Celebrating Chutney Day 2018

Today was a special day.

• First because I was visiting this restaurant #OpenSodaBottleopenerwallah the first time,
• Secondly that I was attending a IndianFoodObservation event at Powai and
• Third that It was also clubbed with a book launch of 'Chutneys Adding Spice to Your Life’ by Aparna Parinam 

Last year, I had done an elaborate research of chutneys my family enjoys around the globe. I had interviewed all my cousins, asking them the details of the culture and the recipes of the city they have adopted as their own. ...hope u read it...have you??? if not…..then you better stop here...go to the link..HERE .... and then come back here to celebrate this Indian food observance day with me this year.

Coming back to my discovery of this restaurant at Powai in Mumbai..#SodaBottleOpenerwalla

This is an interesting place and I loved the Irani chai..malai markey..it brought back my childhood memories of my Pune trip (that I used to make so often) and frequent visits to the Irani restaurants. I really loved it. The decor is also good with big wooden tables and chairs, the walls covered with interesting designs and colorful bottles. There is art everywhere and one can sit there for hours and still be happy eating Mumbai Chaat like Pani puri, bhel and sipping  Chai.

I arrived early at the book launch and got opportunity to converse with the author Aparna Parinam, who is pharmacist by profession while cooking is her passion, so much so, that she has self published her book on chutney, preserving the traditional dishes of her family. The plus point of this book is that all her chutneys are pure vegetarian and they contain neither onions nor garlic. Good news for Brahmakumaris and Jains

I was there on a special invite by gracious Rushina Ghildiyal, who can churn out a new dish at a drop of a hat.

She brought to our notice that foodies are observing an ingredient of the month, where in the chefs around the city are trying and creating recipes on those ingredients during the month. Bananas and sea buckthorn are the chosen ingredients for this month and many chefs are creating dishes and have introduced them on their menu.. Rushina decided to demonstrate a new recipe using sea buckthorn and raspberry. She said that she was trying for the first time (having brought all the ingredients with her)  The result was marvellous....so very delicious that I was able to taste only a half teaspoon (why you may ask??...well because it was so yummy that it was licked off the plate before I could reach the table..i was busy clicking picture, you see)

Aparna Parinam demonstrated a chutney from her book.

you can find the recipe in her book on page no 103.

"Chana dhal chutney can be used as spread for the roti" she said. “This chutney does not need seasoning and all the ingredients need to be roasted. It goes well with idlis and dosas and has a shelf life of 2 to 3 days.” She added while churning the chutney in a thick paste.

 Do buy her book. It can be a good addition to your recipe bookshelf and has great varieties that include all kinds of chutneys such as coconut based, Curd based, vegetable based, fruit based, seed based, nut based and pulses based recipes. There are some food memories too that makes it an interesting read.

However, you must be curious to learn about the recipe that Rushina demonstrated

Sea Buckthorn Raspberry Chutney

This recipe was done in two parts.

In part one

Pour oil in a pan and fry 1 cup chopped onions and 1tsp garlic. Stir fry till light brown. Add 2tbsp of jaggery, 1tsp sugar, 1tsp salt and 1 cup of sea buckthorn puree. Add 1tsp red chili powder. Cook till oil separates. Transfer in a serving dish filling half the dish.

Make part two

Pour oil in the pan and fry 1 cup chopped onions and 1tsp garlic. Fry till light brown. Add 1tsp rock salt, 1tsp sugar, 1tsp jaggery powder and 1 cup raspberry puree. Cook till oil separates and pour it in the bowl containing the first part.

Mix it lightly. Garnish with coriander leaves