Kishwar's Diwali grazing board

This is my entertaining go-to when hosting friends for Diwali. I have two Indian homemade condiments that pair nicely with crackers and hard and soft cheeses and like to add fresh and dried fruits, nuts and an array of Aussie classic and Indian snacks. Head to the Indian aisle in your supermarket or find your local Indian grocery store and experiment with sweet and savoury snacks that you might not have tried before.

Credit: Chris Tran

• serves

  10

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Pudina green dip

• 1 bunch fresh coriander
• 1 bunch mint leaves
• 2 green chillies
• 1⁄4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 50 g sev (chickpea vermicelli)
• 5-6 ice cubes
• salt & pepper, to taste

Date & prune chutney

• 1⁄2 cup Medjool dates, pitted
• 1⁄2 cup dried prunes, pitted
• 1⁄2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 red chilli (optional)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 1⁄2 cup prune juice
• 1 tsp ginger jam (or fresh ginger)

Tempering

• 1 tsp coriander sees
• 2 dried red chillies (optional)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  

Instructions

1. To make the pudina green dip, roughly tear up herbs and place all ingredients into a blender. Add ice and blend till the mixture turns bright green and is well combined. Pour into a serving bowl and set in the fridge till ready to serve on grazing board.
2. To make the date & prune chutney, place all ingredients in a small blender with 1⁄2 cup of prune juice.
3. Pour into a small pot and add the remaining juice. Simmer on low for 15 mins.
4. In a small frying pan, temper the dried chillies and coriander seeds in hot oil. Fry till fragrant and add to date and prune mixture. Stir well and pour into a bowl to serve on a grazing platter.
5. To assemble your grazing board, add your favourite combinations of snacks with these two condiments to your grazing board. Some suggestions include milk rusks, laddus, naan khatai, lamingtons, hard and soft cheeses, crackers, fresh fruit like grapes and strawberries, dried fruits like apricots and figs, nuts like pistachios, almonds and pepitas, Bombay mix chanachur, muruku.
   

Note

• Pop your green chutney in the fridge to serve chilled and the prune chutney at room temperature. You can make this days ahead and store it in airtight containers in the fridge and this recipe seamlessly adjusts for smaller or larger batches.

Photography by Christopher Tran. Styling by Kishwar Chowdhury. Food preparation by Kishwar Chowdhury.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.