Garlic chutney

The garlic chutney is must for any kind of chaat. You may not like to peel the garlic but it definitely adds a good taste to your recipe. Garlic is also considered good for diabetic patients and cancer patients (proved by Ayurved but not clinically proven yet). It is good to have garlic especially in winters.

Ingredients:
Garlic cloves - 1 cup peeled
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)

Method:
Combine all the ingredients in a blender with 1/4 cup of water and grind to a fine paste.

Before using dilute with water and use as required.

Tip:

Soaking garlic cloves in hot water makes it easier to peel them.

Oil your hands before you peel garlic to prevent having a lingering garlic aroma throughout the day.

Coriander chutney

Green Corainder chutney which is great for sandwich spreads, chaat and snacks. The addition of lemon juice enhance the flavours of mint & corainder and prevent discoloration of the greens. This chutney can be stored refrigerated for upto a week.

Ingredients:
Coriander (fresh) - 1 bunch chopped
Green chillies - 3 chopped
Ginger - 1 tsp chopped
Mint leaves - 5-6 (optional)
Salt, sugar & lemon juice to taste
Asafoetida (Hing) - a pinch
A fistful of raw peanuts

Method:
Take a blender and add the peanuts to it first. Grind them for a min. Now add the remaining ingredients, add water as needed and blend together to achieve a thick paste like consistency.

There, your chutney is ready to be serve with any kind of snacks and chaat.

Tamarind-Date chutney

The sweet & sour chutney is the main ingredient in all chaat recipes. The jaggery makes the chutney sweeter, but you may omit it if you prefer a more tangy flavour.

Ingredients:

Traditional-
Dates (Khajur) - 2 cups de-seeded
Tamarind (Imli) - 1/4 cup de-seeded
Jaggery (Gur) - 1 cup grated
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Asafoetida (hing) - a pinch
Salt to taste
Water - 4 cups

Microwave-
Tamarind - 1 big lemon size
Dates syrup - 4 tbsp OR a small lemon size
Jaggery - 1/4 cup OR to taste
Red chilli powder to taste
Salt to taste

Method:

Traditional-
Wash the dates and tamarind and place them in a sauce pan. Add the jaggery, chill powder, asafoetida, salt and 4 cups of water and simmer for 20 to 25 mins. Cool and strain the mixture through a sieve. You can also puree the chutney in a food processor and then strain it.

Microwave-
Soak the tamarind and dates (if not using syrup) for half an hour and extract the juice. Add it to a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 4 mins. Add the rest of the ingredients and microwave on high again for 3 mins. If it is still very watery, microwave on high for another 2 mins.

Tip:
Tamarind - Date chutney can be stored refrigerated for upto a month and deep frozen for upto 6 months.