Mango Chutney

India restaurants are known for their skimpy offerings of Mango Chutney. I always feel guilty asking my waiter for more of this cool and sweetly picked Middle Eastern condiment. But when you like spicy curries, then jam preserves-like Mango Chutney is needed to cool you down between hot bites. Well, now with The 99 Cent Chef latest recipe go ahead and bring your own! (Or at least get it out for at-home leftovers or orders to go.)

My Mango Chutney is spiced with easy-to-get cumin and cinnamon. Sauteed onion gives it a bit more volume, and sugar with vinegar provide the pickling ingredients.

Living in California, I always find mangoes on sale, and onions are cheap at any grocery store. You could get an expensive curry powder or just go with what I use, cheap ground cumin. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, cumin provides 75 percent of a typical curry powder mix. You can add cinnamon if you have it -- apple pies are not the only cooked fruit that benefits from this eatable ground tree bark.

The 99 Cent Chef Mango Chutney is not only for India entrees, you could use it for any favorite spicy dish. Pull it out for an entree that is served with rice, like my Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry, or Sweet and Sour Pork (click on the names to see my blog recipes.)

Ingredients

• 1-2 mangoes - remove peel and seed. About 1 to 1 1/2 cups of flesh.
• 1 onion - any type, chopped.
• 1/4 cup sugar  - or favorite sweetener, like honey.
• 1/4 cup vinegar - white, apple, or rice.
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin - or your favorite curry powder.
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon - optional
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil - for sauteing onions.
• Salt to taste

Directions
Add 1 tablespoon oil to a pot over a medium heat. Roughly chop one onion. Add it to the pot. Stir occasional. Cook until onion is soft, about 5-10 minutes.

Peel and seed mango. I even scrape, with a spoon, any flesh left on the peels and seed. Slice into large chunks (about 1 to 2 inch squares.) Add mango to cooked onion.

Add vinegar, sugar, cumin, cinnamon (optional) and a pinch of salt. Mix well.

 

Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook 15 minutes. Stir every once in a while.

Uncover and cook until liquid reduced by almost half - about another 10 minutes. If you like a bit of liquid in your chutney, then just reduce cooking time.

When done allow to cool, then keep Mango Chutney in the refrigerator until ready to use. It will thicken to a jam consistency as it cools down.

Hindsight

Mangoes are expensive, so I did a minimal recipe. If you are using 2 large mangoes, you can add another onion, but I would not add any more spices or sugar and vinegar. For 3 or more mangoes and onions, I would try about a 1/4 teaspoon more of spices, and a regular teaspoon of sugar and vinegar with each mango and onion you add.

Most recipes load up with sugar, but this recipe uses half the normal amount -- you could even add less, mangoes are plenty sweet by themselves. A lot of sugar and vinegar is used for pickling and preserving, but don't worry this Mango Chutney won't last long!

Veggie Curry with Lentils

Dried lentils cook in half an hour, much quicker than any other dried bean. They tend to get much more mushy than the typical pinto, red or navy bean. I'm not used to cooking with lentils, so it was suprising that my first cooking experience with them turned out so delicious, I hope you will like this recipe, too.

I usually have had them in India restaurants, but I've also tried them in Ethiopian eateries. Since lentils are thought to originate in India, they are typically cooked spiced with curry. For my latest budget entree I'm going India vegetarian: Veggie Curry with Lentils.

You can use almost any vegetable you can find on sale: potatoes, carrots, broccoli, spinach and celery included. For my recipe I cooked with cauliflower and carrots. The other main ingredients are onion, garlic, a can of tomatoes and coconut milk (or plain yogurt.)

While the lentils are cooking just saute some onion and garlic, then toast some ground cumin, and finally, add coconut milk and canned tomato. I like to bake it instead of stove top simmering -- I prefer the flavor of roasted veggies and legumes.

I also use a simple curry mix of ground cumin and powered ginger. Cumin is the main flavor of a typical curry powder. You could also add 1/2 a teaspoon of ground cloves and cinnamon into the curry mix. If you have a favorite curry power, then use it. I like to serve my Veggie Curry with Lentils over brown rice. (I've also included a link to my Coconut Rice recipe at the end of this post.)

