Reading my recap on Indian style pesto, some of my regular readers of my Weekly Recaps wanted to know how it is made. What can give an amateur chef greater pleasure than sharing his recipe with others? So, here it is.
Ingredients.
Peanuts
Sesame seeds
Coriander seed powder
Cumin seed powder
Turmeric powder
Red chilli powder
Chopped onions,
Chopped garlic pods
Chopped green chilli
Chopped tomatoes.
Salt to taste
Refined sunflower seed oil
Grated cheese of your choice.
Method.
Roast the peanuts and sesame seeds to just when they start to brown. Keep aside and cool in an open dish.
Take a generous quantity of oil. I use refined sun flower seed oil, but have used olive oil too, but somehow for the Indian flavours to come through, I prefer the former.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the chopped onions and garlic and saute till the onions become translucent, add the coriander, cumin, turmeric and red chilli poweders and stir well till they start sticking. Add a bit of water to unstick. Add the chopped tomatoes and green chillies and keep stirring till the whole mixture becomes thick. Add salt. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool.
Run a blender on pulse and coarse grind the roasted peanuts and sesame seeds. Remember, they have to be ground to be very coarse.
Add the ground peanuts and sesame seeds to the mixture and mix well.
I call the dish Indian Pesto! Others are likely to call it a funny chutney.
When the pesto is spread on a slice of bread or whatever, sprinkle grated cheese on top. I prefer this bread called Brun here. It is hard on the outside and soft inside.
Enjoy with fresh cut green salads. Particularly slices of thick hard tomatoes and cucmumbers.
You can also eat it with any kind of Indian roti, but I would not recommend parathas with it.
I would really appreciate hearing from anyone trying out about their observations.