Red Capsicum and carrot Chutney ~ Bell Pepper recipe
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My kids are more open to chutneys than sambhar. So I have to come with different vegetable chutneys and here is one of them. Red Bell pepper and carrot chutney.

Ingredients
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Red Bell Pepper - 1 medium size, cut into chunks
Carrot - 1 medium size, cut into chunks
Onion - 1 medium, cut into chunks
Tomato - 1 medium, cut into chunks
Garlic - 1 pod
Ginger - 1 small piece
Red Chillies - 2 or 3 according to taste, spice level

For Tadka -
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp jeera seeds
1 tsp ulundhu
Hing or asafeotida - few splashes
few curry leaves

For Garnish - 1 tsp chopped cilantro

Method
1. Heat oil in a pan, do the tadka and set aside.

2. Pour some more oil in the same pan, and when ready add the red chillies, garlic, ginger one by one and saute for a few seconds. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes. Add the bell pepper, carrot and saute for nearly 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent and bell peppers/carrots are wilted.

4. Add the tomatoes at this point, lower the flame, cover and cook for 5 minutes or at least or until the tomatoes are nicely cooked. Turn off the flame, let it cool and grind to paste.

5. Mix with the tadka and garnish with cilantro. Goes very well with idli, dosa. I also use this as a spread for my bread.

Garlic Pickle Recipe, For the love of it!!!

Garlic Pickle Recipe, For the love of it!!!

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Note:
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1.All ingredients should be dry. Clean the garlic some time before and dry them under the fan.
2.Try not to use wet hands, wet utensils any time during the preparation of the recipe. This will increase the longevity of the pickle.
3.Dry the bottle thoroughly. Tip: Just hold the bottle upside down on the burner for a few mins. Ofcourse with the burner on. Do the same with the bottle lid. This will evaporate any of the moisture left inside the bottle. Caution : dont hold the bottle more than say 15-20 secs.
4. If u can get cut garlic pieces from the market that will be great, otherwise considerable time will go in peeling and chopping the garlic.

Garlic pickle
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Ingredients:
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Garlic - 3 cups, peeled and cut into smaller pieces
Gingely Oil(nalla ennai) - 5 Table spoons (depends )
Chili Powder - 3 Tea Spoons
Malli powder -1 tea spoon
Lemon Juice - 6 tea Spoons
Salt - As Per Taste
Mustard Seeds- 2 Tea Spoons
Fenugreek Seeds - 1 Tea Spoon
Turmeric - ½ Spoon (optional)
jaggery-roughly 2 tea spoons.


Method:
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1.Fry Mustard and fenugreek seeds dry and grind them together.

2.Crack some mustard seeds(out of the two tea spoons for this recipe) in oil .Add garlic in the oil(excess such that u can clearly see all the garlic coated with oil. u can add more than this if depending on the amount of oil u want in the final pickle) till golden brown.

2.After the garlic wilts and cooks down a lil bit, pour lemon juice and cook for a 2-3 mins.

3.Add all the masala(fenugreek and mustard powder,Chilli powder, malli powder,turmeric) and salt.

4.Allow some time for the raw smell of the masal to go. Taste the pickle at this stage and adjust all seasoning accordingly.

5. Switch it off, once the oil starts to separate from the garlic mix. Just before switching off, add jaggery. The indicator for enuf jaggery is that u can slightly taste the sweet taste from the pickle.(some ppl add lot more of lemon juice and lot of jaggery. it depends on ur taste.)

6. Allow it to cool and store in a clean bottle.
Shelf life is about one month.


Hope all of you enjoy the pickle!!!