Roasted Sunflower Seeds and Cilantro Chutney Recipe

Roasted Sunflower Seeds and Cilantro Chutne

Mix in a chopped onion and juice of three limes.  Pour into a blender or food processor, then add 2 garlic cloves and a hot pepper to spice it up.  Slowly add cilantro until the mixture liquefies.

Mix this chutney with coconut milk to make a great marinade for fish.  Also, for a quick salsa, you can chop a tomato and mix in the chutney.  Then, as I mentioned, for a salad dressing, just add in some olive oil. By adding a green bell pepper and tomato, you can make a sofrito, which is a base for many Latin dishes.  Sofrito will keep up to 3 weeks in my refrigerator.

Roasting Raw Sunflower Seeds:

I pour my raw sunflower seeds into a skillet and stir until they brown.  Do no add oil – just add some salt, turmeric and if you would like, some hot red pepper. 
The turmeric adds a nice color and subtle flavor. Then just squeeze some lime juice on top and add some chopped onions.

I eat the sunflower seeds as a snack or I use it as a garnish for foods like eggs, rice or any type of salad.  The turmeric add a beautiful mustard yellow color.  Add some hot pepper if you like more spice too your food.  The limes and salt will counteract the spice.  The store bought, already roasted sunflower seeds can have a rancid flavor.  It is easy to roast your own and add the spices you enjoy.

Both the chutney and any kind of spiced nut can bring some extra zest to your dish!