Potato bhajias with tamarind chutney

Growing up in Uganda, East Africa my mom made these amazing crispy potato bhajias when we had unexpected guests. This amazing snack was served with tamarind chutney and hot masala chai. Ingredients were always in the pantry and it didn’t take long for my mom to make these delicious crispy goodness. I just mastered these and want to share my mom’s recipe. This recipe originates from Gujarat and was made popular in East Africa and is enjoyed here in the west by so many. Make sure to eat them right away and don’t wait for anyone! They are meant to be eaten hot ….

Ingredients:

• 2 cups channa flour

• 4 russet potatoes

• 3/4 tsp garlic paste

• 1/2 tsp ginger paste

• 1/2 tsp green chilli paste or 1/4 tsp cayenne

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 3/4 tsp ajwan seeds

• 1/4 tsp turmeric

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

• 1 1/2 -2 cups water

• 1 Ltr sunflower oil or grape seed oil for frying

Directions:

1. Wash, peel and slice potatoes thinly but not too thin (5 mm). Should’t be transparent

2. In a separate bowl, mix channa flour garlic, ginger, green chilli, spices and cilantro

3. Add water slowly and mix with your hands till batter is thick and not too runny

4. Heat oil in a deep pan to high heat.

5. Dip potato slices one at a time in to the batter and slowly transfer to hot oil one at a time

6. Keep turning the bhajias till crispy golden brown.

7. Remove bhajias and place on a paper towel to remove excess oil

8. Serve right away with tamarind chutney.

Enjoy!!

Pico de gallo

All Mexican food always has this side salsa made with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and some lime juice. This mixture is called pico de gallo. Once you’ve tried this, you’ll want it with all all your Mexican dishes and everything else! Pictured here is a healthy salad with beans and corn, avocado and pico de gallo. Check our Mexican Fiesta bowl recipe for more Mexican inspiration.

Serves 16

Makes 1 quart

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of ripe Roma tomatoes diced 1/4 inch (the riper the better) (1 1/2lb)

• 1 tsp sea salt to taste

• 3/4 cup large red onion diced finely (1/2 red onion)

• 1 jalapeno chili finely diced (If you want it hotter, leave seeds in and add more Jalapenos)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

• 2 tablespoons lime juice from 1 lime

Directions:

1. Sprinkle sea salt over tomatoes and toss to combine. Transfer tomatoes to a fine mesh strainer and drain the liquid from tomatoes (20-30 minutes)

2. Combine all ingredients and add more salt if you wish.

3. Serve with Nachos, Taco chips, salads, fish, and anything you desire.

Mango salsa

This summer salsa with all the right combination of spices, mango and crunchy vegetables will give you a zing and wanting to party by the pool all day long with your friends!! Enjoy this salsa with tortilla chips or on a burger or in a taco!!

• Serves 4-6

• Prep/ cook time 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado, cut in cubes

• 1 chopped white onion

• 1 ripe mango, cut in cubes

• 1 chopped green onion

• 1/2 cup cilantro chopped

• 4 cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters

• 1/2 red bell pepper chopped

• juice of 1 lime

• 1 tsp sriracha or any hot sauce to taste

• 1/4 tsp himalayan salt to taste

• 1/4 tsp cumin ground

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and serve with tortilla chips. Mango salsa can also be served on burgers, or on tacos or sandwiches.

Enjoy!!

Spicy mint chutney

When you have mint growing in your garden and don’t know what to do with it, you make mojitos!! But seriously, I really do have a lot of mint and now with the season changing, its time to make my amazing mint chutney that our family and friends can enjoy over the winter and spring with samosas, kebabs and my red lentil fritters.

Such a simple and easy chutney with only a few ingredients, it really only takes a few minutes to make. You can freeze this chutney in ice cube trays and then store frozen in brown paper bags (so they don’t stick together).

All you need is a bunch of roughly chopped cilantro with stems, lemon, mint leaves, garlic cloves, hot green chillies and Himalayan salt.

SPICY MINT CHUTNEY

• Prep Time: 20 minutes

• Cooking Time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cup washed & roughly chopped cilantro with stems

• 1 cup chopped mint leaves, stems removed

• 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt

• Juice of half a lemon

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1-2 hot chillies

• 1/2 cup water

INSTRUCTIONS

Blend all the ingredients till smooth

Serve with appetizers like fried or baked samosas, pakoras, lentil fritters, kebabs, or whatever your heart desires.

This chutney is amazing with paneer tikka or chicken tikka!

