Chunda

It’s a popular Gujarati spicy sour and sweet pickle. It doesn’t require any cooking. It’s a very easy delicious pickle that goes will with Paratha and thepla. 

Spice Powder 

Ingredients 

1 tsp Cumin seeds 

4 Red Dry Chillies

2 Cardamom pods

Method 

Take a pan and roast the cumin seeds, let it cool down, coarsely grind the cumin seeds with red chilli and cardamom. 

Chunda 

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cup Mango washed, peel and grated 

1 1/2 cup Sugar

Spice powder

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

Few strands of Saffron (Optional)

Method 

Take the grated mango and add salt and turmeric powder. Keep it aside for 30 minutes. Squeeze the excess water out. Take a clean glass bottle, add the mango, sugar and spice powder and saffron (optional). Mix it. Leave it in the sun for few days. Keep a check. The sugar will dissolve and will cook up with the mango to a one string consistency. Enjoy the chunda with the paratha and thepla . 

Aam Ka Kucha

This is a Raw Mango pickle recipe from Bihar. As the mangoes are grated it’s called kucha. The spices and oil are added to the grated mango and  it’s kept in the sun to mature. 

For the Dry Spice Powder 

Ingredients 

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp Coriander seed

1/2 tsp Carom seeds

1/2 tsp Fennel seeds

1 tbsp Yellow Mustard seeds

1/4 tsp Nigella seeds

Few Fenugreek seeds

6 Red Dried Chilli 

Method 

Roast all the above ingredients, cool it and dry grind it. 

For the Aam Ka Kucha 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup Grated Mango 

 Salt to taste

1 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Chilli powder 

Dried spice powder 

1/2 tsp Nigella seeds

1 cup Mustard Oil

Method 

Take the grated mango, apply salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder. Keep the mango on a strainer for 15 to 30 minutes. Squeeze the water out from the mango. Take a bowl, add salt, turmeric, chilli, spice powder and  nigella seeds in the bowl. Mix all the ingredients together. Add the oil and mix it. Take a dry clean glass bottle. Pour the pickle in the bottle. Keep it in the sun for few days. Keep a check. Once the mangoes becomes soft and matured the pickle is ready to be eaten. 

Aam Tel

This is a mango and spiced flavoured oil, that is used in Bengali Cuisine. This oil is used for mashes vegetables that we call bhate or used to flavour puffed rice that is eaten for snack.

Spice Powder

Ingredients 
1 tsp Panch Phoran
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Coriander seeds
2 Red Dry Chillies 

Method
Roast all the ingredients together and let it cool, dry grind the ingredients into powder.

 Aam Tel

Ingredients 
1 medium size Raw Mango washed, dried and cut into medium size cubes.
1/2 tsp Panch Phoran Roasted
4 Whole Red Dry Chillies Roasted
Dry spice powder
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 cup Mustard oil, heated and cooled down

Method
Take the mango pieces, add turmeric and 1 tsp salt, rub the mangoes well, spread the mango pieces on a clean cloth and dry it for 2 to 4 hours under the sun. Take all the ingredients and the mango pieces in a bottle. Keep it in the sun for few day. It’s ready to be used.

Aam Kasundi

Kasundi is a very popular mustard pickle used in Bengal and it is made by fermenting mustard seeds and spices in a mud pot. In modern times it’s highly used as an accompaniment with the chops, cutlets and various fried snacks. It’s also used in cooking. Traditionally it’s was made with lots of rituals and many restrictions were followed while making the Kasundi. Now it is made at home with ease. There are many spices added to the Kasundi. Apart from traditional Kasundi there are now many ways and ingredients used in making the Kasundi. 

Here I have made Aam Kasundi. 

Ingredients 

1 big size Raw Mango washed, peeled and cut into small pieces 

4 Green Chillies 

2 small pieces of Ginger

1/4 cup Yellow Mustard seeds 

1/4 cup Black Mustard seeds

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1 tsp Sugar 

1/4 cup Vinegar 

Normal temperature boiled water depending on the requirement

Method 

Take a grinder jar, add yellow mustard seeds, black mustard seeds, green chillies, raw mango pieces, ginger, salt, turmeric powder and sugar. Add vinegar and water little at a time blend it into a fine paste. The paste has to be of dropping consistency. Take a glass jar, pour the Kasundi paste. Close the lid and keep it in the sun for few days. Check the Kasundi every day, incase if you find the salt is less than you can add salt. Stir it with a clean dry spoon. 

Malai Tangdi Kabab

Now the best way to enjoy restaurant food is to make it at home, one of my favourite restaurant dish is Malai kabab... I had 6 pieces of chicken tangdi at home. So marinated the chicken tangdi. Since the kababs are made in tandoor and we don’t have at home, we can give a smokey flavour by burning a charcoal piece and placing it on a small plate and placing the plate on the chicken pieces and pouring little oil over the charcoal and closing the bowl with a lid, before grilling the chicken pieces. 

This dish can be had as a starter. Garnish the Kabab with onion, mint, tomato and green chutney. 

Ingredients 

6 Chicken drumsticks 

1 tsp Garlic paste

1/2 tsp Ginger paste

Juice of 1/2 Lime 

1/4 tsp Fresh Green Chilli paste 

1/4 tsp White Pepper Powder 

3 tbsp Fresh Cream 

4 tbsp Hung Curd 

1/2 tsp Shahi Garam Masala powder 

Salt to taste

1 tbsp Mustard Oil 

1 tsp Butter 

Onion rings, Mint leaves and tomato for garnishing 

Method

Take a bowl, add the curd, ginger, garlic, green chilli, lime juice, salt,  pepper and garam masala and mix well, add the chicken tangdi. Rub all the ingredients well. Marinate it for minimum 2 hours. The longer it’s kept it’s better. I had kept it for 8 hours. Now add the cream and the mustard oil and keep it for another 2 hours. 

Preheat oven at 200 degrees celsius. Place a aluminium foil on the baking tray. Place the marinated chicken drumsticks on the foil. Add some marinated juices, put the tray in the preheated oven and grill it for 15 minutes, remove the tray and turn the chicken pieces, add the remaining marination and grill for another 15 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, apply butter on the chicken tangdi. 

Serve hot garnished with onion rings, mint, tomato and green chutney.