Ingredients (about 3 servings)

• 1/2 package uncooked lentils (8 ounces) - follow cooking directions (boil in 3 cups of water for about 20 minutes.)
• 9 ounce package of cauliflower florets - Okay to use frozen, or a whole head of cauliflower (break off florets.)
• 3 whole carrots - discard the knotty top. Chop into about one inch chunks. Okay to use cleaned packaged baby carrots or sliced ones (2-3 cups.)
• 1 onion - chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic - chopped fresh or from jar.
• 1 can tomatoes (about 13 ounces) - chopped, crushed or whole
• 1 can of coconut milk, juice, or cream (about 13 ounces) - optional. Okay to substitute with a small (about 6 ounce) carton of plain yogurt.
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger - optional. Okay to use a tablespoon of fresh chopped.
• 2 tablespoons oil for sauteing onion and garlic.
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper - optional, as you may not like the heat. Can always add hot sauce to individual servings.
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Start the half package of lentils boiling in 3 cups of water for about 20 minutes. Don't worry if they are not cooked all the way through, you will finish the cooking process in the oven, later.

While lentils are cooking, heat oil in a large saute pan, or pot, and add chopped onion. I use a large metal pot with a top that I can put directly into the oven. Saute onions about 5-10 minutes, over medium heat, until soft and just starting to caramelize to a light brown. Add chopped garlic, stir and cook for a minute.

Add a tablespoon of ground cumin and powered ginger. Sprinkle in a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, optional. You can always add it at the end of cooking, a little at a time to desired heat level. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir dry spices into onions and lightly stir for about 3-5 minutes to rehydrate the spice flavors.

Mix in chopped carrots and cauliflower florets. Next add a can of tomatoes with the liquid. If tomatoes are whole then break them up - it should be easy to do. Pour in a can of coconut milk (juice or cream,) or plain yogurt. Mix well.  

Lentils should be done enough by now. Remove lentils with a slotted spoon and reserve the liquid -- you may need the liquid for later, if lentil dish gets too dry in the oven. Add lentils to veggies and curry sauce.

Bring to a boil. Now you can add the ovenproof pan (or pot) to a 350 degree oven. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to one hour, (alternately, you can cover and simmer on the stove to, at a low heat, for the same amount of time.) Check on the dish from time to time to make sure liquid does not cook out. Add 1/4 cup of lentil cooking water when needed. I made it without any extra liquid -- the coconut and tomato sauce thickened into a flavorful sauce as the lentils got softer and began to break apart.

I have a couple of India sides that would go well with my Veggie Curry with Lentils, just click on a name to see the recipes: Coconut Rice and Saag Paneer.

Saag Paneer - Curried Spinach with Cottage Cheese

My favorite veggie to order in an India restaurant is Saag Paneer, a rich creamy spinach and cheese dish. I've had it served several ways: sometimes the paneer (cheese) is presented in deep fried cubes floating in slow cooked spinach; or it's incorporated as a cheesy cream spinach sauce. I prefer the latter.

Unfortunately, it's not a light dish when served in your local India lunch buffet line. Clarified butter and deep fried cheese adds too many calories for this weight-watching kitchen commando.

Plus, it is not easy to find paneer -- but upon doing a little research, I found out it tastes similar to cottage cheese. Just imagine all the liquid squeezed out and the curds formed into cheese blocks. So I put two and two together and came up with a budget-busting, calorie-skimping entree anyone can make.

 The main spice is curry powder. I just use cumin - open a jar and smell -- it makes up 75% of your typical curry powder. And cumin is much easier to find on any grocery store spice shelf; plus it's much cheaper than curry powder.  Pick up an onion to saute, as this will add a bit of caramelized sweetness.

For an extra boost of cheesiness crumble-in half a disc of Mexican cheese called Queso Fresco, that comes cheaply from 99c only Stores and Latin markets (It's showing up in regular groceries, too.) It is a hard cheese that softens to gooey deliciousness, making my Saag Paneer recipe extra rich.

Slow cooking the spinach and cottage cheese with cumin creates a lush dish that is low in calories, especially if you use low fat cottage cheese. So give my delish, India-inspired, 99 Cent Chef Saag Paneer a try -- all it takes is a little spinach chopping and some slow cooking.

 Ingredients (2 -3 servings)

• 2 bunches of spinach - or about two 6 ounce packages.
• 1 whole onion - chopped
• Small 8 ounce container of cottage cheese.
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin - if you have curry powder, use that.
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 tablespoons of milk - optional during final cooking stage.
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Queso Fresco cheese -  optional. I used half a 4 ounce package, that is broken into bite sized pieces.

Directions
Heat oil in medium sized pan or pot. Add chopped onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes over a medium heat.

While onions are cooking, start cleaning and chopping spinach. Chop off long stems of spinach bunches. No need to chop all spinach at once. You will add it in batches - as one batch cooks down you chop another to add.

Mix in cumin and saute for a couple of minutes. Add cottage cheese and mix well.

