Red Bell Pepper Tomato Chutney

Red Bell Peppers/Capsicum is one vegetable which is rich in vitamins and nutrients.  Red bell peppers are the ripe version of green bell peppers and hence they have a sweet taste. They have double the amount of vitamin C and are 10 times rich in Vitamin A. They are rich source of anti-oxidants. They are a great source of Vitamin B6 and minerals. They grow in different colors varying from green, red, yellow, orange etc. Making a chutney out of this versatile veggie is a good way to start a day with. This  chutney is a nice accompaniment for idly, dosa, adai or pongal. Now to the recipe!!

Ingredients

Red Bell Pepper - 1, chopped into 1" pieces
Tomatoes - 2, chopped
Onion - 1, chopped
Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp

Salt and Oil as required

Dry roast

Channa dal - 1 tbsp
Urad dal - 1 tbsp
Dry red chillies - 2 (adjust as per taste)
Cumin - 1 tsp

For Tempering

Oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry red chillies and hing

Method

1. Heat a pan, dry roast the ingredients mentioned under "Dry roast" and set aside.
2. Add oil in the heated pan, add garlic and saute for a minute. Then add the onions and saute until they turn transparent. Now add the tomatoes and fry until they turn mushy. After that add the red bell pepper and coriander leaves. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the red bell pepper is half cooked. Allow to cool down.
3. Blend the dry fried ingredients to a coarse powder and then add the bell pepper, tomatoes mixture along with salt and grind to a fine paste
4. Do the tempering and add to the chutney. Serve with any kind of idly or dosa.

Ridge Gourd Chutney/Peerkangai Thuvayal

Ridge gourd poriyal is one of my favorites that my mom used to cook. But VJ was not very much interested in that. And so it has become a rarest make in my kitchen. When I came to know that we can make chutney with this nutritious vegetable, I wanted to give it a shot. Luckily this suited the taste buds of all the members in my family and now it has become a frequent visitor :) Prajju loves this a lot!! Check the "Nutritional Information" section for more info and now to the recipe.

Ingredients

Ridge gourd - 2
Onion - 1, chopped finely
Tomato - 1, chopped
Garlic - 2, chopped
Salt, hing and turmeric powder as per taste

Ingredients

Oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves

Method

1. Wash and scrap the skin of the ridge gourd (you do not have to peel off the skin completely). Chop it into medium sized pieces
2. Heat a tsp of oil in a pan. Add the chopped garlic and onions and saute until the onion turns translucent. Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes turn mushy.
3. Then add the chopped ridge gourd, salt, hing and turmeric powder. Keep covered and cook until the ridge gourd is fully cooked. This will not take much time as the vegetable gets cooked quickly. Also you may not have to add water as the vegetable itself will ooze out some water. Switch off the flame and set aside to cool down.
4. Grind in a mixer to a smooth paste. Do the tempering and pour it in the ridge gourd chutney. Enjoy with Idly/dosa.

** You can also make it as a thuvayal, by altering the ingredients. Skip onion, tomatoes and garlic. Just cook the vegetable and grind it along with a small piece of tamarind and 2 tbsp of coconut. Then do the tempering. Ridge gourd thuvayal is ready to be enjoyed with hot rice!!

Nutritional Information

Vegetables of the "gourd" family are extremely advantageous through the health perspective. Of these the Ridge gourd is said to be extremely rich in fibre, quite lower in saturated fats and calories. It is abundant in Vitamin C, zinc, thiamin, iron, magnesium etc and boosts up your immune system. When included in your regular diet this vegetable acts as an excellent blood purifier. Also as this is a watery vegetable this helps in reducing your body weight. The best part is this veggie has a nice sweet taste that everyone will like. So include this in your regular diet as a stir fry or poriyal or chutney and enjoy its benefits.