Flax-Seeds Chutney (Javasachi Chutney) & Reading Update

Javas (or brown flax seeds) chutney is a quint-essential Maharashtrian condiment. Easy to prepare, cheap due to the abundance of flax seeds in the region and super tasty. This chutney is a staple of farm lands, where fresh roti (or bhakri), this chutney with a glob of oil and some sabji can make a flavorful easy to prepare everyday meal.

While flaxmeal (ground flax) is more common in supermarkets across US, for this recipe I prefer using whole flax seeds. You can find them at Trader Joe's or buy bulk from Amazon of this Bob's Red Mills brand.

The "recipe" is super simple. Roast 1C golden flax seeds and 4-5 large peeled garlic cloves on medium heat stirring frequently until they release a nutty aroma and are starting to turn brownish. Often flax seeds pop while you are heating them, so be careful not to be to close to the stove. Remove from heat and let them cool completely.

Once cool, add the roasted flax seeds and roasted garlic cloves to the blender, along-with 1/4tsp red chili powder and salt to season. Blend until smooth and powdery. Taste, adjust salt as needed. Store in an air-tight container and serve as condiment for any meals! Mix 1Tbsp of this chutney with warm cooked rice, olive oil and salt for a quick meal or add oil to 1Tbsp of this chutney and eat with warm pita breads - yum!

Reading Update:

My reading front is still going strong. This stay at home phase has provided a unique opportunity by saving the commute times that I am putting to good use by exercising  couple times a week and reading 30 minutes almost every day. Access to kindle and online library makes finding content a breeze!

I would classify June reading as 2 hits and 1 miss :) I read highly awaited book The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi. This is a beautifully told story transporting us back to the 1950s India, Jaipur in particular, told from the voice of a henna artist, Lakshmi, known for her most unique and creative patterns - it's a story of many contrasts, women's struggles and empowerment in a paternal society, cast systems and middle class vs upper class struggles. All in all, this was a true page-turner.. transporting me back to 1950s Jaipur. A must read!

The second hit was this well awaited Marie Benedict's Carnegie's Maid. This is a book about a young girl, Clara Kelley, leaving her family behind in Ireland to travel to America to support her family and earn some money. She doesn't have much more other than her wits, an uncanny business sense and resolve to strive and do better, both for herself and her family. She ends up as a lady's maid in the Carnegie household of Pittsburgh, and soon her employer starts to trust her business instincts. It is again a story of a woman ahead of her time, with a business sense parallel to the business magnet Andrew Carnegie, but needing to hide her talents and thoughts behind a subdued ladies' main persona. I have enjoyed all of Benedict books so far, so I knew I would love this book, and happy to say it didn't disappoint me :)

Third book, and a miss, was "Ada's algorithms - How Lord Byron's Daughter Ada Lovelace Launched the Digital Age". Ada has been long considered as the original computer programmer, and a key but overlooked figure in the history of computers and programming. I wanted to love this book, I really did, but unfortunately writing was hard to keep up with - not being written as a story and not being quite a well engaging non-fiction either, I finished the book but it was quite a struggle at times.

Anyhow, my July reading list is promising and I look forward to posting about it here soon!