Start adding chopped spinach. It will cook down in a minute or so. Continue chopping spinach and adding it to pot or pan until it is well blended into cottage cheese/onion mixture. (For extra richness add Queso Fresco cheese when spinach cooks down.)

Once all the spinach is added, season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low and cover to cook for 20 - 30 minutes.

Check spinach mixture from time to time to make sure liquid does not completely cook out. Stir periodically.

As spinach cooks down it adds a lot of liquid. The object is to cook spinach until very soft and cream-like. Some of the cottage cheese will dissolve into the sauce. Add a couple of spoonfuls of milk if it starts to dry out.

 This would make a delicious pairing with my African Spiced Water Buffalo Wings or Coconut Rice.

Almost Tandoori Chicken & Pineapple

A whole pineapple, chicken and India spices for around a dollar, plus a bbq grill, equals another 99 Cent Chef delicious budget entree. Looking through my spice rack and refrigerator yogurt selection turns up enough ingredients to almost make an India-style tandoori marinade -- although, short a few spices, it will still be tasty! No coriander or cardamon but plenty of cumin, ginger, clove and garlic powder; and no clay oven for baking tandoori chicken, but a barbecue grill will suffice.

And pairing smoky spicy chicken with grilled sweet and tangy fresh pineapple on sale is a killer combination for a hot summer dish.
The Chef tries to keep a full spice rack, but sometimes they get used up, or -- like India garam masala -- they're harder to find. Individual select India spices are easy to get on sale; you just need to make a mix.

I've found powdered cumin, ginger, cloves and many other Middle Eastern spices at Latin markets, 99c only Stores and regular discount markets. I am lucky to have a few small India mom-and-pops close at hand in Culver City to make up the difference. If you have all the tandoori spices on hand, then go for it, but don't worry about leaving out a few, it will still taste great.

Yogurt binds these spices together and you only need a small carton - I get the type with fruit on the bottom because it is usually on sale; just leave the fruit out. Coat the chicken pieces with the Chef's "almost tandoori" marinade and let it refrigerate covered for an hour or two, if possible.

I was lucky to run across fresh pineapple at sale at 3 pounds for a dollar at my local Latin market and a whole pineapple for 99.99 cents at this 99c only Store. Fresh pineapple flavors are more intensely sweet and citrus sour -- grilling tones down the sour and increases the sweetness. Of course, regular canned sliced pineapple can be used; I have grilled it and it works fine. If you have any left over, make a breakfast smoothie the next day.

Be sure to use up fresh pineapple quickly, as it turns brown in 24 hours (drizzle with lemon juice to prolong) compared to pasteurized canned. Pineapple generally cooks faster than chicken, so I add it later when one side of the chicken is brown.

A ripe pineapple is not all green; it should be turning yellow, but not brown and soft. Peeling a whole pineapple is messy, but worth it. Just chop off the top and bottom and slice off the skin as you would an apple -- cut deep enough to remove all the tough scales. Lastly, half the pineapple lengthwise to slice out the tough core. The core is like fresh-peeled sugar cane and a sweet chew!

The Chef's Almost Tandoori Chicken & Pineapple recipe can be converted into a shish kabob: just cut ingredients into smaller pieces -- try adding slices of yellow/red bell pepper and onion, too. You can also bake this entree in a regular oven (about 45 minutes at 350 degrees).
*Please note that The Chef used budget ingredients from 4 different stores! Pick up your discount foodstuffs when you see them on sale and store it!

 
Ingredients for Tandoori Coating (about 4 chicken pieces)

• Mix and match whatever Indian style spices you have on hand - it will taste delish!
• 6 oz. yogurt (plain or with fruit on the bottom - leave out fruit)
• 1 tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground ginger or fresh minced
• 1 tsp. garlic - fresh chopped or powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• Other tandoori spices include: teaspoon each of ground cardamom, coriander, garam masala and cinnamon.

Directions
Mix tandoori ingredients into yogurt (leave out fruit on the bottom}. Coat 4 pieces of chicken and allow to marinate covered in the refrigerator an hour or two. Prepare pineapple by cutting into large slices for grilling. Heat grill and brown chicken on one side then add pineapple to grill. Check on pineapple often as it will brown faster because of its high sugar content. Add extra marinade to chicken during grilling. Chicken is done when juices run clear when pierced in thickest part. I had chicken pieces with both skin-on and off - both taste delish. My gas grill cooked chicken in about 20-30 minutes on low heat.

Jasmine Market & Deli - Video Restaurant Review

After treating my readers to a Beverly Hills happy hour review last month, I return to reviewing with a restaurant more to my taste and pocketbook. Jasmine Market & Deli in Culver City, featuring cuisine from Burma and India, is the next eatery in the Chef's cheap$kate sights.

