Date - Tamarind Chutney

A generous swirl of date and tamarind chutney on my chaat, and I'm a happy camper. This sweet-tangy and slightly spicy chutney lends a great flavour and I cannot imagine chaat minus this.
Different restaurants have different tasting date-tamarind chutneys and street vendors seem to get it just perfect. This is my attempt at making this chutney -

Ingredients:
3/4 cup pitted dates
2 to 3 tbsp jaggery
2 tbsp tamarind
1/2 tsp chilli powder
3/4 tsp cumin (jeera) powder
Salt to taste

The measures are approximate. Jaggery usually comes in blocks and it's a pain to try and fit it into a tablespoon, so just eyeball it. I used a large piece of tamarind, again approximately 2 tbsp, but you can increase or decrease it depending on how tangy you like the chutney.

Method:
Bring about 1 1/2 cups of water to boil. Add dates, jaggery and tamarind. Boil for 10 to15 minutes, stirring a few times in between. Add chilli powder, cumin powder and salt. Allow to cool. Blend [You can add some water when blending if you want a runny chutney. I added about 1/2 cup water]. Strain if required.

Relish with samosas or pakodas, in combination with Mint Chutney.

Cake-ish Chocolate Brownies

During my last India trip, I met Aparna of 'My Diverse Kitchen'. We had lunch together and chatted about our common interest - food. Aparna brought with her some chocolate walnut brownies for my family which all of us enjoyed.  I got the recipe from her and tried my hand at these brownies.

As Aparna mentions in her blog, the brownies have a slightly cake-ish texture. I made some minor changes - I had run out of baking powder so haven't added any. I also added some salt since I used unsalted butter. I used half white sugar and half light brown sugar (next time I will probably opt for 3/4th cup white sugar and 1/4th cup brown sugar, since I found the brownies a tad less sweet). For the original recipe, go here.

Ingredients :
3/4 cup butter
4 tbsp cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method :
Preheat the oven to 375ºF
Melt butter (completely) in the microwave. Add cocoa powder, mix with a fork or whisk and microwave for a few seconds to form a smooth paste. Cool.
In a large bowl mix sugar and eggs thoroughly with a wooden spoon or a whisk. Add the butter-cocoa paste and mix well.
Add flour, salt, vanilla and mix further. Pour in the chopped walnuts and mix well.

Pour into a greased or lined 8" square pan (I used a rectangular pan of similar proportions). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes till brownies are done. Allow to cool.

Cut into squares. Enjoy hot with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce if you please!

Sending these to Divya's Brownie event.