Balti Masala

The late 80's or the early 90's popularised Indian food in UK.And thus developed the Indo -Brit cuisine with its curry powders and sweet -spicy chutneys and most prominently the CTM or Chicken Tikka Masala.  I remember even seeing a documentary on Chutney Mary. The balti restaurant or the curry houses became the norm of the day and balti cuisine or the Indo brit cuisine came into existence and several spice mixes called balti masala gained popularty. Normally balti means the bucket in Hindi, but here it can mean the pan in which the curry is cooked.The origins of balti cuisine is not known. There are stories that it originated in the Indian hub of Birmingham while others talk about Baltistan in Kashmir as its origin. The I have seen several recipes for the the particular spice mix and recently I tried out this recipe  from Harini 's blog which she had adapted from Raghavan Iyer's 660Curries.

Ingredients:

Fennel seeds: 2 tsp
Coriander seeds: 2 tsp

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Black Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Cloves: 1/2 tsp
Black Cardamom (moti /kali elaichi): 1/2 tsp
Nigella seeds (kalonji): 1/2 tsp

Dried Bayleaves : 3 whole  or 3/4 tsp
Cinnamon stick: 1 big 6 inch piece or almost 3 tbsp

Red Chilli Powder: 2 tsp
Nutmeg Powder : 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

Dry roast all the ingredients except the chilli and nutmeg powders until they are highly fragrant. Remove from heat,cool and stir in the powders. Grind to a fine powder and store in an airtight container.

You can use this powder as a substitute to garam masala in you favourite curries. You can also use this as a garnish for buttery mashed potatoes and even fruits for a spicy sharp taste.

This is a keeper recipe ,thanks to Harini with whom I am paired with this week in Blog Hop Wednesdays, by Radhika 

Kabuli Channa Chutney /White ChickPea Dip Indian Style

Normally Black chana or Bengal gram or Desi chana is usually seen in Indian especially South Indian recipes. But recently I tried a simple Kabuli Chana chutney from Monisha Bharadhwaj's Indian Kitchen. Kabuli Chana or lighter colour chickpeas is called so as it is a native of Afghan, North Africa and even South Europe and was introduced in India few centuries back.

Ingredients:

White Chickpeas : 1/2 cup +

Oil:1-2 tbsp

Aniseeds: 1/4 tsp+

Onion: 1/2 cup finely chopped

Garlic: 1-2 clove minced

Chili Powder: 1/2 tsp+

Amchoor Powder (Dried Mango Powder) : 1/4 tsp+

Salt: as per taste

Sugar: a pinch

Preparation:

Soak chickpeas in water overnight and cook till soft.Drain and keep aside. Do not throw away the water in which it was cooked.

Heat oil in a deep pan. Add aniseeds and let it splutter. Add finely chopped onion and garlic and saute till transparent. Add in the rest of ingredients and cook for a minute.  Add cooked chickpeas and mix well. Remove from heat and cool.

Blend to a fine puree adding water (the cooked water previously set aside) if needed and serve garnished with toasted aniseeds or chopped caramelized onions.

Enjoy it as a chutney/dip with bhajias or tortilla chips.We usually associate chickpea dip with hummus but this one is Indian style chutney and goes well with chips and fritters and is definitely holds good against hummus.