Red Pepper Chutney

Ingredients

• Red Pepper - 1
• Medium Onion - 1
• Tomato - 1
• Red chilli - 1
• Ginger - 1/4 inch(optional)
• Hing - pinch
• Tamarind - 1 inch piece
• Sesame oil - 3tspn
• Mustard & Urad dhal for seasoning

health tip

Tomato & red pepper are rich in Vitamin C. An anti-oxidant in tomato called lycopene gets concentrated after cooking the tomato. Anti-oxidant helps to prevent cancer.

Red Pepper Chutney

method

Red pepper chutney is a slight twist to tomato chutney. Red pepper adds unique flavor, color & sweetness to the chutney. The flavor & color gets intense when the pepper is roasted in the oven. Halve the pepper & remove the seeds. Place the halved peppers skin side up in a baking sheet & broil them till the skin gets blisters & charred. Put it in a bowl and cover it with a lid till the roasted pepper gets warm to handle. When it is warm remove the skin & dice it to make chutney. Since I had lot of red pepper sitting in my fridge, I wanted to adopt easier version & used fresh ones instead of roasting them. Though the color and flavor was little lighter, it tasted equally good as the roasted version. This chutney can be used as a spread, dip or as a side dish for dosai & idli. I usually freeze the extra chutney for later use.

1. Remove the seeds from the pepper and dice the pepper(if not using roasted ones), onion and tomato.
2. Heat some oil in a pan (reduce the oil if planning to freeze) & season it with mustard, urad dal & hing.
3. Add the diced veggies along with red chilli, ginger & tamarind. Saute the mixture till the veggies get tender. Let it cool.
4. Grind to a fine paste when cooled. Add salt to taste and the chutney is ready to serve.
5. This recipe is little milder. You may want to adjust the number of chilli to suit your taste.

Baba Ghanoush

Ingredients

• Medium Eggplant - 1
• Tahini - 1 1/2 tbspn
• Lemon Juice - 2 tspn
• Garlic - 2
• Pepper - 1/4 tspn
• Salt to taste
• Paprika, parsley & olive oil for serving

health tip

Eggplant is an excellent source of dietary fiber, vitamin B1, B6 and potassium. It is also a good source of copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, niacin and folic acid. The skin is rich in antioxidant called Nasunin which helps nourish the brain cells.

Baba Ghanoush

method

1. Roast the eggplant on the stove top till the skin is charred.
2. Place the roasted eggplant in a cookie sheet & bake it at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.
3. Peel the skin & dice the flesh when the eggplant is cooled
4. Roast the garlic & place it in the food processor along with diced eggplant, tahini, lemon juice, pepper & salt. Blend it till smooth. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl & drizzle it with olive oil, paprika & chopped parsley.
5. Serve the Baba ghanoush with pita bread or with falafal.

Hummus

Hummus is a middle-eastern dip made with chickpeas. There are so many varieties of hummus like roasted garlic hummus, roasted red pepper hummus, cilantro hummus...etc. The main ingredient in all of them is chickpeas. It can be used as dip for pitas or as a spread for falafal. It is mixed with a paste called Tahini which is nothing but a sesame paste. You can either buy it from grocery store or make it at home. You can find it at Indian stores, Middle-eastern store or at Walmart. I found it easier to make it at home, so I am giving you the homemade recipe too.
Tahini
White sesame seeds - 1/2 cup
Olive oil or vegetable oil - 1/8 cup or half of quarter cup

Method
Dry roast the sesame seeds till it turns golden colour.

Let it cool. Grind it in a blender with the oil. This will be like a thick sauce. This can be stored in fridge for three months. This is what you get from grocery store. Thick consistency is needed for making hummus. To make it thinner add some water & continue blending. This thin sauce is used to drizzle over falafal sandwich. Shelf life of thin sauce is shorter because of added water. It can be stored for 3 days in  refrigerator.

Hummus 
Cooked chickpeas - 1 cup
Tahini -1/2 cup
Roasted garlic - 3 cloves
Lemon - 3/4
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method
Place the chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice,seasonings & some water in a blender.

Process until smooth, adding little more water if necessary. Transfer the contents into a shallow bowl. Mix some olive if you like. This can be stored in a fridge for one week. While serving as a dip garnish it with some paprika, black olives & parsley.