Friday, December 18, 2009

Bell Pepper & Almond Chutney/Dip/Spread





Know what you Eat - Let us color our life healthy with this brightly colored vegetables which are high in Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Potassium, Manganese, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folate, Pantothenic Acid and Magnesium. The Vitamin A in these peppers are (through its concentration of carotenoids such as beta-carotene), two very powerful antioxidants. These antioxidants work together to effectively neutralize free radicals, which can travel through the body causing huge amounts of damage to cells. Free radicals are major players in the build up of cholesterol in the arteries that leads to atherosclerosis and heart disease, the nerve and blood vessel damage seen in diabetes, the cloudy lenses of cataracts, the joint pain and damage seen in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and the wheezing and airway tightening of asthma. By providing these two potent free radical destroyers, bell peppers may help prevent or reduce some of the symptoms of these conditions by shutting down the source of the problem.







This recipes was passed on to me by my sister. Usually split and roasted chick peas are used for this kind of chutney/dips. But the addition of the Almonds gives a very creamy texture and an awesome taste. Try it to find out.


Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - 10 mins
Serves - 4


Ingredients


Bell Pepper - 1 if big or 2 if small
Toasted Almonds - Handful
Tamarind/Tamari - 1 inch piece if using raw tamarind soaked in little water or half tsp pulp
Green chili - 1 or 2 to taste
Salt - 1 tsp or to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Split Urad dal - 2 tsp
Asafoetida - very small piece or if using powder 1/4 tsp


Method


1) Wash and Chop Bell pepper into 1 inch cubes and set them aside.
2)  Toast the almonds in a toaster for 5-7 minutes till they become slightly brown and are crispy.(Make sure not to burn them).
3) Soak the tamarind in 2 tbsp of warm water and keep it aside, if any impurities are there it will settle down at the bottom. Filter and discard the impurities.
4) Heat oil, once hot add asafoetida piece and mustard seeds.
5) Once the mustard seeds stop spluttering add the urad dal and green chili.
6) Once the urad dal is slightly brown take half of it mustard seeds and urad dal alone and keep it aside and to the rest add the cubed bell pepper pieces and stir fry on high heat for 5-7 minutes till they are slightly tender. Set it aside to cool down.
7) In a blender first powder the toasted almonds and then add the stir fried and cooled veggies, salt and tamarind and blend to a fine paste. Add 2 tbsp of water when blending. If you don't want a thick consistency adjust by adding more water.
8) Use this as spread it in a pita bread and stuff it with veggies and beans.

9) Add the kept aside mustard seeds & urad dal to the chutney. If using as a spread, do not keep the mustard seeds & urad dal but grind everything together.






Event Participation - This goes to Yasmeen's Health Nut Challenge - 3 Healing Foods.

36 comments:

Shri said...

Looks beautiful and delicious!!

notyet100 said...

somethin new,..;-)

Gulmohar said...

another unique recipe from you guys...:-) looks delicious..

lata raja said...

Both of them are colourful. The texture also looks perfect.

Preeti Kashyap said...

Nice! I should try this soon.

Deepa G Joshi said...

a very different chutney than the normal ones which we prepare.. nice clicks..

Angie's Recipes said...

Two great chutney dishes!

SE said...

great for a quick dip/spread with a bread!!

Superchef said...

the colour of the red bellpepper chutney is just mindblowing!

Priya said...

Just love bellpeppers as anything, chutneys looks too good and yumm!

Sailaja Damodaran said...

Looks very tempting.....interesting too

Cham said...

That would be an healthy and tasty dip!

kothiyavunu said...

Wow!! such a lovely colour!! this is really a tasty chutney!!Love anything that contain bell pepper..!I am trying this for sure.

Preety said...

this is a neat idea..

Madhu said...

I am a huge fan of chutneys, like both of them with addition of almonds. Nice pics..

Vrinda said...

thats a lovely chutney and very flavorful...

Sarah Naveen said...

Thats a new chutney combo for me..very creative..Looks simply superb too..

Uma said...

lovley chutney/dip! Yum!!

Dolly said...

Wow. What a brilliant way to make chutneys. I have never tried making red/green bell pepper chutney. Now I will. Also love the color. Thanks for sharing the nutritional benefits of bell peppers.

Malar Gandhi said...

I always make sure that my shopping bag is full of colored vegetables. Good info'. Dip sounds wonderful, quite new to me' never tried adding almonds'...a must try one for sure:)

Pavani said...

Yummy dip.. Nice clicks.

PJ said...

very nice dip.. as usual I love reading your health info section! This one is as healthy as it can get.. nice click too :)

Priya Narasimhan said...

lovely chutney recipe..i have never seen chutney with bell pepper and adding almonds is a very nice idea.

chakhlere said...

OMG!! I am gonna try this out. Such a lovely dip...will go great with crispy bread.

Pari said...

VERY INTERESTING AND HEALTHY DIPS. ADDITION OF ALMONDS IS A VERY GOOD THOUGHT.

sangeeta said...

with almonds it is surely yummy n healthy...my husband is averse to bell peppers n i feel awful seeing these yummy chutnies ..can't make them ...

Tina said...

Wow delicious chutney...

Parita said...

What a delicious combination, i am tempted to try bell papper and cashewnut chutney after seeing success with almomds :-)

Nandini said...

Absolutely and twistingly delicious and such a beautiful click.

Katy ~ said...

Thank you so much for posting a delicious and healthful recipe that is not loaded with dairy and mayonnaise. This one is a keeper!

Spice said...

Healthy spread.....

Pavithra said...

Wow wonderful idea of using almonds will try it out immediately.

munchcrunchandsuch said...

how did i miss this? very very unique.am going to try it

my kitchen said...

Lovely chutney,Looks good

Anupama said...

The addition of almond sure is healthy, innovative and it makes sense when you say it gives a nice texture... your pictures are a witness to that :-)

Simply Life said...

oh you have such a wonderful blog! Just curious, how did you get the categories to be able to go across the webpage under your header?

This dip looks delicious! Thanks! :)

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