFY IT! Be careful not to cut your rubber scraper on the blade!
2. scrape out of the blender after you have achieved a finely chopped texture.

To Serve!

Serve mint chutney along with pita bread or naan for a appetizer or side, or along with meat, as a spread for sandwiches, and a topping for chicken or fish.

ENJOY!

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Authentic Yellow Rice

Yum, yum, yum! This yellow rice recipe is the best under a hearty helping of curry with naan on the side. (I have a really great curry recipe on this blog titled “Tasty and Traditional Vegan Curry”) The bit of cinnamon in this yellow rice recipe really sets it apart from the others and gives a unique taste anyone will love. Hope you try it!

Ingredients:

3/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1 pinch cinnamon

3 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups long grain white rice ( or basmati, I used Jasmine)

Directions:

In a medium sized saucepan, heat the spices and herbs over low heat until fragrant, stirring, for about 30 seconds.

Add the rice and slightly toast it (for about 1-2 minutes, stirring)

Carefully pour in all of the water and add the salt if you haven’t already.

Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the water is absorbed (about 20 mins)

When rice is done cooking, let sit for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork and serve under something or alone.

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Tasty and Traditional Vegan Curry

This curry is absolutely AMAZING. It is an easy recipe to make, and you can throw in most of the vegetables that are just sitting in your fridge or freezer. The ingredients are all very cheap, and I would think most people would have them already in their houses, but there are various spices. The curry freezes well, I usually make more than I would eat normally so I can freeze it. This is a superb recipe, especially with naan or pita bread on the side. This curry is the best served over yellow or white rice.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, diced

3 toes garlic, minced

2 cans garbanzo beans

3-4 handfuls spinach

1 can hominy

3 cans diced tomatos

5 small potatoes, peeled and diced (if you use red jacket potatoes, they do not need to be peeled)

4 cups vegetable broth or water

1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp cumin (I used 1/2 tsp whole cumin and 1/2 tsp ground cumin)

2 tbsp curry powder (A good quality curry powder makes a very big difference!)

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp tumeric

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Heat 2-3 tbsp in a VERY LARGE skillet or pot (I used a pot, just make sure you have a lid that fits on whatever you use), and throw in the onion. Cook 2-3 minutes and add the garlic garbanzo. Cook a few more minutes.

Add in the garbanzo beans, hominy, spinach, potatoes, tomatoes, water/broth, spices and herbs, and reduce the heat to medium-low and cover.

 Cook until the potatoes are soft and most of the liquid has cooked off. Remove from heat, then mash some of the solids to thicken the sauce.

Serve over yellow or white rice. (I have a recipe for yellow rice on this blog named “Authentic Yellow Rice”) With naan or pita bread on the side.

Enjoy!

Note: You can add in almost any kind of vegetables to recipe, I have used corns, okra, and many others. Just experiment!

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