Jasmine has a couple of Evening/Weekend Specials that are indeed special, including two great soups: Coconut Chicken Soup and Fish Soup. After it was touted in Los Angeles Magazine's May Issue in the article "101 Cheap Eats," and glowingly reviewed by Jonathan Gold for the LA Weekly, I grabbed my camera to get the goods on exotic cuisine served at Jasmine - one can only eat out so many times a month at Chef Marilyn's 99 Cent Soul Food Express !

The cheerful owner, Soe Lwin, is part Indian and Burmese, and the menu recipes his wife Khin has created reflects this. He describes Burmese dishes as milder than typical hot/spicy India ones. He does provide red chile flakes, toasted on-site, for extra heat. Contrasting nicely with the India fare are his wife's unique salads and soups that are "typical of a small Burmese village".

Drinks are exotic sodas and tea. Be sure to splurge for fresh-made Naan with garlic or onion -- only $1 over the 99 cent base price.

First up: the Fish Soup is a rich melange of Tilapia fish broth with Burmese spices. The unique textures include a mild, celery-like crescent of banana tree trunk, the tasty crunch of "tempura" fried lentil beans (my favorite ingredient), and a sprinkling of cool fresh cilantro sprigs floating in a warm broth loaded with slippery, silky rice noodles. All this for $3.49 (plus tax) for a large bowlful.

Next up, for the same price: Coconut Chicken Soup with Chinese noodles. This creamy coconut curry broth is heavy with chunks of chicken and slivers of red onion covering yellow Chinese noodles. It's a less-exotic palate pleaser, for those who prefer more familiar flavors.

Another traditional Burmese dish is an enticing Tofu Salad, uniquely made with lentil bean tofu, homemade by the owner's wife. Cut into bright yellow strips, lentil bean tofu is not bland like normal tofu -- you can taste the nut-like lentil source. Studded with clumps of fried garlic, crunchy cabbage and onion, it's more like a pungent warm slaw than a salad. And it comes with the most intense cabbage soup -- flavored with powdered shrimp. It's one heady, aromatic soup and salad. This Chef's wife loved it.

Both soup specials and Burmese salads are served evenings from 5 p.m. to closing, and all hours during the weekend.

One of the best deals is the $4.99 Tandoori Chicken Lunch Special, served 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. It is cooked when ordered; you can have a quarter segment of white or dark meat chicken. Another recipe from Soe's resourceful wife, the flavorful tandoori coating is a familiar favorite available here at half the cost of most India restaurants.

This lunch special is served with fluffy fragrant Saffron Rice, Vegetable Curry, a large round of fresh-made warm Naan Bread, and garnished with lettuce, raw onion and a couple of tomato wedges. This generous lunch special had customers walking up to the counter requesting containers for leftovers.

 
Jasmine Market & Deli is located in a strip of storefronts along Sepulveda Blvd. just south of Washington Blvd., in Culver City. It is easy to miss -- look for the white umbrellas and tables out front. The market inside has more seating, a counter for ordering, and a kitchen which includes a tandoori oven.

The everyday menu offers typical India-style fare at bargain prices. Other lunch specials are available from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Monday - they're closed. Dinner prices are still cheap at a couple of dollars more - well below $10 for a complete dinner.

This is a restaurant tab The 99 Cent Chef is happy to pawn off -- or rather, pick up. Jasmine Market & Deli is in a simple setting that draws the locals.

Parking out front on Sepulveda Blvd. is metered until 6 p.m., but the service is fast. This is a great deal any day of the week (closed Monday) for a quick drop-in tasty, exotic, meal. Below is my video visit.

Jasmine Market & Deli - Video
Play it here. The video runs 4 minutes, 25 seconds.

Jasmine Market & Deli
4135 Sepulveda Blvd.
Culver City, CA. 90230
Phone: 310) 313-3767
Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 11am to 9pm, and Friday - Sunday 11am to 10pm
Lunch Specials: 11am to 4pm
Map - click here

Typical India fare, along with Burmese soups and salads. No alcohol - tea, juice and soda. Dine in, or to go. Catering is available. Attached is a small grocery store carrying large sacks of rice, curry seasonings, and other Asian goods.

99 thanks to Soe Lwin, his wife, Khin, their son Kaung and everyone behind the counter at Jasmine Market & Deli for putting up with my questions and allowing me to shoot. And thanks to my wife Amy, for shooting the Chef as he stuffed his face!
 Click here to embed or view video on youtube.