COCONUT CHUTNEY

Growing up in East Africa, coconut chutney was served with all of our vegetarian snacks and with all of our barbecue meats. This favourite chutney will set your taste buds with sheer joy. As coconut was readily available in Africa, the coconut flesh was used to make this chutney. I use desiccated coconut as it is readily available and the chutney can be made in less than an hour to add to your bhajias, samosas, barbecue meats and pretty much anything really!

This chutney is super easy to make and only a few ingredients like coconut, cilantro, green chilli, lemon and a granny smith apple are needed. Soak 1 cup of fine or medium unsweetened coconut in 1 cup of water and 6 tbsp of fresh lemon juice for about 20 minutes. Wash and remove stems of cilantro and green chilli. Remove seeds from from the granny smith apple. Blend all ingredients including the water and lemon juice. Garlic can be added to make the chutney rise to another level but thats optional.

COCONUT CHUTNEY

• Serves: 6-10

• Prep Time: 10 minutes

• Cooking Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup fine unsweetened coconut

• 6 tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 cup cold water

• 1 bunch cilantro, washed and stems removed

• 1-2 green chillies, washed and stems removed

• 1 granny smith apple, washed and seeds removed and halved

• 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt

• 1 tsp garlic paste (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Soak coconut in 1 cup of water and lemon juice for about 20 minutes. Add all ingredients in the blender and blend till you get a nice smooth green chutney. If you need to add more water, add a little at a time.

The chutney can be added to pretty much all the Indian snacks and barbecues.

Enjoy!!

TAMARIND CHUTNEY

Every amazing Indian or East African snack or barbecue needs a favourite condiment and it is always the popular sweet, spicy and tangy tamarind chutney. I love dipping all my bhajias(lentil fritters), cassava fries, and samosas in this flavourful chutney. This chutney is also the main ingredient for chaats and my favourite “channa bateta” (chickpeas and potatoes in a tangy tamarind sauce-recipe on blog). A tamarind tree produces a pod like fruit that contains a brown edible pulp used in many cuisines around the world. This pulp is squished into a block and exported all over the world. The main exporters of tamarind are the Philippines, Thailand, India and Africa. You can either go and buy a ready made tamarind chutney which usually includes names of ingredients you can’t pronounce or make your own clean chutney from scratch. Like all other things, I would rather make this tangy chutney at home in bulk and fill up bottles and freeze them. When you buy a tamarind block in a grocery store (normally in the Asian/Indian aisle) the label will always says “seedless”, but I always find seeds in every pack. Through experience, I have learned to find seeds through sieving and squishing every bit of the pulp. The process is a little over an hour long, but very worth it in the end.

The tamarind pulp is usually packed into a block. Break up the block into chunks before soaking for faster results.

Soak the tamarind and add the pitted dates and soak for 20 minutes.

In a pot add another 3 cups of water and add the soaked dates and tamarind with the water and bring to a boil. Boil the tamarind and dates for about 15 minutes and let the mixture cool. Sieve the mixture through and use your hands to go through the pulp, looking for seeds and removing them.

After removing seeds, add tamarind pulp, soaked dates and tamarind water and blend the mixture into a thick tamarind water. This water is used in the chana bateta. I usually fill up jars with this and when ready to use add spices to make a chutney.

The spices and crushed tomatoes are added to make the tamarind chutney.

TAMARIND CHUTNEY

• Serves: 20

• Prep Time: 5 minutes

• Cooking Time: 90 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 400 grams tamarind paste (block)

• 3-6 cups water

• 227 grams pitted dates

• 2 tbsp crushed tomatoes

• 1 tsp Himalayan salt

• 1 tsp cumin ground

• 1/2 tsp cayenne

INSTRUCTIONS

Break up the tamarind into small pieces with your hands and soak the tamarind in a bowl hot water (3 cups) for 10 minutes. Add the pitted dates and soak both for 10 minutes.

In a pot add another 3 cups of water and add the soaked dates and tamarind with the water and bring to a boil. Boil the tamarind and dates for about 15 minutes and let  the mixture cool.  Sieve the mixture through and use your hands to go through the pulp, looking for seeds and removing them.

After removing seeds, add tamarind pulp, soaked dates and tamarind water and blend the mixture into a thick tamarind water. This water is used in the chana bateta. I usually fill up jars with this and when ready to use add spices to make a chutney.

Add spices and crushed tomatoes and mix for a spicy and tangy chutney. You can add more or less cayenne according to your spice taste.