Dear All,
Yes, my sincere apologies for being MIA for over a week. Holiday travel and an intense four day long course on infectious disease modeling kept me away. I actually started writing a post on 12/30/11 in the Houston airport en route to northern Virginia to visit Joe's family and just never finished. See post below --
...
The last few days have brought on a whirlwind of emotions for my taste buds. Four out of five of my taste buds -- salty, sweet, bitter, sour -- have been dancing with joy and singing the praises of my mother's talents as a cook! She's really fantastic, you guys. I've been relishing in traditional Bengali dishes and delicacies for the last two and a half weeks, and unfortunately, that came to an end today. Fortunately for me, my mom packed probably 25 pounds of food in my suitcase for me to take back to Atlanta (I'm not kidding...I had to swap out a suitcase for this amazing feat to occur!).
Today's post is about mint chutney. Most Bengali mothers make chutneys served after large, decadent meals from leftover fruit laying around, or more specifically, fruit that is so sour that it has been deemed inedible in all forms except in a chutney. For some reason, I've never acquired the taste for Bengali chutneys. Unlike most other Bengalis, who relish those sweet and tangy post-meal chutneys, I crave a salty, tart, aromatic mint variety. I always have. And the best part -- it's so easy to make!
My parents had some very dear, very old friends of ours over for Christmas Eve, and of course, a feast was in order. My mother prepared numerous traditional Bengali dishes; I helped out only marginally. Instead of making any major courses, I decided to make a simple mint chutney from a few bunches we bought at the local Asian grocery store. It ended up being a big hit! Of course, I forgot to take pictures of the chutney I actually did make, but hopefully the Google image below will suffice. :)
The recipe is very simple...
Ingredients:
1 very large bunch of mint, washed thoroughly
1/2 bunch of cilantro, washed thoroughly
Salt and pepper to taste
Squeeze of 1-2 limes (yes, they must be fresh)
1/2 large onion
1-2 jalapenos (depending on how spicy you want your chutney)
Splash of water (for texture purposes)
Preparation:
-Combine mint and cilantro (stems and all! don't be shy!), onion (roughly chopped, don't waste your time carefully slicing it), jalapenos (stemmed removed), the squeeze of one lime, and salt and pepper to taste in a large food processor. If you have a smaller food processor, divide the load into two and combine into a single bowl later.
-Add a splash of water; I'd say I added the equivalent to 2 tablespoons, maybe? It might be better to start with one tablespoon; you can always add more later if the texture is not quite the way you want it.
-Pulse puree the mixture for a while; I'd say for about a minute. Stir the mixture every few pulses so everything is well-mixed.
-Once you see that the mint and cilantro have been fully pureed and the flavors of the herbs and spices have been released, give it a taste. Add more lime, salt, pepper, and/or water if you need to. Continue to puree as you add ingredients to taste.
-ENJOY (with eyes closed during consumption...it's the only way to eat it)!
Off to catch a flight to Dulles! Hope you all enjoy.
Yes, my sincere apologies for being MIA for over a week. Holiday travel and an intense four day long course on infectious disease modeling kept me away. I actually started writing a post on 12/30/11 in the Houston airport en route to northern Virginia to visit Joe's family and just never finished. See post below --
...
The last few days have brought on a whirlwind of emotions for my taste buds. Four out of five of my taste buds -- salty, sweet, bitter, sour -- have been dancing with joy and singing the praises of my mother's talents as a cook! She's really fantastic, you guys. I've been relishing in traditional Bengali dishes and delicacies for the last two and a half weeks, and unfortunately, that came to an end today. Fortunately for me, my mom packed probably 25 pounds of food in my suitcase for me to take back to Atlanta (I'm not kidding...I had to swap out a suitcase for this amazing feat to occur!).
Today's post is about mint chutney. Most Bengali mothers make chutneys served after large, decadent meals from leftover fruit laying around, or more specifically, fruit that is so sour that it has been deemed inedible in all forms except in a chutney. For some reason, I've never acquired the taste for Bengali chutneys. Unlike most other Bengalis, who relish those sweet and tangy post-meal chutneys, I crave a salty, tart, aromatic mint variety. I always have. And the best part -- it's so easy to make!
My parents had some very dear, very old friends of ours over for Christmas Eve, and of course, a feast was in order. My mother prepared numerous traditional Bengali dishes; I helped out only marginally. Instead of making any major courses, I decided to make a simple mint chutney from a few bunches we bought at the local Asian grocery store. It ended up being a big hit! Of course, I forgot to take pictures of the chutney I actually did make, but hopefully the Google image below will suffice. :)
 |
| Image of a delicious-looking mint chutney, which I have stolen from something I found on Google images. Praise Google! |
The recipe is very simple...
Ingredients:
1 very large bunch of mint, washed thoroughly
1/2 bunch of cilantro, washed thoroughly
Salt and pepper to taste
Squeeze of 1-2 limes (yes, they must be fresh)
1/2 large onion
1-2 jalapenos (depending on how spicy you want your chutney)
Splash of water (for texture purposes)
Preparation:
-Combine mint and cilantro (stems and all! don't be shy!), onion (roughly chopped, don't waste your time carefully slicing it), jalapenos (stemmed removed), the squeeze of one lime, and salt and pepper to taste in a large food processor. If you have a smaller food processor, divide the load into two and combine into a single bowl later.
-Add a splash of water; I'd say I added the equivalent to 2 tablespoons, maybe? It might be better to start with one tablespoon; you can always add more later if the texture is not quite the way you want it.
-Pulse puree the mixture for a while; I'd say for about a minute. Stir the mixture every few pulses so everything is well-mixed.
-Once you see that the mint and cilantro have been fully pureed and the flavors of the herbs and spices have been released, give it a taste. Add more lime, salt, pepper, and/or water if you need to. Continue to puree as you add ingredients to taste.
-ENJOY (with eyes closed during consumption...it's the only way to eat it)!
Off to catch a flight to Dulles! Hope you all enjoy.
Dear Roda, do yourself a favor and visit homesicktexan.blogspot.com and/or become a fan. GREAT TEX-MEX RECIPES!
ReplyDelete