Chutney and Pickle and Gujarati Karhi

All right. I made three dishes last night. (Actually, I made four... but let's not talk about the fourth one right now.)

The first was the aforementioned mango chutney. It turned out very well. The mangoes tasted a little candied at the end, although there was no sugar or anything like that involved -- just mango, fenugreek, fennel, mustard seed, cumin, cayenne, a little oil, and of course haldi. It didn't look or taste anything like the chutneys I had eaten in restaurants (those were more the consistency of salsa, and had a similar bite), but it seems like there are as many chutneys as there are fruits and vegetables to put in them. So... mango chutney = very good.

The second one I didn't exactly make myself, but I'm including it because... well, because I was so surprised. After reading Ms. Jaffrey's accounts of the heavenly taste of black lime pickle, I went to Namaste Grocery and bought myself a jar. Well, a jar of lime pickle, anyway. I don't think it was black lime pickle. In fact, it was quite red. And so I opened it up, took a spoonful, and popped it in my mouth, ready to taste heaven...

OMGWTF lime pickle. I am quite ready for someone to respond and tell me that lime pickle is only meant to be eaten a droplet at a time. I don't think I've ever had my nose, eyes, and ears run quite so much, or so quickly.

My roommate came in and asked why I was hopping around in pain. I held out the jar and offered her a taste. She looked at me and said "no fucking way -- not if it makes you do THAT."

So, to anyone reading: what am I supposed to do with this jar of Flaming Lime Pickle? I want to eat it, but I'm not sure how or with what dish.

Lastly, there was the Gujarati Karhi with Okra, which was fine but turned out very sweet (probably because it had cinnamon and sugar in it). I liked the other karhi recipe better; it tasted sour and saltier and held more of the tang of the yogurt. But the Gujarati karhi was perfectly acceptable for its purposes.

And second lastly... well, it was Round Two of Blue Vs. Chickpea Pancakes, and once again the chickpea pancakes won, if by won we mean "did not cook at all and ended up in a mushy mess in the trash can." I can't make pancakes worth a damn and yet I keep trying, if only because they taste so good.

I also got my first jar of ground asfoetida. I was a little unsure as to whether it was actually for cooking, since it looked like a small Tylenol bottle and included a childproof lid. But there was a reassuring picture on the bottle of a woman in a sari stirring a big cooking pot, and... well, I've since added it to something (did it go into the mango or the karhi?) and haven't yet become ill. So... probably on the right track.