Chutneys My Family Enjoy Around The Globe

When I go to my home in Tenerife to spend some time with my family, my brother always makes a big bottle of chutney for me before my arrival. One thing good about chutney is that it tastes better when it matures. It can be kept for days and can even be enjoyed with just a slice of bread.

In Spain, food is bland (according to our Indian standard). My family also eat bland food (they feel that we spoil the original taste of food by adding chilies in the food) But I can never enjoy Indian food without chilies. Not that Spain don’t have interesting chutneys (Mojos- as they are called in Spanish) they have great variety of Mojos.

Chutney (as it is called in India) have different names in different countries like Sambal, Salsa, atchara, Mojo or Sauces.

My cousin, Paddhu Lalwani, who lives in Barcelona sent me the recipes of some famous mojos.. There is Romesco, Ali-oil and tomato mojo that you eat with bread.

To make Romesco,

·       Roast in the oven 1/2cup almonds, 5-6 cloves of garlic, one inch bread slice and one tomato.

·       After roasting, we must de-skin the tomatoes and crush the garlic.

·       Meanwhile we have to roast 2 medium sized red capsicum on an open flame till they are charred.

·       Peel off the charred skin and put in the mixer with roasted ingredients.

·       Add vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper (according to your taste).

·       Mix it to a smooth paste.

·       Can keep upto 5days.

 All my cousins around the Globe (specially in Asia) enjoy the spicy food and a chutney is the must-have accompaniment. For this #ChutneyDay celebration, I got in touch with my family members around the world and spoke to them about chutneys and sauces that they enjoy on the other side of the globe. It was interesting to learn about the different types of chutneys that is enjoyed all over the world.

For some years I have lived in Surinam, and really relished the local cuisine but that was long time ago. I still remember the mango chutney that they would serve at the parties. It had the pungent flavor. I asked my cousin Rakhee Khiani, from Surinam,(who still lives there) to share the recipe of local Bilimbi chutney that I used to enjoy. (This chutney is served at every wedding lunch) Birambi are like amla (goose berries) but this chutney is made from long green ones.

Bilimbi is cooked in a pan with little raw mangoes, garlic and masalas like turmeric, cumin seed powder, coriander powder, fenugreek powder and mustard powder. (Nowadays the masalas are sold in packets), the mixture is cooked till the water dries up. Then they are mashed and stored in bottles.

I asked my niece, Gina Balani, from Curacao, about the favorite chutney that the local enjoy in her city. She spoke about Salsa Rosada that she enjoys the most which is simply a mixture of mayonaise and ketchup. Lime juice, salt, ground pepper and tobasco are added.

This tastes good with fries, chicken, and specially sea food. It is extremely popular in Columbia and South America. It is also available in bottles and she said that it tastes delicious. I have asked her to get me that salsa when she next visits me.

Talking of sea food. I was zapped when my niece, Rinku Chugani, from Phillipines sent me this pictures of fish called Bangus or milkfish with Calamansi flavored soya sauce  (Calamansi are very small green, round limes, like lemon but sweeter than lime.

In her city of Manila, people enjoy eating Atchara with grilled or barbacued chicken/pork/fish. Atchara is a vinegered unripe papaya, served similarly to Indian achaar. It is sweet and sour (not spicy). Also filipinos like ‘Bagoong’ a shrimp paste eaten with sour mango that tops the greens in the picture.

When my sista, Gitoo Shafizada, send me the picture of this Peppe chutney from Lagos, I was drooling. It looks so tempting. 

This African Peppe Chutney has a peculiar taste of scotch bullet,  which is one of the strongest chilies. Grind scotch bonnet chillies, garlic and fry in palm oil. Add little salt. Some put tomatoes to reduce the heat of the chillies. This is a versatile chutney that can be used as a condiment, dip or appetiser component.

I spoke to my Sister-in-law, Preeti Mirpuri, from Bangkok and she immediately went to her kitchen to make her favorite sauce and sent me the picture

She took a small bowl of soya sauce, added chopped garlic, green chilies, red chili powder, lime juice and sugar. (for non-veg version, she adds fish-sauce) This sauce tastes very good with stir fries. She simply pours this sauce on hot rice and enjoy just that. “It gives good flavour” she said.

Flavour is what one likes and chutney normally enhance their taste with garlic and chilies. I asked my niece, Kanchan Shadadpuri, from Dubai, if she knew of any emirati chutney. In restaurants in Dubai, they normally serve cheese rolls with sweet and tart mango chutney. But she didn’t get time to click a picture for me. She was holidaying in Singapore and send me the picture of Sambal ranggup that she bought for herself.

