Sesame Cucumber and Tomato Chutney

 Children do need to have at least 2 bowls of vegetables per day and depending on their age the servings(daily intake) of fruits and vegetables can be calculated. For example, an adult needs at least 5 servings/ 5 cups of fruits and vegetables per day. Vegetables contains adequate amount of dietary fiber and vitamins that are necessary to build strong immunity levels. Many of our little munchkins does not like to eat some kind of vegetables because they might not like the taste and flavor. But introducing all kinds of vegetables at an young age could be a better option because they will develop the sense of taste and this help to maintain a good foundation to your kids.

In this recipe, I have included sesame seeds to make this chutney which is a good source of calcium. I have used yellow cucumber and Tomatoes. This recipe is typically a South Indian dish, in Telugu we call vegetable chutneys  as "roti pachadi" (meaning that it can be made using a mortar and pestle). We can make different varieties of chutneys using many of vegetables by mixing with different seeds like Groundnuts, Sesame seeds, etc., These vegetables chutneys can be served with plain rice or in Breakfast recipes like Idli or Dosa. Even it goes good along with Chapati or a Sandwich. It can be used as a dip alternative(for unhealthy sauces loaded with sugar and preservatives).

Now let us go through the recipe details.

INGREDIENTS:

Yellow cucumber : 1 medium size (approx 500 gm)

Tomatoes : 3 medium size (approx 200 gm)

Green Chilies : 6 to 8 (depending on your taste or the level of spiciness in chilies)

Sesame Seeds : half cup (2 tablespoons)

Coriander leaves(with stems): few [optional]

Tamarind: 1 small Lemon size

Garlic: 7 or 8 cloves

Coriander seeds: 1 teaspoon

Cumin seeds: 1 teaspoon

Oil : 1 teaspoon (I used cold-pressed sesame oil)

Salt : 1 teaspoon (or as per our taste)

 For Tadka:

Oil : 2 teaspoons

Mustard seeds: 1 teaspoon

Hing(asafoetida) :  a fat pinch[optional]

Urad dal: 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder: a pinch

Curry leaves: 1 sprig

Dry red chilies: 1 or 2

PROCESS:

Before starting the process wash and clean all the vegetables(cucumber, tomatoes, green chilies, curry leaves, Coriander leaves) and keep them aside.

1. Take a pan and dry roast the sesame seeds until they reach to light brown color and keep it aside. Do this step in a very low flame and constantly mix so that sesame seeds do not burn.

2. In the same pan, add 1 teaspoon of oil and fry the green chilies. After cooking for a minute, add daniya(coriander) seeds and cumin seeds and fry them until they reach nice golden brown color. Next add the garlic and stir them for a minute and keep all these ingredients aside.

3. Peel and cut cucumber and tomatoes into small pieces as shown below. Now you can add cucumber and tomatoes and fry them in the same pan for a minute in a low flame and then keep the lid on. Cook them for a while by constantly mixing them in between. Within 10 minutes, in low flame they will get soft.

4. After the veggies have been cooked for about 10 minutes, add tamarind and close the lid again. Cook again for 2 minutes and make sure to check in between so that the vegetables do not stick to the bottom of the pan.

5. After the veggies have perfectly cooked, add coriander leaves and keep the lid on and immediately switch off the flame. With the heat present in the pan, the water on the leaves will gets evaporated. Do this step can make the chutney for preserving for at least 3 days in refrigerator. If you wish to add raw coriander leaves, you can also add them but we cannot store for a long time, may be one day it would stay good.

6. Allow to cool the cooked veggies for a while. Take a chutney jar and add roasted sesame seeds first and make into a fine powder.

7. Next add the green chilies mixture (shown in step 2) and make into a paste and then add the veggies mixture along with tamarind. Add enough salt as per your taste and grind the chutney into a pulse mode. Blend them with little bit corase texture.  Take out the chutney from the grinder into the storage bowl.

8. To prepare tadka for chutney, heat oil in the pan and add mustard seeds. After they splutter, add in urad dal, dry red chilies, curry leaves, hing, turmeric powder and then switch off the flame.

9. Pour the prepared tadka(talimpu in Telugu) on the top of the chutney and mix it using a spoon. Now our tasty and healthy Sesame Cucumber and Tomato chutney is ready to be served. You can serve this with semi brown or any breakfast of your choice

Notes:

• It is better to use a stainless steel pan or clay pot to prepare this recipe. Do not use aluminium cookware as we are using tomatoes, the acid may react to the pot which is not good for your health. Any acidic kind of foods will react to aluminium cookware and dish may get a different taste. So try to switch for better alternatives.
• You either skip adding tamarind if your tomatoes are sour or you even use half a lemon instead of adding tamarind.
• Try to keep low flame as slow cooking will make the dish more tastier and also while grinding making a coarse paste (in pulse mode) tastes good which would be similar to the one made in mortar and pestle (a traditional way).
• Adding tadka to the chutney is completely optional. But adding tadka enhances the taste of the dish.
• You can store this chutney in air tight container for 3 to 4 days in refrigerator if no water is added. If you add raw coriander at step 5 it will stay for up-to 1 to 2 days.

Thanks for reading. Give your suggestions and feedback in the comment section below. Have a nice day.