PEANUT AND GARLIC CHUTNEY

PEANUT AND GARLIC CHUTNEY

When we lived in Pune in Maharashtra, one of the easy to make chutneys that became a huge hit in my house was "Shengdana Lehsun Chutney." Peanuts, which is the main ingredient in this, are rich in nutrients apart from having a great taste.

The beauty of this chutney powder, as you will find out, is that it is pretty easy to make. It can be made fast. It is extremely versatile in that it could be used with rotis, with rice and so on and to top it all, it is delicious for all that.

Ingredients:

• Peanuts, 1 cup
• Garlic Cloves, 4 
• Red Chilli Powder, 3 tsp
• Cumin Seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Salt, to taste

Method:

Dry roast the peanuts in a kadhai on low flame for 3-4 minutes or till the peanuts change colour
Cool and peel the skin of the peanuts
Dry roast the cumin seeds

Peel and lightly dry roast the garlic cloves 
Place the roasted peanuts, garlic cloves, and cumin seeds in a blender along with chilli powder
Blend them well, using the blender in short bursts (in pulse mode) as running it for long will result in the peanuts giving off oil
Add salt to taste while this is being blended
From time to time, stir the mixture in the blender with a fork to get them evenly blended

Serve this chutney powder as accompaniment to rotis, paranthas etc

Hints:

• Don't blend the mixture to too fine a powder. It should preferably be slightly coarse
• You can vary the extent of red chilli powder depending on how hot or otherwise you like your chutney powder to be
• Dry roasting the garlic cloves before use is optional