This sambal contains soy oil, chili, shrimp, garlic, anchovy, sugar and salt. Its ready to serve. You can just add to rice or noodles and serve with egg, cucumber, tomato, etc. It is product of malaysia,

There is a food stall just opposite my aunt’s house in Loas. They sell Klao niaw (sticky rice), Loas’ most famous dish. Loa consumes more Klao niaw than any other country and it is eaten with practically all Laotian dishes. My cousin, Pooja Mohinani, sent me this picture(clicked by her sis-in-law) of the street food sold  there.

picture courtesy: Sonam Wadhwani

I was most interested in the Garlic Chutney they sell. I had loved it when I had visited her. It is simple - made from roasted garlic, red chilies,  and tomatoes. No salt is added to it, they use soya sauce and ajinomoto. Typical accompaniment to foods in Laos is fresh mint, spring onions, lime, garlic and chilis.

Rushina asked me if I could share any traditional chutney recipe. I love making chutneys and most of the time, the recipe is hardly repeated. I have shared my recipes on my blog several times. 

You may check my post on ‘Red Chutney On my Plate 

and ‘Food Accesory – The Chutney.’

In my book ‘Sindhi Cuisine’ I have recipe of Mint Chutney that is normally found in every Sindhi homes. We have it with deep fried snacks like patties and samosas, or simply have it as Chutney sandwich.

here is the recipe..

·       The recipe is on page 105 of my book on Sindhi Cuisine. 

·       Mix together 1cup chopped fresh mint. 1 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves, 8 cloves garlic cloves, 8 green chilies, 1tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt.

·       Grind them to a smooth paste.

·       Transfer it into the bowl and add 2 tbsps of tamarind pulp.

·       Store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

·       The taste improves with age.

It has been raining heavily since last two days and I am like stuck at home. My neighbors were bored too and waited for my invitation to come to my house. One friend fried potatoes and brinjal bhajiya.

“Come over” I said, “bring your bhajjiya, I have mint chutney at home”

So while we watched the rain from my long french windows, we munched on bhajiyas and chai…rains and bhayiya always go together and with my spicy chutney, my evening was wonderful.

This post was written to celebrate #ChutneyDay. I am with Sheila Raheja Institute of Hotel management – SRIHM and I #PledgeA Recipe for #ChutneyDay with RushinaMG on 24^th Sept.

Food Trail: Part 3 - Voyagers Of The Seas

The six-days-cruise was from Hong kong to Okinawa and back. We had our family reunion at ‘Voyagers of the Seas’. The day we reached Okinawa, it was on Tuesday, I am strictly vegetarian on Tuesdays. There was no veg-food of my liking for me in the city of Okinawa. I did not eat anything on that day, except bread and butter and some fresh fruits. But on the other days, while on the ship, I had excellent food.

We were sailing on a beautiful ‘Royal Carribean Voyagers Of the Sea’ 

There are many restaurants on the ship like Portifino (Italian), Johnny Rockets (burgers and fries), Giovanni’s Table (traditionally Tuscany flavors), Chop’s grille (American steak house) Izumi (freshly rolled Sushis). My family members moved in smaller groups (everybody had their own company as per interests) and visited these restaurants at their own pace to enjoy their favorite meals for a fee. But there were three main restaurants that are complimentary on the ship.

Café Promenade on deck 5 used to be our main meeting point whenever we emerged from our own private cabins.

This is a sidewalk café where we could munch on sandwiches, pastries, and pizza while watching people walk by. There used to be live shows and big giant Shrek walking and entertaining kids on the promenade.

Everybody ate at their own timings whenever they felt hungry or whenever they were free from other activities. 

At The Windjammer Café on deck 11, we could have meals at all hours of the day from their buffet eatery.

The Windjammer Café  offers a great panaromic view of the sea through its large glass windows. There is great variety of food available at different food stations. With the exception of certain made-to-order stations for omelets and stir fries, the buffet is self service.

Since we were the big family of forty-two members, it was difficult to rope in all the members during the day (most of them were involved in different leisure activities that cruise offered at their indoor and outdoor decks) but it was mandatory that we have dinner together. 

Every day at 8pm, we dressed up for the evening and met for formal dinner at Sapphire.

Sapphire is the elegant three deck restaurant named for famous operas – Carmen, La Boheme and Magic flute and features lavish opera costumes, a crystal chandeliers and a grand staircase. The staff of the restaurants come down the staircase during the meals and perform live music and dance creating a vibrant ambience.

