Thursday, June 18, 2015

Aam Pudina Chaatni -- Mint and Green Mango Chutney

Aam Pudina Chutney, Mint Chutney,  Raw Mint Chutney

Aam Pudina Chutney | Bengali Mint Chutney


My Mom made this raw aam-pudina chutney with mint and green mangoes in the months of summer. In her home the house help would make the paste in sil-nora, the flat pock marked piece of stone ubiquitous in all Indian homes to grind spices, and the green coarse chutney would be a favorite accompaniment with Musurir dal and Rice for lunch. Minty, tangy and sweet  -- that is how our summer would be! 


The school is wrapping up for the year and there are too many things going on. The middle schooler had her auditions for the school choir and band, and for two whole weeks the house reverberated with sounds of clarinet, piano and singing. Looked like the entire year of practice to be done at home, was crammed into the last two weeks of school. After several nail biting days of audition, first callbacks and waiting, finally the list was up. Big Sis was too happy to be selected for the school show choir and also got a chance in her school jazz band. She decided to go with the choir though and is already looking forward to the inter school competition at Hershey Park next year.

There is also music(vocal) and piano recitals as the year ends and honestly all this is too much of "kaalchar" for me.



The one recital that has me the most stressed though is Little Sis's dance recital next week.  This is LS's first year of BharataNatyam lessons and the dance school has a full fledged show to mark the year end. All these months LS has been dancing to glory in her shorts and tees and doing her aramandis and mudras with perfect comfort. Unlike BigSis, who never wanted to take dance lessons, LS took to classical Indian dance very naturally. However she treated the dance class just like her gymnastics class and wore what she was comfortable in, which again turns out to be shorts in summers and leggings in winter. I was perfectly fine with it.

The dance recital however demands full BharatNatyam regalia with costume, makeup, hair and what not. The costume had to be bought from the school and cost me E-I-G-H-T-Y dollars. A total rip off. And the size is 2 sizes big which means I am begging crafty friends to alter it for me. Then there is makeup. Yeah makeup! I  don't wear eye shadows and have two lipsticks in shades like burberry brown that last me for 2 years. So the word "makeup" sends a chill down my spine.

"They should wear gold eye shadow", says the dance school, "and red lipstick. Also eyes should be lined with kohl. Don't forget a red bindi for the forehead."

The more I hear all these the more I want to grab LS and walk away from this whole dance business. But I have to stay put. Which apparently is not a good idea, as there is hair to be done! LS has short hair and the teacher wants every kid to have their hair tied with garlands wound around it.
I mean seriously? What about free spirit and flying hair? Is their no such thing in classical Indian dance?

I have a really tough next week what with the dress rehearsal and then the actual recital and all that glittery eye shadow. Keep your fingers crossed so that I live to tell the tale.



On a brighter note, I have lots of mint aka pudina growing in my garden this year. Mint has a tendency to spread and grow and the few saplings that I had put down in the ground last year has morphed into a flourishing bush this year.




My Mom used to make a aam-pudina chutney with mint and green mangoes in the months of summer. The house help would make the paste in sil-nora, the flat pock marked piece of stone ubiqitious in all Indian homes to grind spices, and the green semi-liquid chutney would be a favorite accompaniment with musurir dal. It would be minty, tangy and sweet with a strong summery undertone. Yeah thats a lot of "y". So a friend of mine make this chutney too and recently reminded me of it.

Aam Pudina Chutney | Bengali Mint Chutney

This is a no-recipe type of recipe.

Mint Leaves - 1 Cup Chopped
Raw Green Mango - 1 peeled and chopped in cubes
Green Chilies - 2-4 (depending on how hot you like it)
Coriander leaves -- 1/2 Cup (optional)

Put all of the above in a blender and with minimal water, make a thick paste.

Add sugar and salt to the paste until it tastes just right. If your mango is not too sour add a little lime juice to makeup for the tang.


We are using this chaatni in abundance. I put it on top of grilled fish and also made a chicken with it. It is the perfect sauce or chutney for summer.



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3 comments:

  1. আমার পুদিনার ঝাড় কবে যে এমন স্বাস্থ্যবান হবে, বং মম। খুব নজর দিলাম।

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chutney Look Awesome . Keep Posting .

    Amit lamba

    ReplyDelete
  3. This looks seriously fantastic...!! Lovely..
    chowringhee kathi roll

    ReplyDelete

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