Chiva-Som’s Chili Jam and Roasted Shallots

Here are two fat-free recipes for chili jam and roasted shallots used at Chivasom which works great as a garnish with many Thai dishes.

CHILI JAM

6-7 dry red long chilies

1 whole garlic

1 shallot

1 teaspoon tamarind juice

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon palm sugar

METHOD:

• Heat the oven to 250° C or 130°F.
• Roast the chilies for 2-3 minutes and remove from oven.
• Bake garlic and shallots till soft.
• Pound the chilies, garlic and shallots together.
• Add the tamarind juice, soy sauce and palm sugar.

ROASTED SHALLOTS

• Heat the oven to 250° C or 130°F.
• Spread out thinly sliced shallots onto a non stick cookie sheet.
• Roast till brown and crisp ( about 15 – 20 minutes).

Tomato Onion Chutney Rice

This is a recipe for a really yummy rice dish that I make when I’m in the mood for a tangy one pot meal. It goes really well with plain yogurt and spicy Indian pickles. I use Maya’s Tomato Onion Chutney recipe as a base for this recipe. You can use any kind of white rice – other than the Japanese sticky rice. I usually use Basmati rice.

MAYA’S TOMATO ONION CHUTNEY RICE

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of rai ( black mustard seeds)

3 sprigs of curry leaves ( available in Indian supermarkets)

3 small onions sliced

2 scallions chopped (optional)

1 inch of ginger peeled and sliced

A full head of garlic peeled and sliced

6-7 green chilies whole (optional)

6-7 plum tomatoes roughly chopped

4-5 tablespoons of tomato paste  (optional)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Cayenne pepper ( to taste)

1 bunch of cilantro washed and chopped

3 tablespoons of cooking oil ( use mustard oil if you have it)

5 cups of cooked white rice

METHOD:

In a large wok, make the tomato onion chutney using the link to the recipe.

When the chutney is done, add the 5 cups of cooked white rice to it.

Mix it all together very well.

Cover and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes.

Add salt to taste and serve warm with plain yogurt and Indian pickles.

Tomato and Onion Chutney

Growing up in India, I was always so fortunate to be surrounded by phenomenal cooks – from my grandmothers to my aunts and so many others in between. However, out of all I  learned from, the ones who influenced me the most were my mother and Maya.

Maya was just one of those people who had what we call in India “swad” (taste) in her hands. Whatever she made …tasted like magic. I always loved all the kinds of chutney she made with any leftover vegetables she could find.

Here is one of my favorite chutneys. It’s so versatile as this can be used as a chutney, a dip, a vegetable or can even be made into a Tomato and Onion Rice.

MAYA’S TOMATO ONION CHUTNEY

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of rai ( black mustard seeds)

3 sprigs of curry leaves ( available in Indian supermarkets)

3 small onions sliced

2 scallions chopped (optional)

1 inch of ginger peeled and sliced

A full head of garlic peeled and sliced

6-7 green chilies whole (optional)

6-7 plum tomatoes roughly chopped

4-5 tablespoons of tomato paste  (optional)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Cayenne pepper ( to taste)

1 bunch of cilantro washed and chopped

3 tablespoons of cooking oil ( use mustard oil if you have it)

METHOD:

• Heat oil in a wok.
• When oil is hot, add 1 tablespoon of rai.

• Wait for about a minute till the rai seeds have popped.
• Add the curry leaves and mix well.
• Stir for a minute and add in the chopped ginger and garlic.
• Cook for a minute and add the sliced onions and green chilies.
• Cook for about 5 minutes till the onions have softened.

• Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, turmeric and cayenne pepper.
• Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes on medium heat.

• Add the chopped cilantro and salt to taste and cook for another minute or two.
• Remove from heat.
• Serve hot or cold with rice, Indian breads, nachos, crostini etc.

Spinach Raita

Yogurt is largely an everyday part of the Indian diet. It is still mostly homemade and eaten plain or in many forms of “raita” which is a kind of yogurt salad. Raita can be eaten with a variety of Indian foods but goes especially well with flavored rice & roti (bread) dishes such as Biryani, Pulav and stuffed parathas.

Here is a simple spinach raita that I make often. You can use either fresh chopped spinach (slighly blanched) for this or you could use frozen chopped spinach, thawed (I don’t usually blanch the frozen spinach but you can if you would like to). Make sure that the spinach is not too mushy if you are cooking it.

SPINACH RAITA

1 cup chopped spinach, fresh or frozen (all moisture squeezed out)

2-3 plum tomatoes chopped or 10 grape tomatoes chopped

1/2 an onion finely chopped

2 cups yogurt & 1/2 cup milk whisked together

Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon rock salt (optional)

1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin powder (optional)

cayenne pepper (optional)

Method:

• Whisk the yogurt and milk together till smooth.
• Add salt to taste and mix well.
• Add the spinach,onions and tomatoes in and mix it well.
• Garnish with rock salt, roasted cumin and cayenne pepper.

Spinach Raita