badam chutney | almond chutney

I usually go for the simple version of this badam chutney | almond chutney on the weekday mornings. But on the other days, I use mint or and coriander leaves, sometimes coconut too. All taste different and good, whatever is the taste, it is definitely healthy. Frying in 1 tsp oil gives a nutty taste. You can use blanched almonds or with skin too, if you do not mind eating the skin. But the taste is almost the same. You can refer the pic to on how to peel the skin of almonds after frying them. Take a break from the usual coconut chutney or the peanut chutney and try this.

This is the 3 rd time I have shot pics of this chutney, but failed to find a good one from the clutter, so just went this pic that I had shot for the methi paratha which I will be posting shortly

Please note: this looks like peanut chutney but surely doesn’t taste as creamy as the peanut chutney. if you are a crazy fan of peanuts or peanut chutney, you may not like this one ( I do have some in my family who do not like this). but for me and my kids, we like it as it is lighter than the pchutney.

Ingredients

serves 3

90 ml blanched almonds (little more than 1/3 cup) (if you do not have blanched almond you can try to peel after frying them, refer the pics)

2 to 3 green chilies (I use less as my kids cannot eat too much of chilies) ( you can use red chilies too, but tastes different)

¼ tsp cumin / jeera

1 tsp oil

optional

small piece of ginger or 1 garlic clove (I do not use as it causes mouth odor, but many choose to use for chutneys)

¼ tsp of tamarind paste or few drops of lemon juice

½ cup of tightly packed coariander leaves

few mint leaves

1 tbsp fresh coconut

seasoning (iam lazy to do this on a week day morning)

pinch of cumin

pinch of mustard

1 broken red chili
1 sprig of curry leaves

pinch of hing

Method

1.   Wash and fry almonds and green chilies in 1 tsp oil till you get an aroma on a low flame. Takes around 5 mins. set the chili aside

2.   Pour in ice cold water in the hot utensil and set this aside for around 30 mins. Then peel off the skin. if you are in a hurry like me, you can use it as it is after soaking for atleast 10 mins. soaking them for atleast 30 mins enhances the taste and gives volume to the chutney.

3.   Add cumin, green chili, salt and almonds and powder them.

4.   Add enough water  and grind to a smooth chutney

5.   Season with seasoning ingredients.

Variations

1.   If you chose to use the optional ingredients, just add them before you grind

2.   I use ice cold water to bring down the temp of hot almonds so that I can grind faster and it also helps in peeling them faster.
3. best variation is with mint,coriander leaves  and ginger