Tag: kalonji

Gur Aam Or Instant Sweet Mango Pickle

Gur aam or instant sweet mango pickle or chutney.
A sweet tangy and spicy mango pickle. You can call it khatta mitha achar. My mother’s recipe and my most favourite pickle. You need only raw mango, equal quantity jaggery, panch phoran or Bengali five spices, chilli powder and little oil. And the taste is really lip-smacking.

This gur aam or instant mango pickle is flavoured with panch phoran or Bengali five spices. Panch phoran consists of fenugreek seeds or methi, Nigella seed or kalaunji, cumin seed or jeera, mustard seed or sarso and fennel seed or sounf.

And its sweetened with cane jaggery. We All know that jaggery has numerous health benefits.
It acts as a detox, as it helps cleanse the liver by flushing out nasty toxins from the body. Jaggery is loaded with antioxidants and minerals like zinc and selenium, which help prevent free-radicals (responsible for early ageing). It helps boost resistance against infections, hence building stronger immunity.
Source

This week’s our 196 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is its pickle time suggested by Aruna Saraschandra who blog at Vasus veg kitchen do visit her space for delicious vegetarian recipes.

When Aruna suggested the theme I don’t have any idea what to share because my family is not pickle fan. So I make pickles very rarely. Suddenly I remember my Maa’s gur aam and the lip-smacking taste. I used to make it every year. Because its my most favourite pickle. Do try and enjoy the finger licking taste.

Recipe

1 cup – 250 ml

Raw mango – 500 gram

Salt – 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Red chilli powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Powdered or grated jaggery – 2 & 1/4 cup

Panch phoran – 1 teaspoon +1 teaspoon

Mustard oil – 1 tablespoon

Water – 1/4 cup

Method

1. Rinse the mangoes Well.

2. Peel and chop lengthwise. Make lengthwise 4 pieces.

3. Marinate with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder.

4. Spread the mangoes on a large plate. Keep under sunlight for 3 – 4 hours.

5. Dry roast 1 teaspoon panch phoran or Bengali five spices till aromatic. Seeds shouldn’t be burnt. You can get panch phoran in any super market but if you don’t get it then you can make it at home. See notes to make panch phoran.

6. Let the roasted panch phoran cool down and grind in grinder or mortar pestle. Keep it aside.

7. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add 1 teaspoon panch phoran or Bengali five spices and let them splutter.

8. Add mango slices and red chilli powder. Fry for 3 – 4 minutes.

9. Now add water and jaggery powder or grated jaggery. Mix well.

10. Reduce the heat. Cook on simmer for 20 minutes or till the mangoes becomes soft. Keep stirring to avoid sticking to bottom of the pan.

11. Add dry roasted and ground panch phoran and mix well. Remove from heat and let it cool down. Jaggery syrup will be thickened when cool.

12. Store in clean and dry jar for later use. But taste before storing. Yummy isn’t it 😊
Enjoy the spicy tangy and sweet gur aam or instant sweet mango pickle.

Note
For panch phoran or Bengali five spices mix 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon Nigella seeds, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1teaspoon fennel seeds and 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds. Mix and use as require.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hash tag, #batterupwithsujata
I would love to see your creations.

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Potato With Nigella, Poppy Seeds And Tomato


Potatoes with nigella, poppy seeds and tomatoes.

A very delicious and easy to cook side dish. In West Bengal aloo posto or potatoes with poppy seeds or posto or khaskhas is an all time favourite dish.

Poppy seeds are rich in minerals such as zinc, magnesium and calcium.

And one teaspoon of poppy seeds has 4 percent of the recommended daily intake of both calcium and phosphorus, which combine to form the mineral used to build bones.

source

We usually don’t use tomato in aloo posto or potato with poppy seeds but I have heard about this recipe from my sister in-law Arunima Gupta. It sounds little different and we loved the taste.

Thanks Arunima for this easy and delicious recipe. Everyone loved it.

This post is going to be a part of #Foodiemonday bloghop. And our this week’s theme is #nigella seeds.

The kalonji, or Nigella seeds or black cumin is an interesting spice – when used for tempering, it adds a beautiful aroma to the dishes, and a hint of flavour that you can’t quite nail.
Flavour and aroma aside, the tiny black seed comes with a whole lot of health benefits. It’s loaded with trace elements, vitamins, crystalline nigellone, amino acids, saponin, crude fiber, proteins and fatty acids like linolenic and oleic acids, volatile oils, alkaloids, iron, sodium, potassium and calcium. It keeps your heart healthy.

source

You don’t need much spices to make it. I have used only salt, green chillies, turmeric powder, poppy seeds,tomatoes and nigella seeds or kalonji or black cumin. Kashmiri red chilli powder is optional I have used it to add some colour. You can omit it if you want.

This Curry goes well with steamed rice.

Recipe


Potatoes:- 3 medium

Tomatoes – 2 large chopped

Green chilli – 4-5 or to taste

Nigella seeds – 1/4:teaspoon

Poppy seeds – 1/4 cup

Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon

Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon, optional

Mustered oil – 2 tablespoon+ 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Water as require

Method


Soak the poppy seeds in hot water for 15 minutes or microwave for 2 minutes with little water. Soaked seeds will grind easily.

Drain and grind the poppy seeds with 2 green chillies. You can add more chillies if you want your curry hot. You can add little water. Make a smooth paste and keep it aside.

Peel and slice the potatoes. Wash well.

Heat 2 tablespoon mustard oil in a pan. Add nigella seeds or black cumin or kalonji and chopped tomatoes. Saute until the tomatoes becomes mushy.

Now add the potatoes, salt and turmeric powder. Fry until it dried up completely.

Add enough water to boil the potatoes. Cover and cook until the potatoes becomes tender. Let the water dried up.

Add the poppy seeds and green chilli paste and kasmiri red chilli powder. Red chilli powder is optional. I have added it to bring some colour. You can omit it if you want. Saute for a minute.

Add water to make a thick gravy. You can make it dry too. It will be delicious in both ways. But don’t make it runny.

Cook until you get your desired consistency. Add some more slit green chillies and 1 teaspoon mustard oil. Mix well and switch off the flame.

Serve with hot streamed rice or any kind of bread or paratha or puri or luchi.

Enjoy……..