Why I also make sweet tamarind chutney called 'Sonth' when making Sambhar

Today I was going to make Sambhar. That would mean I need to soak some tamarind first. I have decided to soak extra so I can make sweet tamarind chutney (called 'Sonth') at the same time. Growing up this chutney was pretty much like ketchup is now for my kids. My mother would make a big batch so we always had it on hand. We enjoyed Sonth with all sorts of snacks ..chat, chola, samosas. I try to make this chutney whenever i am dealing with tamarind (and by dealing I mean process of taking out tamarind pulp - soaking, rubbing between my hands to separate pulp and straining) for another purpose. After you have got tamarind pulp, making chutney is really easy.  You add jaggery (or brown sugar) and few spices and let the  liquid simmer down. I am also looking to finish produce from last week in my refrigerator so I have decided to use part of Lauki (bottle gourd) for Sambhar but I will use other half for making a vegetable side with garlic, tamarind seeds and red pepper. I bought some organic carrot few days ago so good time to make carrot juice.

Here are some photos to show how it went. Here I am in the middle of preparation.



Snacking of carrot juice. Carrot juice with kala namak for me and carrot and apple juice for kiddos.










Finally everything is on the stove. Starting from back clockwise - sambhar masala mixture, cooked dal with sweet potato, carrot and some lauki (bottle gourd), simmering chutney and roasted lauki.

Recipes

Today I was not really following any specific recipe. For sambhar, I love the sweetness of sweet potato in otherwise spicy, tangy sambhar. I already had some home made sambhar powder using recipe from Flavors of India by Madhur Jaffrey available at http://www.amazon.com/Flavours-India-Madhur-Jaffrey/dp/0563370777/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1420407718&sr=8-3&keywords=flavors+of+India+madhur+jaffrey

For sweet tamarind chutney, I started with golf size tamarind ball and then added jaggery, kala namak (type of salt), cayenne powder, roasted cumin powder, dried ginger powder and black pepper powder. As liquid simmers down, I taste and adjust to make sure i have a good balance of sweet, savory, tangy and spicy.

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