I am cooking a big 20-course dinner for 50 people tomorrow. I have uploaded an appetizer that is part of the menu for you to enjoy or make it part of your carte du jour.
- 1 large Yukon gold or russet potato
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Salt to taste
- Plain yogurt, whipped
- ½ cup sweet chutney sauce (see recipe below)
- ½ cup hot chutney sauce (see recipe below)
- Chaat Papdi (Indian crispy fried whole wheat rounds), available at Indian stores or substitute potato chips
- ½ cup or more thin chickpea flour noodles (sev), available at Indian stores
Cook the potato in boiling salted water until tender; drain and let cool. Peel and dice the potato, and place in a large bowl.
Add the onion and cilantro to the bowl; toss gently to mix. Season with salt and mix well.
Drizzle with yogurt, sweet and hot chutney sauces and mix very gently. To serve, spoon about a tablespoon of the mixture onto individual Indian crispy chaat rounds or chips. Sprinkle sev noodles on top. Serve immediately.
Serves 4.
Sweet Chutney Sauce
Use this as a dipping sauce for crudités onion rings or fritters.
- ½ cup raisins
- 2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate dissolved in ½ cup water
- 1 slice of ¼ -inch thick knob fresh ginger
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
Combine the raisins and tamarind liquid in a medium saucepan. Cook over moderate heat until raisins are very soft 6 to 8 minutes. Cool and transfer to a blender or food processor.
Add the ginger, sugar, water, salt and cumin to the blender. Process to a smooth puree; stopping as necessary to scrape down the sides of the container. Transfer to a serving bowl. Let stand a few minutes for the flavors to meld. Cover and refrigerate the chutney sauce if not using. It keeps well for up to 1 week.
Makes about 1 cup.
Hot Green Chutney Sauce
Add more chiles if hotter taste is desired.
- 2 cups packed fresh cilantro with stems
- 1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
- 1 fresh green serrano or jalapeno chiles, stemmed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup water
Combine all the ingredients in a blender. Process until smoothly pureed, stopping from time to time to scrape down the sides of the container.
Transfer to a serving bowl. Let stand a few minutes for the flavors to meld. The chutney can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Makes about 1½ cups.
