Pulao in our house is invariably accompanied by chutney.. Tomato and date chutney/ chaatni as we Bengalis call it or Mango ( called Aam in Bengali ) chaatni or Pineapple chaatni.
Abhit cooked a very delicious Multani biryani. I made an aamer chaatni and warm lemon pudding cake to do justice to the biryani.
To make the mango chutney, cut a raw mango into long slices and boil it with a little turmeric and a little salt. Once cooked and softened, mash it up with a spoon. Take a pan and add a little oil to it. When it heats, temper it with paanch phoron . Paanch phoron is a combination of five spices which Bengalis use for tempering. Add the mashed mango mixture . Add water more or less depending on the sonsistency you want. Once it comes to boil, add sugar to taste. It should be khatta meetha .. ie sweet and sour.. the sugar should not drown completely the sourness of the mango. In the mean time, heat another pan. Dry poast a teasoon of paanch phoron and half a dry red chilli. When it starts emitting an aroma, shut the gas. Let the spice cool and then grind it to a powder. When the sugar has dissolved in the chutney and the chutney is ready, put off the gas/ fire and sprinkle the powdered spice. It is the aroma of this ground spice which gives a totally different flavour to the chutney. Bon Appetit!
Abhit cooked a very delicious Multani biryani. I made an aamer chaatni and warm lemon pudding cake to do justice to the biryani.
To make the mango chutney, cut a raw mango into long slices and boil it with a little turmeric and a little salt. Once cooked and softened, mash it up with a spoon. Take a pan and add a little oil to it. When it heats, temper it with paanch phoron . Paanch phoron is a combination of five spices which Bengalis use for tempering. Add the mashed mango mixture . Add water more or less depending on the sonsistency you want. Once it comes to boil, add sugar to taste. It should be khatta meetha .. ie sweet and sour.. the sugar should not drown completely the sourness of the mango. In the mean time, heat another pan. Dry poast a teasoon of paanch phoron and half a dry red chilli. When it starts emitting an aroma, shut the gas. Let the spice cool and then grind it to a powder. When the sugar has dissolved in the chutney and the chutney is ready, put off the gas/ fire and sprinkle the powdered spice. It is the aroma of this ground spice which gives a totally different flavour to the chutney. Bon Appetit!