We had to choose from their menu of selected cuisine cooked at that hour. Food styling and taste was the high point of this restaurant. Few dishes are complimentary. whereas exotic dishes come with a price.  Some of the dishes that I really enjoyed were

The Salmon Salad

Ricotta and Spinach Quiche

 Garlic Tiger Shrimps

Mango Pudding

I am still drooling while I write this.

There is room service available too around the clock that offers a range of snacks and sandwiches. Many of my family members would order breakfast in their room. I skipped breakfast everyday, I preferred to sit in the balcony with just sky, sea and me and to munch on dry fruits. But those who ordered, said that they ordered Continental Breakfast that was complimentary.

Also Read

Food Trail: Part 1 - HongKong

Food Trail: Part 2 - Jakarta

Food Trail: Part Two – Jakarta

My trip to Jakarta was a spontaneous decision. One moment I was lying on bed, lazing around and next moment my tickets to Mumbai was posponed to another date and my tickets to Jakarta were booked instantly. Never made any such hasty decision in my life. Well there is always first time and I am glad that I went because I had a very good time.

My food trail started the minute I landed in Jakarta. My family who came to fetch me from the airport drove me directly to an Indian Restaurant called ‘Queen’s Tandoor’ that serves fusion Indian food. There were street food like Pani puri, sev puri and then their were those indian desserts like falooda and kulfi. But the most interesting was this Rumali Roti roll that tasted like a frankie. Rumali roti was stuffed with egg omelet and chicken and was tightly rolled. When cut into slices , each slice seemed liked a Swiss roll.

The best thing about visiting a new place is to try the local food and know their culture. We went to a huge mall called ITC Mangga Dua that had rows and rows of shops selling almost everything. It looked like a street market and is the biggest wholesale market in Jakarta. On one of the floors, there were only street food stalls. 

"Look at her grinding stone" said my cousin " See its so large and look at its shape, lets watch them work."

We stopped at  Soto Betawi Pinangsia, there were four women churning out delicious dishes. They had a huge concave stone in which they made peanut chutney. It was interesting to watch them work.

When in Jakarta, eating Satay in Kecap Manis sauce is a must.

Eating sea food at 212 Wiro Sableng was quite an experience. The strong fragrance of the grilled fish instantly tickled my taste buds and I couldn’t wait to get inside. I watched the man grill the fish on an open fire outside the restaurant, each time he brushed the fish with copious amount of sauces,  the dark orange flames came alive again. Thick smoke floated in the air almost blinding me.

The interior had just wooden tables and plastic chairs, a very humble restaurant, but when the food arrived, nothing mattered, just seafood…..crabs, shells, fish, jumbo prawns, and those spicy sauces. While I write this..I am drooling all over again…..

Imperial Shanghai Lamian Xiao long Boa is a popular Chinese restaurant known for its fresh noodles made instantly in the open kitchen behind the serving console. It was interesting to watch the chef roll out the dough, stretching it with his fingers to make into long noodles in minutes.

For every order, the noodles were made instantly and served. They tasted good in a soups and stir fries. Loved all the dishes that we ordered, they were authentic Chinese dishes. Its no wonder then that there was a serpentine queue outside this restaurant, all waiting for their turn to get in.

The singing artist crooned an Indian Bollywood number 

‘Kyu ki tum hi ho, tum hi ho, zindagi meri’ 

and many people at their tables swung to the melodious music. Hearing Indian music in Jakarta has different kind of pleasure. The place was packed with people scattered everywhere in a food hub called Sableng Kelapa Gading

There was street seafood again at Sari21 most delicious sea food, similar to the one I had at Wiro Sableng. Enjoyed the crabs though.

Padang cuisine is one of the most popular cuisine in Indonesia. The most interesting fact about this restaurant called Medang Baru was that there was no menu card to choose the dishes. Whatever was cooked in their kitchen was brought to our tables.

 "We cannot eat so much food" I protested. 

 "Eat what you can." informed my cousins.  

The dishes that lay untouched on the tables were taken back and we were charged only for what we ate. The food was excellent with bold flavors and their rich use of spices. Every dish tasted differently and we hogged like there was no another day.

Our last evening was spent at Fountain Lounge of Grand Hyatt, closer to large glass windows that offered great view of the Plaza Indonesia and the live music played inside. We came to spend an relaxing evening with continental food like sandwiches, cheese rolls, fish cutlets and drinks.

Jakarta is truly a great place to enjoy street food with its’ fragrance of spices always hung in the air.

Also Read
Food trail Part one - Hong Kong
Food trail part three. Voyagers of the seas